Sewage sludge co-management: developments in EU regulations and characterization procedures

Sewage sludge is often separately handled from solid wastes with possible technical problems and diseconomies. Combined composting, incineration and landfilling would allow operating modalities to be optimised and costs reduced. To correctly perform management operations and fulfill legal requirements, standardized characterization methods and guidelines of good practice are required. So CEN established the Technical Committee 308 in support to the development of European regulations. Regarding composting, the development of a Biowaste Directive, which includes the evaluation of biological stability, has been undertaken in European Union, and within the context of co-incineration CEN/TC308 published Guidelines dealing with the combined incineration of sludges and household waste. Landfilling is a known disposal practice, but sludge landfilling involves several difficulties, mainly due to its poor physical and biological stability. In this paper main aspects of co-management of sewage sludge and solid wastes are briefly outlined, and developments in European regulations and characterization procedures summarised.