Uisce Éireann, Ireland's national water utility, has published its draft National Bioresources Strategy, a 25-year framework that marks a significant shift in how the country plans to manage wastewater sludge, moving away from treating it as a waste stream and towards recovering it as a source of energy, nutrients and circular economy value. The strategy updates and will ultimately replace the National Wastewater Sludge Management Plan dating from 2016. A public consultation on the draft is now open, with submissions invited until 22 July 2026.
Why now and what has changed
The timing is driven in large part by the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, adopted by the EU in late 2024, which introduces new obligations around energy neutrality, phosphorus recovery and circular economy requirements at larger treatment plants. The backdrop is pressing: Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency rates the country's water quality and nature status as "poor" and "very poor" respectively in its most recent State of the Environment Report, with nutrient runoff from agricultural land identified as a significant pressure.
Uisce Éireann publishes a 25-year plan to turn wastewater sludge into a resource for energy, nutrients and the circular economy
Ireland currently treats around 70,000 tonnes dry solids of wastewater sludge per year, all of which is reused in agriculture. The strategy acknowledges this as the most circular option currently available, but one that carries risk if policy, regulatory or land availability conditions change. There are also growing concerns around emerging contaminants such as PFAS and microplastics in biosolids, and Ireland currently has no national limits for organic pollutants in wastewater sludge applied to land. Population and economic growth are expected to push sludge volumes significantly higher by 2050, adding further urgency to long-term planning.
Infrastructure and the regional centre model
The strategy sets out a tiered national infrastructure approach built around approximately 17 existing bioresource centres and around 35 satellite dewatering centres. Six of the existing centres are earmarked for development into regional bioresource centres, equipped with advanced anaerobic digestion and potentially advanced thermal conversion technologies. A national Decision Support Tool has been developed to optimise transport, storage and investment decisions across the asset base, with low-carbon transport a specific priority.
Technology, innovation and the circular bioeconomy
Perhaps the most forward-looking element of the strategy is its treatment of emerging technologies and resource recovery. Plans to demonstrate advanced thermal conversion technologies such as pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonisation at Irish sites are informed by a feasibility study and international benchmarking, including a visit to an operational pyrolysis plant in Denmark. These processes can produce biochar, bio-oil and syngas from dried sludge, offering alternatives to land spreading while also addressing emerging contaminants such as PFAS, which pyrolysis has been shown to eliminate entirely in operational facilities.
Ireland has already taken a first step in resource recovery with a phosphorus recovery facility now operational at the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant in Dublin, which can produce over 4,000 tonnes of fertiliser per year. Nature-based solutions are also part of the picture, with sludge reed beds already installed at smaller rural plants in County Carlow, delivering benefits for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and reduced energy use. The strategy aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals and is intended to contribute to Ireland's Climate Action Plan target of net zero emissions by 2050.
