Journal of Environmental Management 88 (2008) 1361–1372 Indicators for managing biosolids in Ireland Magnus Amajirionwu a,Ã , Noel Connaughton b , Brian McCann c , Richard Moles d , John Bartlett b , Bernadette O’Regan d a Centre for Sustainability, Institute of Technology, G0018 The BIC, Ballinode, Sligo, Ireland b School of Science, Institute of Technology, Ballinode, Sligo, Ireland c School of Engineering, Institute of Technology, Ballinode, Sligo, Ireland d Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Plassey, Limerick, Ireland Received 9 January 2007; received in revised form 15 May 2007; accepted 7 July 2007 Available online 17 August 2007 Abstract Sustainable development indicators (SDIs) have emerged as a tool to measure progress towards sustainable development for a number of fields. However, no indicator initiative to date has been aimed at biosolids management at local authority, regional or national levels. This paper presents a study where stakeholders involved in the management of biosolids in Ireland participated in the development of SDIs for managing biosolids at the local/regional level. A significant 81% of participating stakeholders find SDIs either ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ as a tool for managing biosolids. A suite of 22 indicators has been developed and arranged according to the driving force- pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) indicator framework. The indicators address all the domains of biosolids management namely, production, quality, cost, legislation/regulation, training/research and recycling/disposal. The stakeholder approach is recognition that no effective indicator set can be developed without the input of stakeholders. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Biosolids; Sustainable development; Indicators; Indicator framework; Stakeholder; Participatory approach 1. Introduction Biosolids, also known as treated or stabilised sewage sludge are defined as the organic by-product of urban wastewater treatment which, by being treated to an approved standard, can be used beneficially as a fertiliser and soil conditioner in agriculture (Timoney, Fehily and Company, 1998a). While biosolids can be a resource, potential risks associated with micro-organisms, contami- nants and unstabilised material need to be appropriately managed (NGSMI (National Guide to Sustainable Muni- cipal Infrastructure), 2003). Once treated, biosolids can be recycled or disposed of using three main routes: recycling to agriculture, incineration or landfilling. Landfilling of sewage sludge will start to be phased out when the EU Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 is implemented by member States. The step-wise reduction of biodegradable material to landfills will start with a decrease to 75% of 1995 levels by not later than 2006. The urgency of finding additional appropriate disposal routes or treatment capacity for sewage sludge is thus high. Each recycling or disposal route has specific inputs, outputs, impacts and (possibly) public concerns. In Ireland, there is significant increase in biosolids production resulting from many new wastewater treatment plants being installed by local authorities. Local authorities face some contentious issues in this circumstance including, regulatory, technical, social, environmental and economic. For these reasons, it is important that policy makers and engineers in the local authorities, and the general public have proper information so that the prevailing situation can be evaluated, trends identified and ways found to a sustainable biosolids management programme. One way of accomplishing this is through the use of sustainable development indicators (SDIs). There is currently a paucity ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman 0301-4797/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.07.003 Ã Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 86 405 8913; fax: +353 71 914 4500. E-mail addresses: Amajirionwu.Magnus@itsligo.ie (M. Amajirionwu), Connaughton.Noel@itsligo.ie (N. Connaughton), McCann.Brian@ itsligo.ie (B. McCann), Richard.Moles@ul.ie (R. Moles), Bartlett.John@ itsligo.ie (J. Bartlett), Bernadette.ORegan@ul.ie (B. O’Regan).