Not long ago, I told you that some industrial waste was finding its way into fertilizer and this was creating a potential environmental problem because some heavy metals were found in the fertilizer. Products in question included some that were commercially available for home garden use.

Now, we have another fertilizer issue to consider. Should we allow companies to make fertilizer from human waste? Is such an idea the next logical step in recycling – or is it recycling gone mad?

Many residents of Polk Township, Pennsylvania do not have to think long and hard about this question. Two years ago they had a big fight with a company that was selling fertilizer made, in part, of sewage waste.

According to published reports, it had a terrible odor. Some described it as a "gagging" odor. Although government regulators from New Jersey (where the stuff was manufactured) seemed to vouch for the stuff, locals on the other side of the Delaware just were not as convinced. Which makes you wonder how New Jersey would have felt about this issue if the stuff was being applied in the Garden State?

The fact remains that there is increasingly intense pressure to find a place to deposit sludge produced in our sewage treatment plants throughout the U.S. In the old days, they used to take the stuff to landfills. But the number of landfills in this country is quickly dwindling and other options are disappearing as well. Ocean dumping is certainly not favored and incineration is seldom viewed as an attractive option.

Last year, the FDA was toying with the idea of allowing farmers to apply sewage sludge to farm fields. There was a lot of opposition, especially from organic farmers. Organic produce sales are rapidly climbing and it appears that they were concerned about public reaction if people started associating human waste with organic produce. I guess the fear is that there might be such a thing as produce that is "too organic." Another factor to keep in mind is that modern sewage treatment plants often accept industrial waste as well as human waste for processing. This means that the sewage sludge can contain industrial waste, including heavy metals that we do not want contaminating our food.

There is probably a difference between using fertilizer on fields containing trees, plants and shrubs, and using it on fields for food production. Frank Womak, an "agrostologist" at a company called Greensmiths located in Frisco, Texas (www.greensmiths.com) told me that he thinks there is such a difference. His company sells fertilizer that is made from, in part, human sewage.

According to Frank, customer acceptance of this product is strong. He says that the viral or bacterial threats are not high and that the product works wells on fields used to grow turf, shrubs and trees. He also says this is a great way to recycle. But Frank draws the line when it comes to using this kind of fertilizer on fields used for vegetables, fruits and edible plants. He doe not believe that any kind of organic waste should be used on food fields, be it human or animal waste.

For one, I agree. While I have no problem with using sewage based fertilizer for turf and shrub production, I do not like the idea of using it on fields that grow food. I am concerned about viral and bacterial threats, and I am also concerned about the industrial waste components found in sewage sludge.

Even if the process were shown to be perfectly safe, it just does not seem that appealing to me. An in the end, isn't food supposed to be appealing? If human sewage is ever used for food production, I believe that the vegetables should be marked "This Food was Grown In Soil That Was Fertilized with Human Sewage." Don't we have a right to that kind of information?

Published: July 27, 2000

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Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.