by landfilling to ensure that economically valuable waste materials are recovered
through proper waste management. Use of landfills should remain exceptional rather
than the common way. Furthermore, the Member States will take the necessary
measures to ensure that by year 2035, the amount of municipal waste disposed of in
landfills is reduced to 10% or less of the total amount of municipal waste generated.
Although it undergoes a process of stabilization of the organic matter, the compost
obtained is not free from any toxic risk, since the persistent molecules as well as
pathogens including emerging ones and helminth eggs are not completely eliminated. In addition, composting sludge also concentrates heavy metals. The obtained
compost must be then homologated according to NF U 44-095 standard, which sets
the concentration of organic matter and the threshold values of a few MTEs and
conventional pathogens as well, without worrying about endocrine disruptors or
pathogenic microorganisms recently identified in such composts. Nevertheless, the
use of these types of compost obtained from WW sewage sludge co-composting
remains unauthorized in organic farming.
It is becoming necessary to set up a balance between the utilitarian position that
favors beneficence such as the agronomic value of sludge, a short-term economic
solution that is not viable in the long term and might be of terrible consequences, and
the principle of prevention that promotes non-maleficence by cumulative pollution
for a sustainable solution. The invention of novel water and sludge treatment
processes as well as very advanced and more sophisticated analytic tools is necessary for favoring one or the other solution and helps political decision-making.
7 Sewage Sludge: Questions at the Crossroads of Ethics
and the Economy
Economic growth often relies on depleting natural resources that are either consumed or destroyed. If current trends persist, the tomorrow world will be even more
crowded, more polluted, more ecologically unstable, and more exposed to disturbances than it is today. It is in this context that the notion of “sustainable development” or “non-destructive development” has been coined. In its 1987 Report entitled
Our Common Future, the World Commission on Environment and Development
defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The central idea of sustainable development is that the needs of present and future
generations must be taken into account, and many international instruments affirm
our responsibility towards future generations. An example is the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development adopted in 1992. The ethical foundations of this
principle are set out in the Declaration on the Responsibilities of the present
generations towards future generations, adopted by UNESCO in 1997. Article 4 of
this Declaration proclaims, “The present generations have the responsibility to
bequeath to the future generations Earth that is not irreparably damaged by human
Environmental, Economic, and Ethical Assessment of the Treated Wastewater and. . .
71
through proper waste management. Use of landfills should remain exceptional rather
than the common way. Furthermore, the Member States will take the necessary
measures to ensure that by year 2035, the amount of municipal waste disposed of in
landfills is reduced to 10% or less of the total amount of municipal waste generated.
Although it undergoes a process of stabilization of the organic matter, the compost
obtained is not free from any toxic risk, since the persistent molecules as well as
pathogens including emerging ones and helminth eggs are not completely eliminated. In addition, composting sludge also concentrates heavy metals. The obtained
compost must be then homologated according to NF U 44-095 standard, which sets
the concentration of organic matter and the threshold values of a few MTEs and
conventional pathogens as well, without worrying about endocrine disruptors or
pathogenic microorganisms recently identified in such composts. Nevertheless, the
use of these types of compost obtained from WW sewage sludge co-composting
remains unauthorized in organic farming.
It is becoming necessary to set up a balance between the utilitarian position that
favors beneficence such as the agronomic value of sludge, a short-term economic
solution that is not viable in the long term and might be of terrible consequences, and
the principle of prevention that promotes non-maleficence by cumulative pollution
for a sustainable solution. The invention of novel water and sludge treatment
processes as well as very advanced and more sophisticated analytic tools is necessary for favoring one or the other solution and helps political decision-making.
7 Sewage Sludge: Questions at the Crossroads of Ethics
and the Economy
Economic growth often relies on depleting natural resources that are either consumed or destroyed. If current trends persist, the tomorrow world will be even more
crowded, more polluted, more ecologically unstable, and more exposed to disturbances than it is today. It is in this context that the notion of “sustainable development” or “non-destructive development” has been coined. In its 1987 Report entitled
Our Common Future, the World Commission on Environment and Development
defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The central idea of sustainable development is that the needs of present and future
generations must be taken into account, and many international instruments affirm
our responsibility towards future generations. An example is the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development adopted in 1992. The ethical foundations of this
principle are set out in the Declaration on the Responsibilities of the present
generations towards future generations, adopted by UNESCO in 1997. Article 4 of
this Declaration proclaims, “The present generations have the responsibility to
bequeath to the future generations Earth that is not irreparably damaged by human
Environmental, Economic, and Ethical Assessment of the Treated Wastewater and. . .
71