Guardian – Greenpeace ‘Sewage sludge containing human waste from the Netherlands has been passed for import to the UK, to be used on farmland as fertiliser, despite concerns over the safety of its use. Spreading the sludge on farmland is banned in the Netherlands, where incineration is preferred, but allowed in the UK. Dutch water authorities are eyeing the UK as a possible destination for their sewage, after problems at an Amsterdam incineration company left them lacking disposal options.
A permit for the shipment of 27,500 tonnes of municipal sewage sludge was issued in February by the UK’s Environment Agency, according to a document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Greenpeace’s Unearthed investigative unit and seen by the Guardian.
The sludge is listed as coming from the Amstel, Gooi and Vecht water board but the identity of the recipient in the UK has been redacted. The permit is valid until February.
It is legal in the UK to use sewage sludge on farmland but it must be first treated and then applied under strict regulations. However, the Environment Agency has raised concerns that the regulations are not always followed.
In November 2017, the Environment Agency had a report drawn up that listed potential problems for human health from using sewage on farmland, including the presence of pathogens such as E coli and salmonella, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals and microplastics.
It also found the supply chain handling sewage from its origins to its destination on fields was “convoluted”, which raised the possibility of abuse of the regulations and contamination of farmland.
Alistair Boxall, a professor in environmental science at the University of York, said Dutch sewage was unlikely to be any worse than that from the UK, but the government was not doing enough to ensure that sewage spread on fields was safe.
“The government is doing very little to understand what harm sludge could be doing to humans – they don’t have the data,” he said. “If we can ensure that you don’t have harmful contaminants, then [using sewage] is a good thing. But at the moment really we don’t know whether some of the things in there are safe or not.”
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