The lowdown on sewage and compost in forests

The value of using sewage sludges and composts to fertilise and condition forest soils has been known for many years.

However, there is more to using them than simply spreading them in a forest or on a forest planting site. There are many factors, including legislative controls, which must be taken into account, and a range of decisions that must be made by anyone considering their use.

Now the Forestry Commission has published an Information Note to help foresters and companies trading in sludge, compost and other organic waste products to make informed decisions about the use of sludge on forest land.

The Information Note is entitled "Use of Sewage Sludges and Composts in Forestry", and was written by Andy Moffat of Forest Research.

It updates guidance given in "A Manual of Good Practice for the Use of Sewage Sludge in Forestry", written by Wolstenholme et al and published in 1992. In particular it covers changes in forestry policy and practice, technical developments in waste-water processing that have led to diversification of the sewage sludge products available, and changes in legislation regulating the application of sludge to land. The Note also recognises that sewage sludge is only one of several types of organic waste now being produced.

It is intended to fill a gap until even more comprehensive guidance, probably in a new best-practice manual, has been prepared. This is likely when draft regulations currently passing through the European and national parliaments are established, and when the water and waste industries have had time to respond in the way they produce and market organic products.

The Information Note covers: the value of organic wastes in forestry; types of organic wastes; recent policy developments in waste disposal; regulations affecting the use of organic wastes in forests; the use of sewage sludge and compost on mineral and brownfield land; sludge and compost standards and quality control; application in practice; and the health and safety aspects of organic waste use in forestry.

The Information Note can be downloaded free from the Forestry Commission's website at www.forestry.gov.uk/publications. Free paper copies can be ordered from Forestry Commission Publications, P O Box 25, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7EW; tel. 0870 121 4180; fax: 0870 121 4181; e-mail: forestry@twoten.press.net, quoting stock number FCIN079.