Stabilize arıtma çamurlarının toprak uygulamasıyla geri dönüşümü

The conventional recycling and reuse alternatives for sludges produced in domestic/municipal/industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not sufficient to develop a sustainable system including environmental, economical, and social aspects. The recovery of the valuable materials from the sludge and also reuse of it for agricultural purpose are still great concern in this field regarding the possible risks as well as technical limits and requirements based on environmental legislation. Even the sludge processed in WWTPs have enough quality, the agricultural reuse of the sludge strictly depends on the public's acceptance. Also, the farmers' perception was important regarding some factors affecting the attitudes for the crop production, its use, and economic benefits. This thesis investigated the recycling of stabilized wastewater treatment sludges on land application from point view of public perception. For this purpose, a survey study was carried out to determine the public and farmers' perception and awareness for agricultural reuse of treatment plant sludges in Turkey. Approximately 1500 questionnaires designed for public and 400 questionnaires designed for farmers were sent to measure the awareness and acceptance of the public and farmers on the agricultural usage. The return ratios were found as 88% and 58%, respectively. The study showed that the most important issue among the public was found as the health risks associated with the sludge. The farmers were mostly worried about its possible negative effects on the crop quality, food contamination, and sale of the grown crops. The thesis presents the research results in detail and gives the information about current applications and legislation regarding the land application/agricultural usage of sludge in Turkey.