Sludge used as fertiliser on farmland contains harmful chemicals that scientists suspect are entering food chain by Rachel Salvidge Mon 7 Jul 2025 09.00 EDT 
Experts say the practice of spreading sewage sludge on farmland has become a covert route for dumping toxic industrial waste. Photograph: David Calvert/Alamy
For decades, sewage sludge has been quietly spread across Britain’s farmland, marketed as a nutrient-rich fertiliser. But insiders and scientists warn that hidden within it is a mix of household and industrial chemicals such as Pfas (“forever chemicals”), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, hormone-damaging chemicals and microplastics, threatening the long-term health of the land.
