Women traders to steer ‘waste for cash’ sanitation project in Meru
The larvae used to convert waste into organic fertiliser. Meru women traders have been co-opted into a project that seeks to manage solid waste and make the town clean.
What you need to know:
- The project is funded by Swedish PostCode Lottery to the tune of Sh70 million.
- It involves aggregation and sorting of waste and production of organic fertiliser and protein-rich animal feed.
For many years, residents of Nkunga village, some 10 kilometres west of Meru town have protested against the presence of a municipal dumpsite in their neighbourhood.
Recurrent invasion by flies, unending smoke and stench from the dumpsite, which takes in tonnes of waste from Meru town and its environs daily, has been a constant source of conflict between residents and the county government.
According to a draft Meru town solid waste management policy, the municipality generates about 100 tonnes of organic waste daily, with most of it ending up in the Nkunga landfill.
When the county government faces challenges in disposing of the waste, markets are covered in heaps of waste, making it a public nuisance and a health risk.
However, women traders from Meru town, Nkubu and Githongo markets are now set to revolutionise waste management with the establishment of an organic waste composting plant in the town.
The project, funded by Swedish PostCode Lottery to the tune of Sh70 million, involves aggregation and sorting of market waste composting using black soldier fly (BSF) plants and production of organic fertiliser and protein-rich animal feed.
“The waste for cash project is implemented by We Effect and the Meru University of Science and Technology, which will provide technical support on BSF technology, while the Meru Central Coffee Cooperative Union will provide land and support the formation of women’s cooperatives,” We Effect programme coordinator Jonathan Kioko said.
The Meru University of Science and Technology's Sanitation Research Institute Director Joy Riungu (in white apron) explains how black soldier fly larvae are used in waste management.
Mr Kioko said the initiative targets about 15 markets for agricultural and fresh produce, which releases more than 30,000 tonnes of waste annually. Speaking during the launch of the project, he said traders will be organised into women-led waste management cooperatives, which, in turn, will set up waste sorting and aggregation plants.
Breaking down waste
“After sorting at the market, the waste will be transported to a composting facility managed by Meru University. BSF larvae will be introduced to the waste for the composting process to take place,” he explained.
“Within one week, the women traders will harvest grown larvae, which can be dried and packaged as protein-rich feed for chickens, fish and pigs. Organic manure produced in the process will be sold to farmers.”
Mr Kioko added that the waste management cooperatives would produce 25,000 tonnes of organic fertiliser and 500 tonnes of animal feed yearly.
Meru University’s Department of Sanitation has been undertaking research in the use of black soldier fly to convert organic waste into animal feed and fertiliser.
