Presented by Olufunke Cofie at the National WASH Action Plan Research and Capacity Building Agenda Setting Workshop in Abuja, Nigeria on February 17-18, 2020.

1. Integration of circular
economy approach into
sanitation service delivery for
sustainable waste management
Dr. Olufunke Cofie
Dr. Josiane Nikiema
IWMI West Africa Office, Accra Ghana

2. International Water Management Institute
R4D Organization; part of the CGIAR System

3.  Cut pollution & optimize resource reuse in the circular economy
 Reform water governance & increase gender equality
 Assess economics of water solutions & incentives for change

4. Linear vs Circular Economy
• Take, make, use and dispose
• Extractive
• Environmental pollution
• Waste of resources and overall
system inefficiency
• Use resources for as long as
possible;
• Extract the maximum value while
in use;
• Recover and regenerate products
and materials at the end of each
service life.
Circular Economy approach represents a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience,
generates business and economic opportunities, and provides environmental and societal
benefits

5. Waste -to - Resource Options

6. • Wastewater /sludge to fertilizer
• Treated Wastewater for aquaculture
• Water reuse for irrigation
• Sludge to energy / biogas / electricity
• Land Application of sludge
• Urine use in agriculture
8
EXAMPLES

7. 1. Fecal Sludge to Compost Fertilizer
sorted food
waste
Regular addition
of water
FortiferTM
dewatered
sludge
Composting
Enrichment
Pelletization
Fecal sludge from
tankers; from Public
toilet; & from
households
Liquid
Dewatering
Post-treatment
treated liquid
discharged
Inorganic waste to
landfill
Sorting / air
drying
Food waste

8. Fecal sludge to Compost: Financing
• Working capital from
donors (grants) and the
Governement
Financing – route 1
Financing – route 2
Institutions & role
Donor
Financial
support
Specialized
know-how
Research /
development
organizations
Operation &
Maintenance &
marketing
Private company
Land & ease of
access to waste
& Monitoring
Municipality
PPP
Country
PPP: Public Private
Partnership

9. 2. Fecal sludge to electricity
Abattoir + other
organic wastes
Public toilet
excreta waste
Biodigestion
Biogas Gas Turbine Electricity
Slurry Drying beds
Waste stabilization pond
for liquid treatment
Solid fraction
composting
Compost used for seedling
or farm application
Discarded
water
$
$
$
Safisana business
model, Ghana

10. WW treated
(m3/d)
Main WWTP processes
involved
Products
Fish
Kumasi,
Ghana
225 Waste stabilization ponds (1 ha)  40 MT of African Catfish
 Fingerlings
Duckweed
Mirzapur
Bangladesh
300 Waste stabilization ponds (1ha)
+ duckweed canals (0.6 ha)
 7.5-15 MT Carps
 Fish feed
 Fruits
Status of WW treatment and reuse for aquaculture in Ghana and Bangladesh
(Source: Amoah et al. 2018-15; Drechsel et al. 2018-15)
3. Treated wastewater
for aquaculture, Fish
Feed

11. 13
WW- fed Aquaculture
Pros & Cons Conditions for Scalability
+ minimal investment requirement in existing ponds
+ best bet for profit generation
+ possibility to link with irrigation
− bioaccumulation of heavy metals possible
− pathogen risk possible if eaten raw
− oxygen depletion and fish kill due to overloading
• Availability of ponds
• Supportive policies
• Acceptability of the fish
Gaps: (1) Optimize systems for WW management and fish farming
(2) Understand and control health risk and facilitate fish acceptance

12. 14
4. Land application and treatment of raw FS
Pros & Cons Conditions for Scalability
+ no risk for consumers, no risk for farmers after
appropriate drying
+ no required treatment and transport
infrastructure; cost recovery possible
+ socially accepted by farmers in dry areas
− application limited seasonally
− stigma of health risks  informal sector
• Awareness creation on low health
risk to gain policy support
• Available land area
• Positive perception and demand by
farmers
Gaps: (1) Development of guidelines for optimal application of raw FS in agriculture
(2) Education on safe handling practices
(3) Research – policy dialogue

13. 15
5. Water reuse for irrigation
Pros & Cons Conditions for Scalability
+ highly profitable business
+ on-farm and post-harvest treatment and
risk reduction measures available
+ WHO, FAO strongly backing approach
− Cost-effectiveness of risk reduction
depends on adoption of recommended
measures
• Adoption requires market or non-market
incentives for behavioral change.
• Monitoring of produce quality required.
Gaps: `1) Tested on-farm treatment options still limited
(2) Proven options need to be implemented on large scale

14. 16
6. Biogas production
Pros & Cons Conditions for Scalability
+ treatment with value creation
+ high cost recovery potential
- gas transport over distance
- net benefits so far not sufficient for business
- technical expertise in countries limited
• Willingness of communities to invest
• Bottling could boost scalability
beyond household application
Gaps:
(1) Determine and pilot the most cost-effective level and scale of operation to optimize
biogas production, and the business models that best suit each.
(2) Financial - social CBA to justify subsidies
(3) Bottling of biogas and conversion to electricity

15. 17
Urine application
Pros & Cons Conditions for Scalability
+ potential where nutrient demand is high and
fertilizer expensive
+ potential where in-situ reuse is possible
(rural, urban backyards)
- unwillingness to pay for urine collection
- burden/cost of transport
- cost recovery not sufficient to drive also
feces collection
• Incentives for use of waste separation
technologies
• Sanitation in public areas (i.e. public
urinals) may be the best option – pilot
business models for this
• Market analysis crucial
Gaps
(1) Reducing urine volume, transport difficulties and costs.

16. Supporting International Guidelines promoting simple technologies

17. Effects of adopting circular economy
• Low-cost treatment
• Revenues from
products’ sales and
increased yields
• Contribute to
prevent public
disease
• Improve food
security
• Nutrients recovery
and recycling
• Reducing climate
change impact
• Job opportunities
• Products availability
(electricity, fertilizer) Social
Impact
Competition
for resource
Economic
Impact
Health
Impact

18. Some Constraints
Insufficient cost recovery
from sale of by-products or
other financing options
Unfavourable policy
environment / limited
institutional capacities
Process and
Technological constraints
Perception of safety issues
and stigma affecting
adoption of products
• Underdeveloped
supply chains
• Market volatilities
and distortions
• Restrained access to
finance
• Viability gap
• Sound policy,
supporting fecal
sludge based PPP
businesses
• Lack of sound awareness
of RRR potential
• Managing expectations to
reach a mutual agreement
for profit / benefit sharing
• Governance issues • Time frame for PPP launch in high due
to issues such as land, PPP facilitation

19. 21
Financial Institutional Technical
 Existence of financing
opportunities for
reuse ventures
 Adequate/ sufficient
market opportunities
for reuse products
 Securing of financial
viability for the reuse
project
• Existence of mechanisms for
monitoring and management
of plants
• Setting of procedures for
managing conflicts between
stakeholders
• Strong and capable players
• Favorable policy
environment for products
and processes required
• Adequate/smart and timely
protocols
• Political acceptance of reuse
products and solutions
• Capacity to access the WW or FS
through adequate collection
infrastructure
• Capacity to operate and maintain the
treatment and recycling systems
• Technology availability
• Adapted to environmental and
health standards
• Innovative and cost-effective
technologies are required
• Access to land for the construction of
the TP at a convenient location for the
TW use to take place
• Quality of TW and process by-products
guaranteed continuously. When
stringent standards are adopted,
WWTP system may struggle to attain
the required performance at affordable
cost.
Social / Health
Guaranteed Quality of sludge Proper management of public perception; Low/no pathogens in human
excreta, i.e. worm eggs, protozoa, bacteria and viruses; Co-treatment of industrial + domestic WW (which
leads to change in pH or inflow of high levels of heavy metals, salts or various other synthetic and
recalcitrant compounds) should be avoided; Potential impacts from emerging pollutants such as the
Addressing Constraints

20. 22
Conclusion:
• Some reuse options show prospects for Nigeria,
however new solutions should be tested at scale
• Need to target ‘back-end users’ of wastewater and
sludge
• assess local demand for different reuse options
• treatment facilities can become manufacturing
plants for SMEs
• Find individuals or companies that are willing to
pay for the outputs of a treatment plant
• use payment to help finance treatment facilities
22

21. Compilation of business
models & cases
Online Course:
cd
RRR series reports
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/publications/
resource-recovery-reuse/
Available for free download:
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Books/PDF/res
ource-recovery-from-waste.pdf
https://wle.cgiar.org/solutions/online-course-resources-recovery-and-reuse-rrr-entrepreneurship
https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/issues/wastewater/multimedia/
Short Videos

22. Thanks for your attention
o.cofie@cgiar.org