The work aimed at determining the effectiveness of the treatment of the wastewater coming from the meat industry in a hybrid system combining the biological methods of activated sludge (in an SBR) and reverse osmosis. The tests carried out on the wastewater from the Meat Processing Plant Uni-Lang in Wrzosowa showed that the biological treatment resulted in a sufficient removal of contaminants from the wastewater, which consequently could be discharged into receiving water. In order to make it possible for the wastewater to be reused in the production cycle, it was additionally treated with reverse osmosis. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.