The Phragmifiltre® reed bed system treats raw or macerated sewage directly, without needing large holding tanks and using very little power. This innovative method offers a more natural and sustainable way to handle sewage, replacing traditional reed bed methods that only handle partially treated wastewater.

The water needs no pre-treatment - it only screens or grinds the sewage beforehand for capacity reasons.

  • Stage 1: Raw sewage is spread over three or more reed beds to filter out and dry the solids on the surface.

  • Stage 2: The liquid then drains through the bed layers, reducing organic pollution and starting to convert ammonia to less harmful substances.

  • Stage 3: Additional reed beds further clean the liquid, finishing the ammonia breakdown before the water is released.

Phragmifiltre® is the first and only system in the UK that processes raw sewage completely within a wetland setup.

Benefits

  • Sludge builds up on the first-stage beds and converts into mineral-rich compost; this sludge can be safely used as fertiliser after 10-15 years, avoiding the need for expensive transport and processing.

  • Reduces the need for extra infrastructure like tanker roads.

  • Rather than a fully powered system, it uses simple siphons to move the sewage through the system, keeping power use low.

  • Lowers operational and setup costs, making it cheaper than traditional sewage treatment.

Phragmifiltre® offers a simpler, greener way to treat sewage. It processes sewage directly in reed beds, needs minimal energy, and manages waste on-site, saving money and reducing environmental impact. More than 800 Phragmifiltre® systems are already in place across Europe, treating sewage for communities ranging from 20 to 5,000 people.

ARM Ltd provides dependable, eco-friendly wastewater management, offering free initial proposals and drawing on over 35 years of expertise in reedbed systems.