Production and Destination of Sewage Sludge in the Piemonte Region (Italy): The Results of a Survey for a Future Sustainable Management

Giuseppe Campo, Alberto Cerutti, Claudio Lastella, Aldo Leo, Deborah Panepinto, Mariachiara Zanetti and Barbara Ruffino
Additional contact information
Giuseppe Campo: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Alberto Cerutti: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Claudio Lastella: Servizi Ambientali, Direzione Ambiente, Regione Piemonte, via Principe Amedeo 17, 10123 Torino, Italy
Aldo Leo: Servizi Ambientali, Direzione Ambiente, Regione Piemonte, via Principe Amedeo 17, 10123 Torino, Italy
Deborah Panepinto: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Mariachiara Zanetti: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Barbara Ruffino: Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: The management of sewage sludge originated from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is an urgent issue. In 2019, the local authority of the Piemonte region started a survey with the aim of collecting recent data concerning wastewater and sludge management in the WWTPs located in its own territory. The survey’s results revealed that 60% of the sludge (51,000 t, as dry substance, d.s.) produced by the local WWTPs was recovered or disposed of outside of the region, and a similar amount of sludge was recovered in agriculture directly or after composting. The increase in the costs to accommodate sewage sludge in recovery or disposal plants, followed to a recent Italian Sentence (27958/2017), and the more and more stringent requirements fixed by lots of European countries for the application of sludge in agriculture, are pushing the Piemonte region authority to re-organize its own network for sludge management, with solutions based onto proximity and diversification. Whether the provisions of the current German legislation are applied in the future also in Italy, approx. 90% of sewage sludge produced into the Piemonte region should be incinerated, with a subsequent step of phosphorous recovery. The new regional plan, according to the Regional Address Deed, should consider a diversification of sludge treatment and recovery practices. On this basis, a need for new plants for around 40,000 t d.s./y could be planned.

Keywords: sewage sludge; agricultural recovery; composting; thermal treatment; European legislation; German legislation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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