PHOSPHORUS: STRATEGIES AND REUSE INITIATIVES IN SWEDEN

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1 PHOSPHORUS: STRATEGIES AND REUSE INITIATIVES IN SWEDEN Vilnius, Lithuania October Kristina Svinhufvud Swedish EPA Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

2 Disposition Swedish agriculture and farmland Phosphorus fertilizer use in Sweden Legislation in Sweden today Suggested ordinance on Phosphorus recovery September 2013 Quality of sewage sludge VS threshold values Source control/upstream work a way to decrease the load of pollutants to the effluent and the sludge Final thoughts Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

3 Area fact Sweden agriculture 88 % (40,7 millions hectare) of the total area is agriculture 64 % woodland 8 % farmland Source: SCB 2015 Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

4 Food and agricultural products Import is twice as big as the export Self-sufficiency on cereals (export cereals) Imports 39 % of total meat consumption Imports Source: SJV report 2015:21 Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

5 Swedish farmland and the products animal feed food booze, seeds, fuel, energy Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Source: LRF 2016)

6 Phosphorus fertilizer for arable land in Sweden (except grasslands) mineral and manure sewage sludge (SCB 2017) Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

7 Sewage sludge use in Sweden 2014 Approximately tonnes dry solids of sewage sludge per year Agriculture (25%) Soil production (29%) Final coverage landfill (24%) Storage (7%) Landfill (2%) Combustion (1%) Other use (10%) Not declared (1%) (SCB 2016) Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

8 Legislation application of sewage sludge on farmland Regulated by Swedish law, implementing the Council directive (86/278/EEC) SFS 1998:4 20 includes threshold values on seven heavy metals in sludge used for agricultural purposes SNFS 1994:2 incl. req. for how and where the sludge can be used (ex spread limits, maximum supply of P, N and seven metals, levels of metal concentration in arable land) SJVFS 2004:62: includes for ex requirements concerning maximum use of nutrients Not allowed to deposit organic material (composted sludge excluded) No general restrictions of the use of sludge on other land than farmland (soil production for exampel) Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

9 Phosphorus recovery Swedish EPA was commissioned by the governement to look into sustainable recycling of phosphorus in February 2012 Purpose: Promote reuse of phosphorus without causing harm or inconvenience for human health or the environment. Commissioned delivered in September 2013 as Report N o 6580 on sustainable phosphorus recovery The report aimed to serve as a basis for governement decision making, still in progress at the ministry Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 9

10 Proposal for regulation Includes the use of fractions of sewages, biowaste and compost and where it can be used (farmland, forest and other land where people normally dwell like golf courses and parks) Stricter threshold values (TV) for heavy metals and organic contaminats based on risk assesments Demand for hygiene treatment for all fractions of sewage regardless of usage Regulates the use of sewage sludge in soil production and other mixtures (max 20 vol%) Demand for Plan for prevention of unwanted substances ( Upstream work ) Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

11 Substance in sewage sludge Current TV Europe Current TV Sweden Proposed TV 2015 Proposed TV 2023 Proposed TV 2030 Sludge used in agri 2015* mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DM mg/kg DM Cadmium Copper Mercury ,5 1 0,8 0, Chromium Nickel Lead ,8 Zinc Silver Dioxin** PFOS Chloroparaffins PCB BDE * As reported in the Implementation Questionnaire 2014 on Soil and Sewage

12 The tools for demanding industries Sewage treatment plants are not obliged to receive wastewater that does not maintain household quality (Lag (2006:412) om allmänna vattentjänster ) The local environment authority is very important part in the source control work (Miljöbalken (1998:808)) REVAQ, voluntarily system (Established 2008) Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 12

13 The Revaq certification system Ensures safe recycling of sewage sludge Established in 2008, voluntarily system Operated by: The Swedish Water and Wastewater Association the Federation of Swedish Farmers The Swedish Food Federation The Swedish Food Retailer s Federation In 2015 approx 40% of the sewage sludge in Sweden was produced at WWTP certified by the Revaq system Includes rules concerning upstream work, full traceability, stricter metal limits than current Swedish legislation, pathogen control

14 Important to reach the households, today bigger pollutant source than the industries The wastewater system is not made for hazardous chemicals nor the nature Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

15 Improve the quality of the sludge Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

16 Non-toxic resource-efficient circuits New guidance from the Swedish EPA and the Swedish Chemicals Agency Discloses the balance between the objecties of toxicity and resource efficiency Focuses on the parts of the Waste Hierarchy regarding waste treatment Wastes containing nutrients can be recycled under strict control, such as manure, food industry waste and sewage sludge Since phosphorus is identified as a critical raw material and is a limited resource, it is important to see it as part of the circular economy and strive for a sustainable reversal. Recycling of, for example, rye, manure and sewage sludge can be a cost-effective and resource-efficient Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

17 We also need alternatives to recover nutrients Sludge application Source sorting toilet systems Recovery of nutrients from sewage Technology resource recovery Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 17

18 Different strategies for P recovery at some Swedish WWTP september 2016 Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

19 Final thoughts Balancing of two environmental goals: Non-toxic environment and Recycling of nutrients Important aspects: 1) what we do, source control, alternative treatment for different qualities, invest in full-scale solutions (not only end of pipe) 2) how we do such as knowledge building, clear rules that apply to all material flows, including sewage sludge Rememeber what ever we do; - It is still high important to reduce the content of unwanted substances in the society and limit the use of materials that threaten to cause negative environmental and health effects And the regulation is in progress at the Swedish ministry Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

20 Thank you! Kristina Svinhufvud Swedish EPA Naturvårdsverket Swedish Environmental Protection Agency