To provide a more efficient and simple sludge volume reduction apparatus subjected to small-scale facilities, and a method for more efficiently and simply reducing the volume of sludge.

In a sludge treatment system composed of a flow rate adjusting tank 101 for adjusting the flow rate of sludge, an aeration tank 102 for biologically treating the sludge discharged from the flow rate adjusting tank 101, a sedimentation tank 103 for subsequently separating the sludge into a liquid and a solid component to discharge the liquid while sedimenting the solid component, a sludge storage tank 104 for storing the solid component and an ozone treatment tank 105 for treating the solid component stored in the sludge storage tank 104 with ozone to solubilize the same, ozone is circulated throughout the ozone treatment tank 105 to increase the contact of ozone with the sludge to thereby more efficiently accelerate the solubilization of the sludge.

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