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From field to fork to field: nutritious food and nutrient cycling to enhance health, wealth and resilience

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Definition: Productive/ Ecological Sanitation

Productive /Ecological sanitation systems safely recycle excreta and other

organic waste products (plant nutrients and organic matter) to crop production in such a way that the use of non-renewable resources is minimised

Photo: Dr Rodda. Work by D. Starzak, Univ of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Humans and the missing link to soils

Lack of soil nutrients

• Soils severely depleted,

especially in

densely populated areas

• Sub Saharan Africa in

global terms a small user

of fertilizer

• Unequal access to

fertilizer is projected to

continue

So what are the implications for sanitation?

• Paradigm shift – human waste is not hazardous waste, but a valuable resource

Dave Still

Don’t waste energy and time arguing about the best method to achieve Productive / Ecological Sanitation - there are many possibilities, each appropriate in the right context

• Composting

• Urine diversion

• Sludge Pelletisation

• Biogas

• Algal ponds

• Sludge burial with agroforestry

Dave Still

What can governments do to unlock the potential in human waste?

• Regulate • Educate • Stimulate

What can governments do to unlock the potential in human waste?

• Regulate • Educate • Stimulate • REST – once the groundwork has been laid (5

years? 50 years?) let the market do the rest

Before Sanitization

Faeces

Urine

After sanitization

Takin Ruwa

« Liquid fertilizer »

Taki Busasché

« Solid fertilizer »

Branding for mindshift

6/19/2012 14

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!