Sustainable use of composted sewage sludge: Metal(loid) leaching behaviour and material suitability for application on degraded soils

Composted sewage sludge was investigated as a promising material for the reclamation or remediation of degraded sites. Using sewage sludge as soil amendment provides environmental benefits and risks while supporting circularity and waste minimisation. This study aims to comprehensively assess the suitability of locally available low-cost sludge treatment for sustainable and environmentally safe topsoil disposal in a brownfield area affected by coal mining. A nine-month composting was conducted before field application to the soil environment. The objectives were to assess: (i) composting time-dependent and pH-dependent metal(loid) leachability from composted sludges, (ii) the effect of sludges on metal(loid) leachability from soil over the first six months, and (iii) metal(loid) plant uptake during the first vegetation season as well as the bioaccumulation and translocation factors. The set of standardised leaching experiments confirmed the positive effect of compost maturity, i.e. despite some fluctuations over time, metal(loid) availability from the final composts was very low. Some metals showed unusual pH-dependent behaviour with the highest leachability at pH 8 due to excessive release of dissolved organic matter from the not-yet-stabilised matrix. Ecotoxicity testing confirmed the safety of the final composts for further soil application. The sludge-amended plots displayed similar metal(loid) leaching and pH evolution in time compared to the control biomass-amended plot. However, plant species (Artemisia vulgaris L.) that formed the natural vegetation cover of the experimental plots showed cumulative metal(loid) uptake. Cadmium and zinc were identified as the critical metals possibly related to the applied sludges, yielding high bioaccumulation and translocation factors. Yet, the quality of the compost feedstock, heterogeneity, and background values of the brownfield site need to be considered. Nevertheless, soil respiration indicated no adverse effects on soil health six months after sludge application. Overall, the composted material demonstrated potential suitability for remediation application in the studied area. [Display omitted] •Nine-month sewage sludge composting effectively decreased metal(loid) leachability.•Ecotoxicological indicators showed the toxicological safety of composted biosolids.•Soil reclamation and re-vegetation in sludge-amended soil was observed.•Sustainable sludge treatment produced a promising soil amendment for degraded s