From waste to resource: Training young researchers on developing innovative, circular solutions for waste sludge

Using waste as a resource is the way forward to realize a full circular and sustainable society. One of the most predominant waste streams in Europe concerns wastewater treatment sludge, with a total annual production surpassing 13 million tons. Sludge typically contains a diverse range of recalcitrant and potential hazardous contaminants such as PFAS, endocrine disruptors, pathogens and heavy metals, which necessitates the use of efficient & sustainable treatment strategies. Because of these hazardous substances, the beneficial use of sludge is currently limited with no adequate overall solutions. INCLUE responds to this opportunity by developing novel sludge treatment routes, generating the required insights to allow an optimisation of the current routes, assessing the effects of sludge application, and most importantly, training high-skilled experts in the rapidly expanding field of handling waste as a resource for renewable chemicals, materials and fuels. The main R&D emphasis of INCLUE lies indeed on developing innovative technological advances that combine the elimination of the increasingly present contaminants in sludge with a maximum resource recovery. Ten creative and entrepreneurial-minded DCs will be trained via an international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary research training program, pushed by a broad consortium of 6 academic and 11 industrial organisations. The highly relevant field, combined with an advanced training program that encompasses transversal skills and training through research will ensure that highly trained professionals will enter the job market, further strengthening the competitiveness of the EU in this domain.