Treatment technologies for urban solid biowaste to create value products: a review with focus on low- and middle-income settings

A Biowaste Treatment Technology Assessment in Malawi

“…The objectives and their attributes as provided by the SOWATT tool are presented in Table 1. The performance data (Table 2) were obtained from the SOWATT tool [13], which was established based on an extensive literature study [6,[20][21][22][23][24][25], and through interviews with experts in Malawi. Table 1.…”

“…Biowaste can be treated to recover valuable resources like energy and nutrients, thus presenting economic opportunities while reducing the negative environmental effects of open dumping and/or decomposition [6]. Biowaste management can also act as a driving force for overall waste management when, for instance, the economic value of biowaste-derived products incentivizes waste collection or new revenue opportunities enhance the financial sustainability of the waste management system [7].…”

“…Besides the tangible physical elements, waste management also comprises an array of "soft aspects", also referred to as governance aspects including stakeholder preferences, financial mechanisms, policies, and institutional capabilities [8,9]. Many biowaste treatment initiatives have been unsuccessful, as such issues were not sufficiently considered [6,7]. To better evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different biowaste treatment technologies with regard to set objectives, a decision support structure can significantly help take informed decisions.…”

Perception of the Selected Residents on Household Composting in a Highly Urbanized Area, Manila, Philippines

“…These factors include Carbon-to-Nitrogen ratio, shredding of materials, blending of materials, temperature, reaction or pH level, moisture and aeration, and microorganisms involved [20]. Otherwise, when the best condition is not met, the process may be slowed or may not happen at all [17]. Among the existing methods of composting, based on how the residents described their method where a hole is dug and the organic wastes are buried, this is known as pit composting according to Martin and Gershuny (1992) [21] description in their book.…”

“…Composting, by definition, is a biological degradation process of organic waste where microorganisms convert the organic waste into humus-like substance which can be used to enhance soil properties [16]. This can be done at different scale using different technology and mechanization [17]. Proper handling of this method gives various advantages such as production of biofertilizer, relatively low air and water pollution, low operational cost and income generation, making it sustainable process.…”