Introduction

Land treatment of wastes has proven to be an environmentally sound and cost-effective means of treating a variety of waste products including sewage, municipal biosolids, and industrial waste. Land treatment systems can offer several advantages over more conventional waste treatment methods, if correctly designed and operated. These include cost, reduced environmental impact and beneficial use of waste constituents, especially nutrients.

The New Zealand Land Treatment Collective (the 'NZLTC') was established in 1989 to support the extension of research into the treatment of wastes and waste products by land application, providing its members with the most recent information on land treatment technology, research and information. The NZLTC works to improve communication to all stakeholders in the waste management industry. The NZLTC is managed by Ensis where land treatment of waste products has been researched since 1978. Many New Zealand research organisations are also involved in land treatment research, most of who are members of the NZLTC.

Scope

Land treatment of waste products, as defined by the Collective, includes the application of any waste material to the surface of land, or to wetlands, for the purpose of treating the material by the plant/soil or wetland system in such a way that negative environmental impact is minimised. Waste materials can originate from a variety of sources and include domestic sewage, agricultural and industrial wastes. Application methods commonly used in land treatment systems include spray irrigation, flood irrigation, drip irrigation, rapid infiltration, wetland systems, and biosolids application.

Recently the Collective completed the New Zealand Guidelines for Utilisation of Sewage Effluent onto Land. This was a three year project with the aim of providing practitioners with a resource to help them consider all relevant factors for planning, design, consenting, management, and monitoring of a land treatment system.

Questions or comments about the New Zealand Land Treatment Collective?

Contact:

The Technical Manager
Michael Quintern
New Zealand Land Treatment Collective
Ensis
Private Bag 3046
Rotorua 3010, New Zealand
Phone: +64 7 343 5777
Fax: +64 7 348 0952
Email: