Removal of sewage sludge in the Netherlands by destination, 1981-2001
The removal of sewage sludge from UWWTPs to agricultural land was stopped in 1995. There are also regulations limiting the dumping of sludge. Most sludge is incinerated.
| Number of plants | Total removal | among which to | ||||||
| agriculture | compost forming | animal feed 1) | landfill | incineration | ||||
| million kg dry matter | ||||||||
| Sludge from UWWTPs | ||||||||
| 1981 | 504 | 180 | 69 | 38 | . | 65 | 5 | |
| 1990 | 469 | 315 | 82 | 63 | . | 158 | 12 | |
| 1995 | 423 | 360 | - | 80 | . | 179 | 79 | |
| 1999 | 406 | 374 | - | 34 | . | 119 | 184 | |
| 2000 | 393 | 336 | - | 39 | - | 64 | 181 | |
| 2001 | 389 | 345 | - | 39 | - | 63 | 204 | |
| Sludge from IWWTPs | ||||||||
| 1981 | 48 | 85 | 21 | 4 | . | 10 | 0 | |
| 1990 | 567 | 238 | 65 | 6 | 11 | 109 | 27 | |
| 1995 | 610 | 220 | 30 | 4 | 14 | 126 | 29 | |
| 1999 | 657 | 202 | 26 | 2 | 13 | 60 | 49 | |
| 2000 | 632 | 210 | 36 | 4 | 21 | 40 | 47 | |
| 2001 | 635 | 187 | 27 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 53 | |
| Breakdown of industrial sludge (from IWWTPs) 2001 | ||||||||
| Industry | 574 | 166 | 27 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 51 | |
| among which | Food products and beverages | 185 | 51 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| Paper and pulp | 34 | 56 | 3 | - | 0 | 1 | 34 | |
| Chemical industry | 103 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | |
| Primary metals and metal products | 110 | 3 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | |
| Other companies and institutions | 61 | 20 | 0 | - | 1 | 15 | 2 | |
| among which | Environmental services | 28 | 16 | - | - | - | 15 | - |
| Source: CBS (2003). | CBS/EDC/May03/0154 | |||||||
| 1) Including removal to destruction facilities. | ||||||||
Developments
The removal of sewage sludge from UWWTPs to agriculture was stopped in 1995. Restrictions are also to be introduced on sludge landfill (LNV/VROM, 1998, 2001). It is expected that most sludge will be incinerated in the future.
