In the last few years solidification/stabilisation of acidic soils polluted by heavy metals with low-cost sorbents has been investigated. Paper mill sludges are produced in large amounts and their disposal is a serious environmental problem. The possibility was therefore studied of using paper mill sludge as a stabilizer to reduce the bioavailable metal forms in polluted soils and thus the transferability of metals to plants (barley). We first investigated the sorbing properties of paper mill sludge for Zn(II) and Pb(II) and then their fractionation both in a polluted soil and in the same soil amended with paper mill sludge in order to check the decrease in mobile forms. Finally in both soils we tested the uptake of two metals by common barley in order to assess the performance of soil remediation from an ecological point of view. The addition of paper mill sludge to a soil contaminated by lead and zinc induces a decrease in the mobile forms of both metals, probably due to the presence in sludge of organic matter and kaolinite, which are able to bind the metals very strongly. The decrease in the mobile forms, which are the most readily available for uptake by plants, corresponds to a decrease in plant uptake. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.