Urban attitude towards land application of municipal and industrial biosolids

Managing municipal and industrial biosolids by recycling through the land is currently a strategic policy direction in Ireland. Although recycling biosolids is a plausible management alternative it can also be a contentious issue. A descriptive- correlational study was conducted in the city of Dublin, Ireland to determine the public’s knowledge about biosolids and attitude to biosolids recycling. Door-to-door surveys of 500 households were conducted. Data were evaluated with respect to population demographics (gender, age, education level, etc.) and contingency analysis was performed. The results show that , while a general high level of consensus exists on the general idea of recycling of waste and beneficial reuse of biosolids, support decreases the closer (both physically and psychologically) this activity is to respondents. There is a gap between people’s positive view of biosolids as a resource and the scepticism about recycling biosolids. To make biosolids reuse on land more appealing to an urban community, education and awareness campaigns should capitalise on the positive views the public has about biosolids as a resource and the concept of recycling.