Background
Biosolids are produced during the treatment process in wastewater treatment plants operated by or for or on behalf of Uisce Éireann.
Specialist private contractors or sub-contractors (depending on whether the wastewater treatment plant is operated by a third-party on behalf of Uisce Éireann) are engaged to arrange for the transport, storage, treatment (if necessary) and recovery of biosolids on agricultural land.
Please note, Uisce Éireann is not party to any agreement with landowners for the spreading of biosolids. Uisce Éireann’s contractual arrangements are with our third-party plant operators or sludge management contractors.
As you are aware, each such private company is required by legislation to produce a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) and file the NMP with the relevant local authority. Under Article 8 of S.I. No. 148/1998 (Waste Management (Use of Sewage Sludge in Agriculture) Regulations, 1998), each local authority is required to maintain a Sludge Register containing specified information relating to the use of sewage sludge in agriculture.
The purpose is to provide transparency and enable regulatory oversight of sludge landspreading activities.
The register must contain details including:
(a) the quantities of sludge produced and the quantities supplied for use in agriculture in their functional area;
(b) the composition and properties of the sludge;
(c) the treatment which the sludge has undergone;
(d) the name and address of each recipient of the sludge and the location of each site where the sludge is to be used.
Therefore, the information that you seek is held by the local authorities
In terms of the information held by Uisce Éireann, we would respond as follows:
Volumes of Biosolids Delivered
You have requested access to “All records identifying the approximately 130 farms currently receiving Uisce Éireann biosolids and the volumes delivered to each farm per year.”
Access is granted to environmental information showing the annual volumes of biosolids delivered to each recipient farm. Please find attached PDF
By County
Ran the numbers via nearest-county-centroid matching (a reasonable approximation, not exact boundary lookup).
| County | Sites | 2025 (t) | Q1 2026 (t) | Combined (t) | % of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meath | 39 | 39,622.4 | 6,491.3 | 46,113.7 | 15.0% |
| Roscommon | 76 | 33,187.2 | 5,726.1 | 38,913.3 | 12.7% |
| Carlow | 41 | 19,505.9 | 14,144.8 | 33,650.7 | 11.0% |
| Laois | 27 | 17,109.6 | 6,285.8 | 23,395.4 | 7.6% |
| Kerry | 31 | 18,492.9 | 3,950.7 | 22,443.6 | 7.3% |
| Galway | 20 | 15,398.7 | 4,197.1 | 19,595.8 | 6.4% |
| Kilkenny | 13 | 12,632.1 | 4,658.4 | 17,290.5 | 5.6% |
| Wicklow | 11 | 12,013.4 | 3,278.3 | 15,291.7 | 5.0% |
| Cork | 31 | 12,713.9 | 1,273.6 | 13,987.5 | 4.6% |
| Tipperary | 9 | 9,350.6 | 4,251.4 | 13,602.0 | 4.4% |
| Westmeath | 15 | 7,483.6 | 3,784.7 | 11,268.3 | 3.7% |
| Kildare | 18 | 7,525.9 | 2,937.6 | 10,463.5 | 3.4% |
| Wexford | 9 | 8,189.1 | 462.4 | 8,651.5 | 2.8% |
| Waterford | 11 | 6,981.2 | 1,278.1 | 8,259.3 | 2.7% |
| Mayo | 5 | 4,487.7 | 2,200.7 | 6,688.4 | 2.2% |
| Limerick | 5 | 4,672.5 | 67.2 | 4,739.7 | 1.5% |
| Offaly | 5 | 3,725.9 | 967.0 | 4,692.9 | 1.5% |
| Dublin | 4 | 2,698.6 | 0.0 | 2,698.6 | 0.9% |
| Cavan | 2 | 2,478.6 | 78.2 | 2,556.8 | 0.8% |
| Longford | 5 | 1,299.8 | 0.0 | 1,299.8 | 0.4% |
| Louth | 3 | 1,225.4 | 0.0 | 1,225.4 | 0.4% |
| Leitrim | 1 | 260.0 | 0.0 | 260.0 | 0.1% |
| Donegal | 1 | 157.4 | 0.0 | 157.4 | 0.1% |
| Total | 382 | 241,212.4 | 66,033.4 | 307,245.8 | 100.0% |
