Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure biosolids used as fertiliser do not contain (a) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and (b) microplastics.

We recognise the need to ensure the safe and sustainable use of sludge in agriculture to help clean up our waterways and promote healthy soil. We will continue to work constructively with stakeholders on our ongoing review of the regulatory framework to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.

The Government has been working with water companies under their Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), to improve the evidence base on the behaviour and fate of contaminants during treatment processes. CIP phase 4 will include a Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids investigation. This will explore the fate and behaviour of multiple chemical compounds, including PFAS substances and microplastics, to establish whether detected substances may pose a risk to long-term soil health, groundwater quality and the wider environment.

This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate contaminants in the environment. We discuss the progress of this work on a frequent basis.

Earlier this year, we published this Option Appraisal for Intentionally Added Microplastics, which provides a welcome addition to our sum of knowledge on the options to protect human health and the UK environment from the risks of microplastics. We are considering the results of this study.