Municipal Sewage Sludge Disposal in the Republic of Poland

This paper reviews methods of municipal sewage sludge (MSS) disposal in the Republic of Poland. The MSS amount produced in 2022 in sewage treatment plants is 580.7 thousand tons of total solids. This is related to the increase in the amount of treated sewage and the use of the co-digestion of sewage sludge with waste. MSS generated in municipal sewage treatment plants constitutes waste with code 19 08 05—stabilized MSS. It is subjected to the rules of conduct specified in the Act on Waste. According to data from the Central Statistical Office, in 2022, the most popular disposal method was its use in agriculture (27.1%). Approximately 18% of the MSS from treatment plants was thermally treated. A significant part of MSS is also used for crops, compost production, and reclamation. MSS management requires an individual approach from sewage treatment plant operators and the use of effective disposal methods. Considering the assumption of the circular economy, it is necessary to consider the possibility of recovering valuable raw materials from MSS and producing products for reuse. One of the possibilities of reusing MSS is to generate porous materials. Moreover, MSS can be transformed into multiple types of soil improvers and fertilizers.