The campaigning environmental group, Fighting Dirty, is today celebrating a landmark victory following the release of the long-awaited Independent Water Commission Report, which recommends regulating sewage sludge under the Environmental Permitting Regime (EPR).
This recommendation arrives on the heels of Fighting Dirty’s pioneering legal case taken By Leigh Day, which heard how the Environment Agency had been hamstrung by ministerial delays. Though this prevented immediate reform, the government has now met Fighting Dirty’s key demand.
This is a historic breakthrough in the fight to stop the dumping of toxic sludge on farmland. Currently, the great majority of sewage sludge is either sold or given to farmers by water companies to use as “fertiliser”. While it contains useful nutrients, as a result of shocking regulatory failure, it also contains a cocktail of highly toxic chemicals, including dioxins, furans and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A report commissioned by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2017 found that, as a result, English crops were contaminated with such chemicals at “levels that may present a risk to human health”. It stated that further contaminants in sewage sludge, including microplastics, could result in “soils becoming unsuitable for agriculture”.
Commenting, Fighting Dirty Directors’ Founding Director, Georgia Elliott-Smith, said
“This is a win for communities, farmers, and soils—the harmful sludge that builds up toxins in our land must finally be properly regulated. Today’s recommendation shows that when the public demands change, we can make it happen. Together, we are showing what it means to be Fighting Dirty.”
“We’ve known for years that sludge is full of a horrendous toxic cocktail of microplastics, PFAS, and more. With today’s report, the government has confirmed that this toxic waste must come under EPR. That’s accountability—and cleaner, safer land—for all.”
Why this matters:
- The Independent Water Commission’s endorsement is a long-overdue victory following years of regulatory failure, flagged by both the Environment Agency and insider reports
- EPR status means stringent controls on what can and cannot be spread — backed by robust monitoring, legal enforcement, and the precautionary principle.
- Without EPR, sludge containing toxic substances may continue contaminating farmland, wildlife, and food, with zero limits on hazardous chemicals.
Georgia continued, “The Commission’s recommendation proves our legal fight was never about bureaucracy—it was about stopping a long-standing public-health threat. Now rural communities can breathe easier.”
What happens next:
Fighting Dirty is now calling on Defra and the Environment Agency to move swiftly to bring sludge within EPR, as the Commission recommends. We expect formal consultation steps to begin soon.