Did you know that some American farms use sewage sludge to fertilize their crops?
According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), about half of the country’s treated wastewater is recycled as fertilizer for land. That sewage sludge—known as “biosolids”—is used on less than 1 percent of the country’s agricultural land.
The EPA said that sewage sludge, if properly treated and monitored for levels of harmful contaminants, can be beneficial to plant growth and soil health. The agency has established federal rules that limit the allowed concentration of toxic compounds and heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury in sewage sludge. Individual states may also have more stringent regulations on what’s allowed in fertilizers.
Cities used to dump their raw sewage directly into waterways. Now, municipalities are required to treat their wastewater at treatment plants, then decide whether to recycle the sludge as fertilizer, incinerate it, or bury it in landfills.
