Sewage Sludge – Biosolids

Since sewage sludge can no longer be disposed of at sea and landfill is an expensive option, sewage sludge is now spread on land. This practice is carried out across most of England.  South West Water provides treated sewage sludge to farmers.

The Environment Agency oversees the storage of the piles of sludge under the The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989, as it is an "Exempted" activity. In the event that a store is causing a problem the Environmental Health Service can investigate if a nuisance exists.  If there is the Environment Agency then has the evidence to withdraw the permission for that storage site. The Environment Agency have very little control over the spreading activity, with respect to odour, however if there are problems with pollution of watercourses it will investigate.

Defra are the over arching government department who is responsible for the rules and regulations surrounding the storage and spreading of sewage sludge.

SWW are responsible for ensuring that the sludge is treated appropriately. The South Hams takes sludge from Plymouth and Brokenbury sewage treatment plants. On occasions the method of treatment is not sufficient to deal with the odours of the sludge and certain batches of sludge can be particularly odorous. This odour is released when it is first delivered and then again when it is spread.

Chicken/Pig Manure

This is likely to be used where the farm is organic. The manure tends to have a very high ammonia content, which is good as smaller amounts of it can be used to fertilize large areas, the down side is that it is very odorous.

Slurry

Slurry is the liquid waste from farm yards and tends to be more odourous than cow manure which has more solids in it eg straw. It is usually spread on grass land and therefore it is not ploughed in and can smell for slightly longer periods.