Reusing Bio-Solids Harvested from Septage and Sewage : CSE
Date: 15 September 2023 – 10:30 am – 1:30 pm / Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi. CSE researches into, lobbies for and communicates the urgency of development that is both sustainable and equitable. The scenario today demands using knowledge to bring about change. In other words, working India’s democracy. This is what we aim to do.The challenge, we see, is two-pronged. On the one hand, millions live within a biomass based subsistence economy, at the margins of survival. The environment is their only natural asset. But a degraded environment means stress on land, water and forest resources for survival. It means increasing destitution and poverty. Here, opportunity to bring about change is enormous.But it will need a commitment to reform – structural reform- in the way we do business with local communities. On the other hand, rapid industrialization is throwing up new problems: growing toxification and a costly disease burden. The answers will be in reinventing the growth model of the Western world for ourselves, so that we can leapfrog technology choices and find new ways of building wealth that will not cost us the earth. Our aim is to raise these concerns, participate in seeking answers and in pushing for answers, transforming these into policy and so practice. We do this through our research and by communicating our understanding through our publications. We call this knowledge-based activism. We hope we will make a difference.
As India strives to move beyond ODF, there is an urgent need for developing effective treatment systems for septage and sewage. With Odisha leading the way in urban wastewater treatment infrastructure, particularly through implementation of low-cost nature-based non- sewered faecal sludge treatment systems, it serves as an exemplary state for others to follow.
CSE is organising a workshop in Odisha on Sept 15, 2023, therefore, to carry forward the learnings and discussion on reuse of bio-solids harvested from treatment systems.
In 2023, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) published two reports that assessed the performance and effectiveness of 47 faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) and 14 sewage treatment plants (STPs) across India. These reports represent the first of its kind evaluation done at this scale in India as well as globally. What these reports found:
- FSTPs demonstrate comparable effectiveness to STPs in terms of reducing biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Both FSTPs and STPs face challenges in reducing COD and pathogens
- The initial separation of solids from wastewater in FSTPs leads to a significant reduction of BOD and COD in separated wastewater. The subsequent treatment of wastewater depends on volume and regulatory reduction targets.
- Harvested bio-solids from septage and sludge, whether from FSTPs or STPs, are nutrient-rich, but also carry a high pathogen load and potential heavy metal content.
- Currently, there are no prescribed standards for reusing these harvested bio-solids.
- Harvested bio-solids do not meet the compost standards outlined in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) due to failure to meet the carbon/nitrogen ratio requirement.
- High pathogen levels in harvested bio-solids are linked to moisture content.
Objectives of the Workshop
- Highlight the significant loss incurred by not reusing harvested bio-solids.
- Highlight the significant loss incurred by not reusing harvested bio-solids.
- Understand the gaps and the need for appropriate norms and policies for reuse of these bio-solids
As India strives to move beyond ODF, there is an urgent need for developing effective treatment systems for septage and sewage. With Odisha leading the way in urban wastewater treatment infrastructure, particularly through implementation of low-cost nature-based nonsewered faecal sludge treatment systems, it serves as an exemplary state for others to follow. CSE is organising a workshop in Odisha to, therefore, to carry forward the learnings and discussion on reuse of bio-solids harvested from treatment systems.
For more details, contact:
SUMITA SINGHAL
Programme Manager
Water Programme, CSE
Email: sumita.singhal@cseindia.org
Phone: +91 8884646146
