Switzerland makes phosphorus recycling obligatory

Switzerland will as first country in the world make phosphorus recovery and recycling from sewage sludge and slaughterhouse waste obligatory. The new regulation (see also SCOPE Nr. 105 and Nr. 108) will enter into force on the 1.1.2016 with a transition period of 10 years. Switzerland banned direct use of sewage sludge on land in 2006, so the regulation will lead to technical recovery and recycling in the form of inorganic products. Swiss sludge and slaughterhouse waste together represent an annual flow of 9100 t of phosphorus whereas technical recycling from the wastewater stream in Europe today totals of around 1000 t of phosphorus in the form of struvite. In an implementation guide details such as required efficiency of the recovery process and plant availability of fertilizer is to be defined in collaboration with Swiss stakeholders.

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