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Wastewater regeneration and resource recovery from sludge: problems, prospects and strategic directions for Ukraine
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This review paper explores how treated wastewater and sewage sludge, often seen as waste, could instead be recycled for irrigation, water supply, and even fertilizer, following new European safety standards. However, the authors caution that sludge can contain heavy metals, disease-causing germs, microplastics, and drug residues, so proper treatment is essential before reuse to protect public health. For Ukraine, rebuilding water infrastructure this way after wartime destruction could help address water shortages while requiring careful safeguards against contamination.
The article examines wastewater regeneration and resource recovery from sewage sludge as one of the key directions in the transition of the water sector towards a circular economy model. The approach is substantiated whereby treated wastewater is considered not only as a flow to be discharged after treatment, but also as an alternative source of water resources for technical water supply, irrigation, municipal needs, and certain industrial processes. Modern European approaches to water reuse are analysed, in particular the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2020/741 on minimum requirements for the reuse of treated urban wastewater for agricultural irrigation, and Directive (EU) 2024/3019 concerning urban wastewater treatment, which strengthens requirements for treatment quality, risk management, nutrient removal, and the removal of micropollutants. Particular attention is paid to the management of sewage sludge and its resource potential as a source of organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, and biogas. At the same time, the main environmental risks associated with the presence of heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms, microplastics, and pharmaceutical residues in sludge are identified. The main barriers to the implementation of wastewater regeneration technologies and resource recovery from sludge in Ukraine are determined, including the technological deterioration of wastewater treatment plants, the accumulation of sludge on sludge drying beds, the insufficient development of advanced treatment systems, imperfections in the regulatory framework, and the low level of public trust in the reuse of treated wastewater. It is shown that, for Ukraine, the development of wastewater regeneration and resource recovery from sludge is of strategic importance in the context of climate change, water resource scarcity, infrastructure destruction caused by military actions, and the need for post-war modernisation of municipal infrastructure.
More Papers Like This
Wastewater regeneration and resource recovery from sludge: problems, prospects and strategic directions for Ukraine
AI summary Read the abstract
This review looks at how Ukraine could reuse treated wastewater and recover resources like nutrients and energy from sewage sludge, following EU safety standards. It matters because this sludge can contain heavy metals, harmful germs, microplastics, and drug residues, so treating it properly protects drinking water and food safety while helping rebuild war-damaged water systems.
Ensuring Sustainable Development of Agriculture Based on the Use of Sewage Sludge
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This Ukrainian-language paper examines how sewage sludge can support sustainable agricultural development amid rising food prices driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It reviews the economic and technical considerations for sludge use as a fertilizer.
Assessing and Mitigating Risks of Emerging Contaminants in Fertilizer Production from Sewage Sludge: Challenges and Opportunities
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Treated sewage sludge (basically processed human waste) is increasingly recycled into fertilizer, but this review of existing research finds it can carry hidden risks like heavy metals, disease-causing germs, microplastics, and drug residues that may end up in soil, water, and potentially our food. The good news is that proper treatment methods, like composting or heat processing, can reduce these dangers, but the researchers stress that current regulations have gaps, meaning stronger oversight and monitoring are needed before this "waste-to-fertilizer" approach can be considered fully safe.
Sewage sludge as a sustainable fertilizer: Promise, pitfalls, and future directions
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This review examines both the promise and pitfalls of using sewage sludge as a fertilizer, finding that while it reduces agrochemical costs and provides nutrients for crops, it also introduces microplastics, pathogens, and heavy metals into agricultural soils with implications for food safety and public health.
Contaminants of emerging concern in treated wastewater: a threat to sustainable agricultural reuse?
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This review pulls together existing research showing that treated wastewater used to irrigate crops often still contains trace drugs, hormones, pesticides, and microplastics that standard treatment doesn't fully remove. While reusing wastewater helps conserve scarce freshwater, the authors say better monitoring and regulations are needed to make sure these lingering contaminants don't build up in our food or harm health over time.
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