Sustainable biosolids management

In 1996, the Water Environment Federation of the USA, the European Water Po llution Control Association (now the European Water Association), and the I nternational Association of Water Quality (now the International Water Asso ciation) produced a Global Atlas of Wastewater Sludge and Biosolids Use and Disposal. Various ideas have been proposed to interpret the comparisons of international practices; from these, propositions have been derived for po licies on sustainable management which, in the UK, would (a) comply with th e recent agreement between the water industry and food retailers, and (b) n ot reach soil metal limits in less than fifty years. Comparisons are made b etween Europe and the USA, and the differences are found to be less than we re previously assumed. However, changes are imminent, which might alter thi s situation.