Cases / Waste management · United States · 2025
Milwaukee sewage fertilizer Milorganite found to contain about 7 ppb PFAS
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Milorganite, a fertilizer made from Milwaukee sewage, was found to contain about 7 ppb of PFAS in 2025 reporting by Circle of Blue. The product also provides about 10% of the sewer utility's operating budget.
What?
Milorganite fertilizer, made from Milwaukee sewage, was found to contain about 7 ppb of PFAS in 2025 reporting. Circle of Blue
Where?
Milwaukee, United States Circle of Blue
When?
2025 reporting Circle of Blue
Who?
Gained
- Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District — receives about 10% of its operating budget from Milorganite Circle of Blue
Lost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Sewage-based fertilizer whose sales provide part of the utility's budget. Circle of Blue
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Circle of Blue reported in 2025 that Milorganite, a fertilizer made from sewage, contained about 7 ppb of PFAS.
According to the same report, Milorganite provides about 10% of the operating budget of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
The report's headline describes the fertilizer as a utility money maker that faces an uncertain future.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say how the PFAS level was measured, by whom, or which PFAS compounds were counted.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: an EPA draft risk assessment found that 1 ppb of PFOA or PFOS in sludge can exceed the acceptable risk threshold (source code given, no link recorded).
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether any regulator has acted on Milorganite.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Fertilizer from sewage, a utility money maker faces uncertain futureCircle of Blue · 2025