On the Ground: The Spreading of Toxic Sludge in Vermont

Thousands of tons of sewage sludge and septage have been distributed through Vermont’s environment by being spread directly on land or composted and given away for use on home gardens, farms and landscape projects. In 1997 alone, 1,535 tons of sewage sludge were applied to Vermont land, while 767 tons were distributed as compost. Reusing clean human waste would be a positive practice. But sludge contains far more than just human waste. The practice of applying municipal sludge to the land entails many serious risks to environmental sustainability and public health. It is economically short-sighted, given its potential to contaminate the land, undermine Vermont foods' reputation for purity, and undercut the pristine environmental image that brings so many tourists into our state. Many citizens oppose it on grounds ranging from issues of local control, to public health fears, to aesthetic concerns. Yet regulators with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) steadfastly maintain that the only problem with sludge “recycling” is the public's attitude toward it, and insist that there is no need to reexamine the current system of regulation or make it more stringent.