P-recovery versus current sewage sludge treatment policy in the Czech Republic and Japan

Abstract Phosphorus is an important element for agriculture and industry, but its deposits are not uniformly distributed. Countries that do not have primary sources are dependent on imports or regeneration from secondary materials. A widely available secondary source is sewage sludge. Used environmental standards govern sludge treatment, but its inclusion in the raw material policy is often missing. We focus on the Czech Republic (a European Union member) and Japan, countries without phosphorus deposits. Based on our analysis of sewage sludge flows, legislation, and technologies used, we aimed to evaluate approaches towards sustainable phosphorus policy. We figured out that in the Czech Republic, sludge application to soil continues due to legislation deregulation and thus, various pollutants enter the soil along with the sludge. In Japan, thermal treatment predominates, but ash is not processed, and phosphorus is irreversibly lost in landfills or construction. By not implementing a functional P-recovery policy, both countries lose more than 13 % replacement of phosphorus fertilisers from their sources. Graphical Abstract