REVAQ - Swedish Certification SystemWhat quality - in farming land and food - do we aim at?

Malmö 28 October 2016Anders Finnson, Swedish Water&Wastewater Association

Holistic Sludge Management in a

Swedish perspective

Circular economy on Midsummer’s Eve

2

”The Wedding Cake”

The planetary boundaries – the biosphere is

the base for all development of society and

economy (Folke et al)

Swedish Water&Wastewater Association

Sweden should have fresh drinking water,

clean lakes and seas and access to long-term

sustainable water services.

5

Inflow of non-wanted pollutants to the urban water and nutrient cycles

The EU-hierarchy of waste and

recycling management

7

Circular economy for nutrients

- or incineration ?

The solution is to phase out the substances that

pollute the cycles instead of banning the recycling.

There is still time (100 years) and there is also a need

for more than 15 years. We need decisiveness and

patience to achieve a sustainable society .

If the main strategy will be incineration and the

infrastructure is in place, the road back to recycling of

nutrients (more than future P) will be very long.

REVAQ is operated by:

- The Swedish Water & Wastewater Association

- The Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF)

- The Swedish Food Federation

- The Swedish Food Retailers Federation.

and in close cooperation with the Swedish -

Environmental Protection Agency.9

REVAQ Certification system - Aims

be a driving force to further improvement of

the incoming wastewater – the “upstream

work”.

an open and transparent information about

how sludge is being produced and it’s

composition.

to secure that the sludge production is done in

a responsible way and the quality of sludge

fulfil the requirements.

Focus in REVAQ

Long term goal:

– Incoming waste water should have a level of metal

and organic compounds which not exceeds that from

water closets.

Focus in REVAQ

Systematic improvements – local upstream work

- Cadmium goal 2025: 17mgCd/kgP (= 7mgCd/kgP2O5)

- Goals 2025 for 60 other metals and elements

- 2500 organic substances (PRIO-Guide) has to be

substituted at connected industries

Household campaigns

Traceability with digital maps

Salmonella free

Third party audit

Strategies for Revaq and Swedish

Water & Wastewater Association

Local – WWTP working together with local

stakeholders, the municipality, connected

industries and services

National – Swedish Water&Wastewater

Association working in contact with national

stakeholders, authorities and the Government

EU -wide – EurEau (the Association for the

European Water Companies) in contact with

EU-commission and the Parliament 13

Examples of Swedish, Nordic and EU -

actions

Cadmium in paints

Silver as biocides in clothing

Speed up the process to have more

substances on the REACH candidate,

authorisation and restriction lists

Education for retailers purchasers

In the committee of Nordic ecolabelling14

15

The wastewater treatment is not made

for chemicals – nor is our environment

Revaq and sludge use in Sweden 2000-2014

Total sludge from

Revaq WWTP

A good designed strategy for the cycle of

nutrients will also be a driver to reach a non-

toxic environment

Conclusions

There is a need to recycle more nutrients

We need political milestone targets and a

regulation that is a driver for safe recycling of

nutrients

We need less hazardous substances in the

water cycle

We need to work with the waste/recycling

hierarchy

When sludge does not match the quality req.

other recycling strategies are needed

REVAQ - Swedish Certification System

What quality - in farming land and food - do we aim at?

Malmö 28 October 2016Anders Finnson, Swedish Water&Wastewater Association