What can screenings be used for?
Screenings are an unavoidable by-product of wastewater treatment. With proper washing and dewatering, they can be handled safely and are suitable for energy recovery. Although they cannot be recycled materially, correct management can significantly reduce environmental impacts.The “traditional” method—landfilling—is still common practice in many places in Hungary, but it is not sustainable and is being gradually phased out.
At modern wastewater treatment plants, screenings are handled in closed systems with odour extraction and automated operation.
Energy recovery
Treated and dewatered screenings have a relatively high calorific value, especially due to their plastic and textile fractions. For this reason, they are suitable for:
- incineration, or
- co-incineration.
The most appropriate facilities for thermal recovery are waste incineration plants and sites where screenings can be used as alternative fuels, such as cement kilns.
Landfilling
Previously common, but increasingly restricted for environmental reasons and due to EU regulations. Today, landfilling is permitted only after pre-treatment, i.e. in a stabilised state.
What screenings are NOT suitable for
Due to their heterogeneous and largely unknown material composition—and, above all, their health risks—screenings are not suitable for:
- material recycling, or
- any form of agricultural use.