The operations will take place under the local money LETS systems. A separate interest-free credit fund is provided in the budget for purchase of equipment which is not available locally and/or which has to be paid for in formal currency.
In principle, the equipment used should not require the consumption of imported energy (electricity, diesel, petrol etc) which causes an on-going financial leakage from the project area. Transport distances should be kept as short as possible.
The following drawings and graphs form an integral part of this project proposal.
DRAWING OF INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES.
DRAWING OF WASTE DISPOSAL STRUCTURES.
DRAWING OF COMPOSTING TOILET TANK MADE FROM BEOSITE(R)
- 1) Dry composting toilet tanks made from Beosite (R)
- 2) Toilet tanks for urine made from Beosite (R)
- 3) Grey water tanks made from Beosite (R)
- 4) Locally made compost bins for organic waste other than urine, faeces and grey water.
- 5) A system to collect and where necessary store the compost from 1) and 4), urine from 2) and grey water (from 3) of users who have no land or garden on which to recycle their own waste.
- 6) A system to collect and recycle non-organic solid waste through recycling centres.
- (a) Recycling should always be done at the lowest possible level, starting with the individual user.
- (b) Recycling at a second level should also be done as late as possible during the composting cycle to reduce the volume of material handled.
- (b) The whole system should be operated within the local (LETS) currencies.
- (b) Capital investment for recycling equipment, transport and storage under 5) and 6) will be a priority for Micro-credit loans.
- (e) "Dirty" work will be better paid than "clean" work in the LETS systems, because the rate of pay will reflect the willingness of workers to do the work. Those doing unpleasant work will have an above-average income within the LETS systems so that there should be no difficulty finding people to do the work.
- (f) Waste should, as far as possible, be recycled within the project area so communities are self-sufficient and there is no leakage of formal money from the system. In particular, materials like metals, paper, plastics can often be treated at local level for use in local industries creating jobs and local value added during both treatment and production. The principle also promotes the export of re-cycled products for formal currency which will be used to repay the interest free micro-credits loans.
- (g) Lucrative job possibilities are created within the system.
- (h) Export and sale of selected non-organic solid waste through the recycling centres for formal currency so micro-credits for re-cycling operation can be repaid.
- (i) Selected non-organic solid waste products will treated locally and recycled as raw material for local artisan industries.
- (j) Interest free micro-loans for compost collectors under 5) above may need to be for a longer term than other micro-credits as most of the compost will be recycled within the local currency system. Some of the compost collection charges may have to be in formal currency or the equipment may need to be used part-time outside the LETS systems to help earn formal currency to repay the micro-credit loans.
- (k) Recycling of special industrial and medical wastes to be addressed separately.
Two Beosite(R) tanks will be needed to collect and compost faeces.
The first properly aerated composting toilet tank is used until it is more or less full. It is then sealed and allowed to compost for 9-12 months while the second toilet tank is being used. The compost in the first tank reduces to about one wheelbarrow full of soil per adult person per year, and after the 9-12 months composting period it can be safely and profitably used as soil conditioner. Were an improved evaporation system to be used, the faeces in the single tank used would be evaporated by relatively warm air circulation in the system. This process forms dry coagulated lumps that look like dry dogs' food. These residues are light and greatly reduced in volume. They can be emptied at any time over 2-3 year periods and used as soil conditioner. Users who do not want to dispose of the resultant soil conditioner themselves will hire local operators to do the work under the local LETS currency systems.
Only one toilet seat/sanplat is required for double dry-tank installations. It is simply re-installed over the empty tank when the tanks are changed.
The second tank in the two-tank system can be bought at a later phase of the project because it will not be needed for at least a year. This helps spread purchases within the LETS systems over a wider time span.
The small quantities of water in containers used by toilet users for toilet cleaning and for personal hygiene will be added to the dry toilet tanks.
The small quantities of water in containers used vy urinal users for urinal cleaning and for personal hygiene will be added to the urine tanks.
Users unable to re-cycle the urine from their tanks and who do not use evaporation systems will have to arrange for the urine tanks to be emptied periodically under the local LETS systems for re-cycling within the project area.
Where appropriate, simple filter systems will be used to eliminate grease, oils, and similar from the grey water. The filtered out solids will be stored in the compost bin.
Users unable to re-cycle the grey water from their tanks will need to arrange for the tanks to be emptied periodically under the local LETS currency systems for re-cycling within the project area.
Animals such as chickens and goats are capable of productively recycling normal kitchen refuse.
The workers who collect, store, and re-cycle the compost will get priority micro-credits to buy the equipment they need. They will be well paid within the local currency systems to do the work which is likely to be considered less attractive than other jobs.
The recycling centres will sort the waste and store it until there is enough to sell commercially. Some centres may specialise by buying some kinds of waste collected by other centres so as to increase the commercial volume for export. They may also treat the waste they specialise in and prepare it for use by local industry, keeping the added value within the local system.
Re-cycling centre owners will get priority for micro-credit loans to buy the equipment they need to collect, store, and treat the waste.
Useful references for composting systems and integrated recycling are:
Winblad Uno et al, "Ecological Sanitation", SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), Sotckholm, 1998. ISBN 91 586 76 12 0.
Del Porto D and Steinfeld C, "The composting toilet system book", CEPP (Center for Ecological Pollution Prevention), Massachusetts, 1999 ISBN 0-9666783-0-3
Sawyer Ron (editor), "Closing the Loop - Ecological sanitation for food security", UNDP-SIDA, Mexico 2000, ISBN 91-586-8935-4
Foo Jacky, "Integrated bio-systems: a global perspective", InFoRM (National Workshop on Integrated Food Production and Resource Management, Brisbane, 2000.
