Biosolids (human sludge)

[Dry Rot]

Speaking as a member of the public, sewage was applied as a fertiliser around here a few years ago and it left an indelible impression. Maybe things have improved, but they needed to be.

This was a digested sewage in liquid form and officially it had to be injected into the soil. I don't think the tanker drivers could read the guidelines as the response to getting stuck was to open the stop cocks and empty the tanker into the nearest ditch. Injecting into an already saturated soil does not work, but apparently no one told them that! At one point, the tanker had a puncture and, again, the contents were discharged into a ditch -- but this time next to the school bus stop. I could go on. But I probably speak for many locals when I say I would happily have crawled over broken glass if I could of thought of a legal way to cause this man harm! I believe it was stopped by someone from the health service pointing out that if you can smell it, there are airborne pathogens.

Maybe things are better now, but judging from some of the posts here, I would respectfully suggest you think very carefully of the local reaction and the harm stinking out the countryside will do to farming's PR. Rules and regulations are fine, but if the man on the tractor couldn't care less, can't follow instructions, and there is nobody to make sure he follows the rules, there are going to be a lot more people like me. In principle, I am in favour of sewage being put back on the land, but you'd better be damned careful how you do it!

 

[Highland Mule]

Speaking as a member of the public, sewage was applied as a fertiliser around here a few years ago and it left an indelible impression. Maybe things have improved, but they needed to be.

This was a digested sewage in liquid form and officially it had to be injected into the soil. I don't think the tanker drivers could read the guidelines as the response to getting stuck was to open the stop cocks and empty the tanker into the nearest ditch. Injecting into an already saturated soil does not work, but apparently no one told them that! At one point, the tanker had a puncture and, again, the contents were discharged into a ditch -- but this time next to the school bus stop. I could go on. But I probably speak for many locals when I say I would happily have crawled over broken glass if I could of thought of a legal way to cause this man harm! I believe it was stopped by someone from the health service pointing out that if you can smell it, there are airborne pathogens.

Maybe things are better now, but judging from some of the posts here, I would respectfully suggest you think very carefully of the local reaction and the harm stinking out the countryside will do to farming's PR. Rules and regulations are fine, but if the man on the tractor couldn't care less, can't follow instructions, and there is nobody to make sure he follows the rules, there are going to be a lot more people like me. In principle, I am in favour of sewage being put back on the land, but you'd better be damned careful how you do it!

Pretty certain that for our area all the sewage from the various septic tanks and the likes are taken by SW to Alturlie and dropped into the works there. I did a tour around it about 25 years ago and they were drying it to solids then, for spreading as manure on the land. Your liquid experience pre-dates that I guess.

 

[ollie989898]

There should be no issue with properly treated sewage sludge now. Ive worked with and spread, (and talked and produced) thousands of tonnes of it. Its probably easier to spread than FYM as it contains no string or foreign bodies.

Provided local people were informed what it was and it was incorporated quickly I should think any complaint would be minor. I personally thought it smelled mostly of washing powder and was far less offensive than poultry litter.

The main issue we found was small bits dropping off spreaders when you took them back home at the end of the day. Nothing careful loading and a tidy up wont sort.

 

[Dry Rot]

Pretty certain that for our area all the sewage from the various septic tanks and the likes are taken by SW to Alturlie and dropped into the works there. I did a tour around it about 25 years ago and they were drying it to solids then, for spreading as manure on the land. Your liquid experience pre-dates that I guess.

Yes, it was years ago. But the memory remains!

I think the effluent from private septic tanks was treated differently because of the dangers of the beef tape worm which has humans as the intermediate host. About the same time, a number of cattle carcasses (>12?) were condemned at the local abattoir because of this tape worm and a professor of parasitology was interviewed about the problem on the radio. Hopefully things have improved.

 

[Dry Rot]

There should be no issue with properly treated sewage sludge now. Ive worked with and spread, (and talked and produced) thousands of tonnes of it. Its probably easier to spread than FYM as it contains no string or foreign bodies.

Provided local people were informed what it was and it was incorporated quickly I should think any complaint would be minor. I personally thought it smelled mostly of washing powder and was far less offensive than poultry litter.

The main issue we found was small bits dropping off spreaders when you took them back home at the end of the day. Nothing careful loading and a tidy up wont sort.

It is a peculiar fact that distaste or repulsion is often more to do with associations than anything physical. So, what you might find perfectly acceptable, another will find quite distasteful. Once you have been sensitised to the smell of sewage and the association is embedded, it is difficult to eradicate. You can inform me all you like and tell me it smells of washing powder, but if I smell the stuff around here, it will prompt a knee jerk reaction!

Recently, I got a packet of bovine excrement through my letter box. (I must have upset someone. How unusual!). Now the smell and sight of that doesn't bother me at all (would it bother you?) and I had a good laugh as I dropped it in the waste bin! The joke was on the sender who had apparently paid good money to a specialist company that does this sort of thing.

 

[Goweresque]

Speaking as a member of the public, sewage was applied as a fertiliser around here a few years ago and it left an indelible impression. Maybe things have improved, but they needed to be.

This was a digested sewage in liquid form and officially it had to be injected into the soil. I don't think the tanker drivers could read the guidelines as the response to getting stuck was to open the stop cocks and empty the tanker into the nearest ditch. Injecting into an already saturated soil does not work, but apparently no one told them that! At one point, the tanker had a puncture and, again, the contents were discharged into a ditch -- but this time next to the school bus stop. I could go on. But I probably speak for many locals when I say I would happily have crawled over broken glass if I could of thought of a legal way to cause this man harm! I believe it was stopped by someone from the health service pointing out that if you can smell it, there are airborne pathogens.

Maybe things are better now, but judging from some of the posts here, I would respectfully suggest you think very carefully of the local reaction and the harm stinking out the countryside will do to farming's PR. Rules and regulations are fine, but if the man on the tractor couldn't care less, can't follow instructions, and there is nobody to make sure he follows the rules, there are going to be a lot more people like me. In principle, I am in favour of sewage being put back on the land, but you'd better be damned careful how you do it!

I don't know how far you're going back but I remember 30-40 years ago (late 70s early 80s at a guess) that the water board (as then was) round here were providing sewage sludge of some sort to spread on farmland. I was only a kid so wasn't really involved, but do I know it stank something rotten. And grew a lovely crop of tomatoes if you left a heap for too long

 

[Dry Rot]

I don't know how far you're going back but I remember 30-40 years ago (late 70s early 80s at a guess) that the water board (as then was) round here were providing sewage sludge of some sort to spread on farmland. I was only a kid so wasn't really involved, but do I know it stank something rotten. And grew a lovely crop of tomatoes if you left a heap for too long

Certainly not 30 years ago.

 

[willie waver]

Recently, I got a packet of bovine excrement through my letter box. (I must have upset someone. How unusual!). Now the smell and sight of that doesn't bother me at all (would it bother you?) and I had a good laugh as I dropped it in the waste bin! The joke was on the sender who had apparently paid good money to a specialist company that does this sort of thing.

there's a specialist company that sends sh!t through the post?

 

[snarling bee]

Its called royal mail.
We get invoices, bills, circulars, newsletters, bank statements, brochures....all sorts of sh!t.

 

[Dry Rot]

there's a specialist company that sends sh!t through the post?

Not one, but many. Try Googling "sh!t by post". They seem to have researched the law and it is all packaged correctly with an explanatory leaflet and neoprene gloves!

Could be a way of increasing the organic matter in your soil. Just need to find a way of pissing off enough people to get a decent quantity!

 

[cotswoldcs]

Hello, I'm Charlotte, a second year Geography student currently doing my dissertation research regarding the impact of biosolids/sewage sludge on the abundance of micro plastics in UK rivers. I have a real interest in both farming practice and UK rivers which is why I have chosen this topic. However, I have been finding my local water treatment company very unwilling to classify farms that use biosolids. I am really interested to find a farm near the Gloucestershire/West Midlands area that uses biosolids to understand how well these products have been treated and the extent to which they are a source of micro plastics. Hopefully in understanding this it would allow water companies a better insight into the effect these products have on soil and nearby surface waters and potentially a more intensive treatment process. If anyone uses biosolids and is located near to a river I would be immensely grateful if I could come and do a bit of research...hopefully someone on here can help me out!

Thanks so much, Charlotte.

We farm near Cheltenham and have been using biosolids for approx 15 years. It's a great product and plan to continue using it. If I can be of assistance please get in touch.

 

[Yale]

We farm near Cheltenham and have been using biosolids for approx 15 years. It's a great product and plan to continue using it. If I can be of assistance please get in touch.

That’s interesting,you keep sheep also.

Does the potential issue of hormone in the sewage cake and grazing sheep afterwards concern you or do you manage this by only applying to land that is then ploughed?

 

[cotswoldcs]

Biosolids are usually applied before an arable crop and ploughed in or incorporated. So I'm not particularly worried as the benefits outweigh the potential risks.

 

[Wastexprt]

I would not have considered that I would need to account for food-based digestates so will be sure to make note of this when doing my dissertation research! Glad to know there is already an ongoing debate in the community regarding the use of biosolids and micro plastics

It's not biosolids and microplastics per se, but microplastics in soils in general

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6128618/

https://ieep.eu/uploads/articles/at...9/Plastic pollution in soil.pdf?v=63695425214

If you are considering micro plastics in soils from biosolids it would be a good idea to ascertain the proportion of 'plastics' that are tyre particles, these would not, ordinarily, be found in AD based food digestates due to the origin of the feedstocks.

 

[snarling bee]

Why would tyre particles get in digested cake or sewage sludge any more than food based digestates?
More likely get into rivers from road drains and then out to sea or into river beds and dredging material.

 

[Charlotte Kiernan]

We farm near Cheltenham and have been using biosolids for approx 15 years. It's a great product and plan to continue using it. If I can be of assistance please get in touch.

We farm near Cheltenham and have been using biosolids for approx 15 years. It's a great product and plan to continue using it. If I can be of assistance please get in touch.

Oh great, I have dropped you a message. Thanks so much!

 

[Will 1594]

Any difference between. Dig and lime cake
Can get plenty of lime product . But no dig till winter tip ,

 

[Brisel]

The smell! Lime stabilised stinks but stacks much better as the quicklime dries it out. Digestate sewage smells less but lower dry matter. Not much difference in analysis from memory.

 

[BAC]

Lime is added to bring the e. Coli down to under 100,000 for safe spreading to land.

It doesn’t affect the nutrient value

 

[holywell farmer]

Any farmers on here had blood from the slaughter houses it's supposed to be good for grassland apparently