Sewage Sludge

How Do We Cope With It? Gao ID: CED-78-152 September 25, 1978

About 5 million tons of sludge are produced each year and the amount is increasing at a rapid rate. Sludge disposal options are limited. Federal and state environmental regulations have restricted such options as landfill and incineration and ocean dumping is being phased out because of dangers to human and marine life.

The nutrient content of sludge could make it valuable as a fertilizer and it also has potential as an energy source. However, its bacterial and toxic content limit its agricultural use and its feasibility for energy use has not been proven. In spite of these problems, the use of sludge as a resource is still the most viable solution to dealing with this substance. However, this has not been done because such use has not been encouraged by federal and state authorities, guidance has been lacking, and there has been no comprehensive national sludge disposal policy.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.