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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Rachel Salvidge

Environment Agency insider alleges ‘cover-up’ over sewage sludge on farmland

Aeration and settling tank at a sewage treatment works
Sewage sludge – the solid byproduct of wastewater treatment – is promoted as a sustainable fertiliser, but it can also carry toxic substances from industrial and domestic waste. Photograph: Adrian Arbib/Alamy

An Environment Agency (EA) insider has broken ranks to expose what they describe as a “deliberate and ongoing cover-up” of the public health and environmental dangers of spreading sewage sludge on farmland.

They accuse the regulator and government of colluding with water companies for years to facilitate the dumping of waste under the guise of soil enrichment – without oversight, transparency or testing.

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