Sludge used as fertiliser on farmland contains harmful chemicals that scientists suspect are entering food chain.

Each year, around 768,000 tonnes of sewage sludge are spread across roughly 150,000 ha in England, branded as nutrient-rich fertiliser.
This sludge carries unregulated pollutants including PFAS (“forever chemicals”), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, flame retardants, hormone disruptors, and microplastics.

Testing is limited to a few heavy metals; oversight is weak. Record-keeping by water companies is minimal, and enforcement is under-resourced.

Experts warn chemicals may accumulate in soil, crops, livestock… and even enter rivers, exacerbating eutrophication and contaminating drinking water.

Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and several US states have restricted or banned sludge use, with Switzerland incinerating sludge and recovering phosphorus.

Promised regulatory reforms (e.g., the 2023 environmental permitting update) have stalled, with Defra and the Environment Agency criticized for inaction. Meanwhile, water companies retain control over testing and distribution.

Environmentalists urge the UK to adopt a “polluter pays” model, tighten safety standards, regulate emerging contaminants, improve testing, and update legal frameworks to better manage toxic inputs from farming via sludge.

Full article here: ‘A Trojan horse’: how toxic sewage sludge became a threat to the future of British farming