Demonstration and research facilities for the valorization of organic waste
Background
Waste management is an unresolved issue in many countries of the global South at many stages of the process including collection, treatment and recovery. This burdens ecosystems and populations alike, and it is a barrier to reaching a variety of Sustainable Development Goals, most prominently those linked to health and intact ecosystems. Organic waste usually accounts for more than 50% of the net weight of municipal waste. With careful management that includes separate collection and treatment (e.g. composting, anaerobic digestion) and its utilization post-treatment as energy source or and agricultural inputs for instance, may in turn, help to support achieving additional development goals pertaining to energy and food security.
Objective
To establish demonstration and research facilities for the treatment of organic waste that should serve medium to larger communities and cover the entire value chain including collection, treatment and the use of products as biogas, digestate or compost.
Expected Benefits
- In target countries: Treatment More sustainable management of organic waste along the entire value chain, including collection, treatment and re-use of treated products and residues.
- In Switzerland: i) Various issues concerning the application of digestate and compost from organic waste (e.g. heavy metals, plastic residues, antibiotics) are still unresolved in Switzerland, and research in this direction would be valuable. Ii) Demonstration and research facilities can be planned and implemented in cooperation with Swiss technology providers; iii) Many research projects are designed for short periods of a few years. Demonstration and research facilities, which are affiliated to research institutions in the Global South, offer the possibility of long-term research cooperations and student exchanges.
Contact Information
Thomas Gross, , phone: +41 61 467 47 05
Sustainable Ressource Management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
