Faster wastewater upgrades could keep 58 tonnes of medicine out of sea

Accelerating upgrades to Danish wastewater treatment plants could prevent up to 58 tonnes of pharmaceutical substances from entering the marine environment, according to an analysis by the Danish broadcaster DR and the Hav think tank.

Danish wastewater treatment plants currently remove only a limited share of the medicines people consume. Around five tonnes of pharmaceutical substances enter the marine environment each year, according to Hav. That figure covers just 13 of the 1,451 pharmaceutical substances on the Danish market.

Under EU rules, larger treatment plants must install an advanced fourth treatment stage by 2045 and remove 80 per cent of environmentally harmful substances.

Hav estimates that bringing the system into operation by 2030 could keep 58 tonnes of pharmaceutical substances out of the sea. Implementation by 2035 would prevent 39 tonnes, while a 2040 deadline would prevent 19 tonnes.

“We strongly recommend implementing the fourth treatment stage much earlier than 2045,” said Henriette Selck, a senior consultant at Hav and professor of ecotoxicology at Roskilde University.

“The organisms that live in the sea do not go to a pharmacy and choose painkillers or antidepressants. Nevertheless, they are exposed to all kinds of pharmaceutical substances, and that obviously affects them,” she said.

DANVA, the trade organisation for water companies, also supports moving faster. “The technology exists, and we know that it works. Now the political and financial framework must be put in place so we can begin where the effort will have the greatest effect on the marine environment,” said Carl-Emil Larsen, DANVA’s chief executive.

The upgrades are expected to cost between 630 million and 703 million kroner a year for 30 years. Under current plans, 80 per cent of the cost would be paid by companies that profit from pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. DANVA estimates that this would add 35 to 41 kroner a year to consumers’ bills.

The pharmaceutical industry is prepared to cover part of the cost under an extended producer responsibility scheme, but says other sources of pollution should also contribute.

“If the polluter pays principle is to be applied, we believe that all the polluters should be included,” said Marianne Jeppesen, head of climate, environment and sustainability policy at the Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

She pointed to substances from washing clothes, surface water, car tyres, PFAS and microplastics as possible sources that should be considered. The industry is calling for a better analysis of where the substances come from and who should pay, and says the EU’s 2045 implementation plan should be followed.

Environment Minister Maria Reumert Gjerding of the Socialist People’s Party said the situation was “deeply serious” and “extremely frustrating”.

“I absolutely do not think we should wait. We need to examine every possibility of getting started as quickly as possible,” she said.

The minister did not set a deadline, but said an action plan and further analysis were under way to determine where the substances originate and whether more industries should help pay for the upgrades.

She also said environmentally harmful substances enter the sea from sources other than wastewater, including direct industrial discharges and agriculture. “For example, there are medicines used in our pig industry that also end up in the marine environment, and my task is to address all the causes of our sea being in such poor condition,” Gjerding said.