Wastewater treatment needs sustainable sludge management in municipalities

7 September 2011, HELCOM Information Services - Workshop on Sustainable Sludge Handling begins today in Lübeck, Germany, where 70 experts around the Baltic Sea gather to promote state-of-the-art good practices, analyze new technical solutions and solve problems in sewage sludge treatment methods. Advanced wastewater treatment is the most cost-effective and quickest way to reduce the levels of nutrient loading from municipalities. However, wastewater treatment produces not only purified water but also large amounts of sewage sludge that must be handled in a sustainable way. As all phosphorus removed from wastewater remains in the sludge, it is crucial to avoid this eutrophying load leaking to recipient waters.  

Treatment of wastewaters is an important challenge for the municipalities in protecting their local environment. Nowadays management of the sewage sludge is an essential part of the operations of any modern, environmentally and economically sound treatment plant.

Treatment and disposal, as well as the environmental load caused by the sewage sludge, varies between different countries in the Baltic Sea region. Almost all wastewater treatment plants have some difficulties with their sludge disposal, for different reasons.

General findings of sludge management practices, gaps and development needs in the Baltic Sea region will be published in 2012 as a practical guide. The guide will present current sludge management practices and challenges as well as new methods and possibly quality criteria for sustainable approaches in sludge handling. Improved methods will enhance the using of sludge as a raw material for products, ranging from agricultural fertilizer to construction materials, and for more efficient ways to generate energy.

The event is organized by the EU Baltic Sea Region Programme funded Project on Urban Reduction of Eutrophication (PURE). The project helps selected sewage treatment plants in the Baltic Sea region to enhance their phosphorus removal and sludge management, thus concretely reducing the annual phosphorus load to the Baltic Sea by approximately 300-500 tons by the end of the year 2012. PURE also maps existing methods and develops sustainable ways to recycle and handle the sludge.

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the ‘Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area’, more commonly known as the Helsinki Convention.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Lotta Ruokanen

Project Manager (EU/PURE)
HELCOM

Tel: +358 40 162 2054
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645

E-mail: lotta.ruokanen@helcom.fi
Skype name: helcom47

Ms. Johanna Laurila

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)40 523 8988

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645

E-mail: johanna.laurila@helcom.fi

Skype: helcom70

(HELCOM)