Plastic peril: Call for action on the microplastic threat lurking in sewage sludge

LONDON - Sewage sludge is widely applied as fertiliser to agricultural land across the UK, yet the microplastics in this sludge pose a threat to human health and the environment, so today environmental consultancy, EcoCognito, called for urgent legislative action to prevent microplastic pollution from sewage sludge.

In 2023, the last year for which we could readily access data, water companies in England dispatched 819,001 tonnes (dry solids) of sewage sludge - 93.8% of which was applied to over 375,000 acres of agricultural land. The spreading of sewage sludge on farmland is also widespread across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Yet current environmental regulations specify this sewage sludge is tested only for potentially harmful heavy metals, with no requirement to routinely test the sludge for microplastics - this legislative gap means avoidable microplastic pollution takes place when sewage sludge is applied to UK agricultural land.

“Today we are calling for the urgent tightening of regulations relating to microplastics in the sewage sludge spread on agricultural land, to protect human health and our environment from this harmful and avoidable pollution. There is extensive research that points to the threat, yet our politicians are failing to step up and take action to rectify the situation”, said a spokesperson from EcoCognito.

“Human health is harmed by microplastic pollution, through the ingestion and inhalation of microplastic particles, and via contaminated water; as well as being directly harmful, microplastics can potentially absorb, carry, and amplify other harmful substances such as pesticide residues, heavy metals and pathogens”.

“Research also reveals that microplastics damage and disrupt ecosystems, damage soils and aquatic environments, and harm wildlife and other biota, so urgent action is needed to stop microplastics entering our environment in sewage sludge”.

This call to action follows a recent evaluation of the European Sewage Sludge Directive by the European Commission, which recommends a review of the Sewage Sludge Directive to consider the regulation of new categories of pollutant in sewage sludge such as microplastics, organic compounds, pathogens and pharmaceuticals.

For additional background information, and relevant research, visit EcoCognito's online resources.

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CONTACT: Luke Rowlands, Director, EcoCognito
Phone: +44 (0)7966 729775
Email: Luke.N.Rowlands@btinternet.com
Website: https://www.ecocognito.com/