Sewage sludge disposal in Scotland will go through a massive policy change by the end of 1998; dumping at sea, the current favoured option will be banned from this date. Sewage sludge recycling is a complex issue with a large number of different, but often related physical, land use, regulatory, social and economic constraints. This paper describes the use of soils and related environmental data in sludge disposal policy appraisal and assessment. These objective independent assessments have provoked some interest at the national and regional levels of decision-making in Scotland, providing a different perspective on waste recycling from that within the water industry.