The quicklime treatment of biological industrial and sewage sludges is a well recognised and proven method of treatment which complies with the most stringent standards worldwide. The EU are presently updating their Sludge Treatment directive and the latest draft includes quicklime treatment as one of the few approved methods capable of treating sludge to all three of the listed standards. It is possible to achieve this by simply varying the quicklime dose. The Department of the Environment and Local Government of Ireland have listed lime treatment as one of their six recommended treatment methods capable of producing pasteurised biosolids from sludge. Similar to the EU they prefer that the treatment route should beneficially reuse the biosolids. The liming of sludges low in metal content produces an ideal material suitable for landspreading, land restoration or as a landfill cover. The landspreading of limed biosolids provides valuable nutrients, lime and organic material to the soil and is biologically safe due to the pasteurising effects of the quicklime. The use of biosolids as landfill cover reduces the necessity to import alternative materials and acts as a metals trap when leachate passes between layers. Numerous research reports are available proving the destructive effect of lime on pathogens and the most recent report commissioned by the European Lime Association was published in early 2003. It demonstrates that the combination of high pH from the addition of quicklime and the subsequent exothermic reaction will destroy even Helminth ova providing that a contact time of at least 8 minutes and a temperature of 60°C or higher is maintained. Helminth ova is regarded as a marker organism due to its ability to survive. Lime treatment systems are relatively cheap, easy to install, easy to operate and flexible in achieving different treatment standards. Recent advances in liming technology has greatly improved the image of liming. Dust free and odour free plants are now available which are compliant with the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) which ensures that every particle of sludge has been treated properly. Other advances include the development of lime treatment in combination with other treatment. They include the Terrawatch system which adds lime to the sludge before drying to produce a dried biosolid and the RDP system which adds lime before an electrical heating stage to reach pasteurisation temperatures. Both systems use relatively small quantities of lime, meet the highest treatment standards and produce an attractive biosolid suitable for landspreading or for landfill cover. More than 25 plants in Ireland are now treating their sludge with Sterilime. In summary the treatment of sludge with Sterilime • prevents the spread of diseases • prevents re-infection of the treated material • eliminates the odours normally associated with sludge • increases the solids content up to 50% • increases the stackability and spreadability of biosolids • visibly changes the material from sludge to a soil-like biosolid thus improving    the image of sludge treatment Sterilime is a registered trade mark for quicklime used by Clogrennane Lime.