Resources and Risks: Perceptions on the Application of Sewage Sludge on Agricultural Land in Sweden, a Case Study

Abstract

To spread or not to spread sewage sludge on agricultural land in Sweden remains the subject of a highly polarized debate among different stakeholders in the Swedish agricultural sector. This article presents insights on how stakeholders in Sweden see and explain the potentials and safety of spreading sewage sludge on agricultural land. This is done by drawing on risk perception literature and qualitative research methods. The findings reveal that fear of contamination and feeling of disgust are major deterrents of the use of sludge as an agricultural input. These are partly explained by unknowns and unfamiliarity about risks of unwanted substances in sludge. The study shows that while actors engaged in the practice amplify benefits of sludge as a resource and reiterate the need for emphasis on upstream measures including improved risk management systems, actors in charge of controlling toxins in society amplify actual and potential risks, highlight gaps in monitoring and minimizing risks, and would rather have a complete ban on the practice. This study highlights the complex combination of technical, environmental, socio-economic, psychological, and political factors influencing judgment and decision-making regarding sludge and its use as fertilizer in agriculture and concludes that the clash between facts and feelings which epitomizes the Swedish sludge debate may have implications for public trust and effective risk communication. As contribution to the Swedish sewage sludge debate, this study emphasizes that the benefits of sludge in agriculture is important but not enough to drive the practice to scale. It is even more important to improve understanding on the controllability and severity of risks in short and long-term.

Co-Management of Sewage Sludge and Other Organic Wastes: A Scandinavian Case Study

“…However, the amount of sludge used as fertilizer has stayed the same for the last decade, at around 40% [56]. This application has been a topic of ongoing debate in Sweden in recent years [59]. Recently, the Swedish government has proposed a ban on spreading sewage sludge in agriculture, due to the low nutrient content and plant availability, but encouraged the recovery of nutrients from ash after sludge incineration [24,59,60].…”

“…This application has been a topic of ongoing debate in Sweden in recent years [59]. Recently, the Swedish government has proposed a ban on spreading sewage sludge in agriculture, due to the low nutrient content and plant availability, but encouraged the recovery of nutrients from ash after sludge incineration [24,59,60]. Moreover, the government also considers the increasing content of potential harmful substances, such as microplastics, and the lack of available land for sludge spreading, as justifications to search for other sludge uses.…”

Stakeholders' Perspectives on Microplastics in Sludge Applied to Agricultural Land

“…In the last five years the debate has now expanded to include concerns about MPs (Ljung et al, 2018). The primary opposition to spreading with respect to these concerns has come from agricultural producers (Wallenberg and Eksvärd, 2018;Ekane et al, 2021). In response to a lack of guidelines which would ensure that these issues were addressed and that spreading sludge would be accepted by agricultural producers, a national network of WWTPs (Swedish Water) developed a certification program REVAQ in cooperation with the Federation of Swedish farmers (LRF), an agricultural supplier cooperative (Lantmännen) and Swedish grocery chains (L'Ons et al, 2012;Persson et al, 2015).…”

“…We are not aware of any studies specifically dedicated to the study of stakeholder perspectives with respect to risks associated with MPs in sludge spread on agricultural soil. However, there have been studies of Swedish stakeholder perspectives on sludge spreading (Bengtsson and Tillman, 2004;Oberg and Mason-Renton, 2018;Ekane et al, 2021).…”

The Potential of Pig Sludge Fertilizer for Some Pasture Agricultural Lands’ Improvement: Case Study in Timiș County, Romania

“…Favorable effects of pig slurry and manure have been reported in different crops of interest and in different soil and climatic conditions [30,31], and some studies have evaluated the effect of pig slurry on the agrochemical properties of the soil, the regime of organic matter in the soil, or of some mineral elements in the soil [32,33]. There have also been some studies that have evaluated the benefits and risks of using sewage sludge in agriculture [34].…”