"WELLSTON, Okla. — When Leslie Stewart moved to her home in a rural expanse of Lincoln County outside of Oklahoma City more than 20 years ago, she thought she’d found a slice of heaven. In a town of fewer than 700 people, her son could attend a good school and her acreage offered plenty of room to raise goats and let her dogs run.
But several years ago, her neighbor began applying sewage sludge, which consists largely of human waste left over from municipal wastewater treatment facilities, as a fertilizer on his farmland, causing a rancid smell so powerful it nearly took her breath away.
“The smell is so overwhelming that it goes through my oxygen machine and straight up my nose, which makes it very difficult for me to even walk out my door,” said Stewart, 53, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
Joshua A. Bickel and Sean Murphy report for the Associated Press March 26, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
"Sewage Sludge Can Find A Second Life On Farm Fields. Here’s How It’s Made" (AP)
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