La Politique de L’Environnement des Communautes Europeennes et la Valorisation des Dechets en Agriculture

Abstract

The agricultural use of waste and sludge is considered as a priority by the Commission of the European Community. The treatment of waters leads obviously to a large production of sludge of about 6 million tons expressed in dry matter per year or 230 million cubic meters of raw sludge per year for the Community. A sensible increase is to be expected in the future. About 29 % of the sludge is used in agriculture. Regulations on the agricultural use of sludge are scarce in the Community; so, the Commission of the European Communities is already setting up a directive in this field aiming at the promotion of the agricultural use of sludge in emphasizing on their agricultural value taking into consideration the necessary steps for avoiding the negative environmental effects.