Farmers’ attitude toward treated sludge use in the villages of West Bank, Palestine Md. M. Rashid & Mary G. Kattou’a & Issam A. Al-Khatib & Chikashi Sato Received: 4 April 2017 /Accepted: 14 June 2017 # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 Abstract An application of treated sewage sludge on agricultural land has been widely accepted, as this meth- od is simple and economical for disposal of wastewater residues. When applied properly on an agricultural land, sludge can replenish organic matter and nutrients in soil. Although sewage sludge has been used in agriculture in many parts of the world, its acceptability varies with different cultures and beliefs among farmers. Farmers’ concerns on sludge use are primarily due to its anthro- pogenic origin, pollutants that it carries, a general per- ception of sewage being dirty, and its offensive odor. This paper aims to investigate farmers’ perceptions on land application of treated sewage sludge on their farm. This study targeted two farming communities, namely, Anza and Beit Dajan villages, located in Jenin and Nablus districts in the West Bank, Palestine. In this study, a sample of 106 farmers were randomly selected and surveyed through a mixture of structured and open- ended questions. Results indicated that, overall, farmers have positive perceptions on land application of sludge. A majority of the farmers are in favor of the concept of sludge use when a planned wastewater treatment plant is constructed and it becomes operational. Results also indicate that a majority of the farmers are in favor of using sludge for fertilizing fruit trees, rather than grow- ing vegetables and other plants in a greenhouse, and that many of them have knowledge of sludge properties and advantages and disadvantages of sludge use in agricul- ture. Despite the positive perceptions by the majority of farmers, a small fraction of the farmers are in disfavor of the use of sludge for the following reasons: psycholog- ical and social concerns, potential health risks, and their religious beliefs. Results further suggest that the land application of treated sewage sludge can be accepted by more farmers if the consumers are willing to buy agri- cultural products fertilized by sludge, sludge meets the public health requirements, and sludge is available at low costs. To improve farmers’ perceptions on the land application of sludge, several measures are recommended. Keywords Land application . Agriculture . Sewage sludge . Farmers’ perception . Fertilizer . West Bank Introduction Treated sewage sludge, also known as bio-solids, is residues of suspended solids in sewage after being settled and separated through wastewater treatment Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:353 DOI 10.1007/s10661-017-6074-4 M. M. Rashid Purdue University Fort Wayne, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA M. G. Kattou’a Faculty of Graduate Studies, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine I. A. Al-Khatib (*) Institute of Environmental and Water Studies, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine e-mail: ikhatib@birzeit.edu e-mail: ikhatib2012@yahoo.com C. Sato Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA