NOVELTY - Improving digestion of municipal sludge involves obtaining waste activated sludge (WAS) sample (123); administering chlorine dioxide to the WAS sample under conditions to allow contact time in the WAS sample of greater than or equal to 10 minutes, whereby treated WAS sample is produced; subjecting the treated WAS sample to anaerobic or aerobic digestion, where the administering step occurs in a conduit (124) transferring WAS from clarifier (120) to holding tank (210) that extends between clarifier and holding tank.    USE - For improving digestion of municipal sludge (claimed) or biosolids; to reduce fecal coliform and heterotrophic bacteria populations in wastewater.    ADVANTAGE - The method uses chlorine dioxide to accelerate and improve the efficiency of aerobic or anaerobic digestion. The use of chlorine dioxide reduces the bacterial concentration in the biosolids. This reduces competition for nutrients of the microbes useful in the composting process. Chlorine dioxide is highly reactive, and reduces quickly so that no residual disinfection is present to interfere with the composting process; the material is more readily available for the good microbes to facilitate the composting process; reduces odors in the starting, or stock material used in the composting process. This is the primary reason most facilities do not compost. The use of non-digested sludge as a stock source is beneficial in that it provides more food for the microbes. The increased speed of digestion (composting) has a marked impact on the amount of time and space that must be available for the process to take place. Composting in-vessel reduces odors further, and allows for the use of the process in colder climates. The cost of operating this process is less expensive than other known methods.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for wastewater treatment system comprising biological treatment unit (115) for treating wastewater containing biosolids; clarifier for removing water from wastewater to produce waste activated sludge (WAS), the clarifier being in fluid communication with the biological treatment unit; first conduit for transporting WAS from the clarifier; chlorine dioxide source in fluid communication with the conduit so as to deliver chlorine dioxide to the WAS to produce treated WAS; holding tank in fluid communication with the conduit, where holding tank is sized and dimensioned to hold treated WAS for a predetermined time to produce conditioned WAS; anaerobic digester (184) in fluid communication with holding tank, where digester digests the conditioned WAS to produce methane gas.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows schematic view of rudimentary wastewater treatment system.    Biological treatment unit (115)    Nutrient-reduced wastewater sample (116)    Clarifier (120)    Waste activated sludge sample (123)    Conduit (124)    Anaerobic digester (184)    Holding tank. (210)