Competition in upstream sewage and sludge markets

What’s it all about?

Ofwat are the economic regulator of the water and sewerage sectors and were created in 1989, when privatisation in the water industry was introduced, to protect the interests of customers and the environment.

We have seen Ofwat introduce number of markets that include the Business Retail Market to promote competition, resilience and innovation and the most recent is the Competition in upstream sewage and sludge markets, also known as the Bioresources Market, which covers:

• wastewater sludge transport
• treatment
• recycling
• disposal

The aim of this market is to change the water industries impression of sludge as an inconvenient waste produced by treating wastewater, to an opportunity, which could include:

• producing biogas, or green gas, to generate low-carbon electricity.
• processing sludge to be safely used in the agricultural sector as a fertilizer
• trading of bioresources with third parties

So what does this market mean to you? This is a new opportunity for anyone that can help water companies to gain value from bioresources, as there is a shift in the value of this commodity, water companies will be looking to make the most of this new market.

Anglian Water are exploring the options of utilising the sludge within the catchment to help the company become Carbon Neutral by 2050. If you have a solution or want to know more about the current production and processes, join us on the 1^st November at Bioresources – getting the most of sludge