Air and water pollution control programs sometimes result in production of solid wastes that are difficult to manage. The sludges from sewage treatment plants and flue gas scrubbers are two examples. In many coastal communities, there is no alternative to ocean dumpling of sewage sludges for the foreseeable future. The use of sludges as soil conditioners, their conversion to fuels by pyrolysis, and other alternatives are frequently mentioned options, but they have not been demonstrated to be practical on a large scale. The Federal requirement that ocean dumping be terminated by 1981 presents the large seaboard population centers with a dilemma, due to the absence of economically feasible alternative methods of disposal. Another major solid waste problem is arising from the Federal policy that requires flue gas desulfurization on practically all power plants. This policy, designed to reduce sulfur oxide emissions, will require that vast quantities of sludge be stored. Their environmental impact is as yet not fully evaluated. Commercial use of the sulfur or sulfates produced in these processes may be possible, but its practicability on a large scale remains to be demonstrated.
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