Maine activists are at the helm of the newly-formed Coalition for Sludge-Free Land launched Wednesday.
Maine was the first state to ban land application of sludge in 2022 after the discovery of widespread PFAS contamination of farms.
Representative Bill Pluecker, who chairs the legislature's Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, said this coalition will allow Maine to advocate for changes across the country.
"When we've all taken this action together, we can put more pressure on the federal level to look at the issue of PFAS and sludge as well as all the rest of the chemicals that come in sludge that are really hurting not just our farmers but are getting into our food system," Pluecker said.
Laura Orlando, Senior Scientist at Just Zero, a zero-waste nonprofit, said the spread of sludge continues despite toxic contaminants such as PFAS, microplastics, and brominated flame retardants.
"There's a very small group of corporations making a very large amount of money by signing contracts with wastewater treatment plants to haul away the sewage sludge and dump it. Dump it wherever it is cheapest for them to dump it," said Orlando.
Connecticut has also outlawed the land application of sludge, and seven additional states are considering legislation to ban or restrict the practice.
