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New sewage sludge plant in Böblingen: Safety for the environment and jobs!
On July 11, 2025, the special purpose association in Böblingen decided to build a sewage sludge recycling plant for environmentally friendly disposal.
New sewage sludge plant in Böblingen: Safety for the environment and jobs!
At the last meeting of the Böblingen Residual Waste Cogeneration Plant Association (ZV RBB) on July 11, 2025, important decisions were made for the future. It was decided to build a sewage sludge recycling plant (KSVA) on the site of the residual waste cogeneration plant lrabb.de reported. This step is the result of extensive planning that began in 2018. In the future, 72 members of the association will be able to dispose of sewage sludge in an environmentally friendly manner and the district heating generated from sewage sludge treatment will flow into the networks of the Böblingen and Sindelfingen municipal utilities.
The construction of the KSVA will not only strengthen long-term disposal security in the region, but will also create a modern facility that will help secure jobs. Financing for the project is secured through the KfW funding program 208 and local banks. By the planned completion in autumn 2027, new jobs will be created and the energy and district heating supply in Böblingen will be supported.
Background to sewage sludge utilization
The amendment to the Sewage Sludge Ordinance from 2017, which will come into force from January 2029, is a crucial reason for the importance of the new plant. It prohibits the soil-related utilization of sewage sludge for precautionary reasons and requires the recovery of phosphorus. Before this amendment, sewage sludge was often used as fertilizer in agriculture, a practice that was criticized due to its pollutant levels. Every year around 1.8 million tons of dry sewage sludge are produced in Germany, which not only contain valuable nutrients such as phosphorus, but also pollutants such as heavy metals and microplastics, as shown eew-energyfromwaste.com points out.
The need for environmentally friendly sewage sludge utilization is also emphasized by the Federal Environment Agency. In numerous wastewater treatment plants, wastewater is treated in various stages, resulting in sewage sludge that no longer allows direct agricultural use due to its pollutants. More than half of municipal sewage sludge is now treated in special incineration plants instead of being used as fertilizer. A complete exit from land-related use is therefore unavoidable. Future developments will focus on innovative techniques for phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge, and there are many indications that thermal utilization will become more important, such as this Federal Environment Agency determines.
In this way, Böblingen will not only make a contribution to environmental protection, but also play an important role in the area of sustainable energy supply. With the new sewage sludge utilization plant, the region is showing that it is meeting the challenges in wastewater and sewage sludge treatment with a clear plan. This means that everyone involved is on the right track to mastering the upcoming requirements and developing future-proof solutions.