Pitch
International Society for Promotion of Most Effective Use of Human Excreta & Waste: MIT Initiative
Description
Summary
Use of human excreta as manure is known since antiquity. With the emergence of modern industrial civilization such use was neglected for variety of reasons. Renewed interest evidenced by proposals in waste management categories necessitates coordinated efforts by experts to optimize to balance the advantages & disadvantages of different ways.
Human excreta & waste though a major environmental challenge could be a rich raw material for production of manure and energy apart from other minor uses it could be put to. Efforts to develop technological solutions for this purpose seem presently scattered so I suggest the following.
At the initiative of MIT an International Society for Promotion of Most Effective Use of Human Excreta & Waste (The ISPRO-MEUHEW:MIT) should be formed to coordinate & facilitate the research and application. Participants at Climate CoLab with proposals for human excreta use may be invited along with the other researchers and workers in this area.
Society may focus on the optimization of existing solutions for varying scales of operations and develop criteria for efficiency at each scale, for both the aerobic & anaerobic methods, explore possibilities for integrating different approaches in both a parallel & sequential manner.
Society may in it's wisdom set the valuable tasks before itself in greater depth.
Is this proposal for a practice or a project?
Practice
What actions do you propose?
Initiative by MIT to bring into being International Society for Promotion of Most Effective Use of Human Excreta & Waste will help by coordinating and synthesizing the presently scattered attempts to put to better use the wasted human excreta in a safer & more valuable manner.
Human excreta though used since ancient times as manure and presently considered a major waste can be a very valuable raw material for production of both the manure and energy. Scattered attempts to develop solutions for this purpose need be systematized.
The efforts to develop solutions for the human excreta issue need be streamlined, systematized and prioritized for greater success and public benefits. This is difficult without collaboration of researchers and workers working on different strategies, hence the need for international society specifically for this purpose.
This body would be in a better position to suggest the policy changes, appropriate techniques, technologies at different scales involving different strategies and identify areas for further research and development about most effective ways to beneficially utilize human excreta. Using varied methods & other renewable energy sources synergistically to accelerate manure & energy formation could be one area for focusing. Decreasing the time required for the formation of manure and energy may be focused. Optimizing the existing solutions at different scales, development of criteria for efficiency at these scales, for both the aerobic & anaerobic methods, exploring avenues for integrating these in a sequential &/or parallel manner could also be the subjects before the society. The Society may in it's wisdom set the tasks before itself in greater detail and depth.
MIT therefore should take initiative in the establishment of such a society by identifying the researchers and workers active in this field and invite them for joining the effort to establish such a body.
Who will take these actions?
MIT is indeed in an excellent position to initiate the process of the formation of such an international organization or scientific society, in the best interests of earth's climate. Other institutions & governmental as well as nongovernmental entities may also be involved as much as possible.
Where will these actions be taken?
Global.
In addition, specify the country or countries where these actions will be taken.
No country selected
Country 2
No country selected
Country 3
No country selected
Country 4
No country selected
Country 5
No country selected
Impact/Benefits
What impact will these actions have on greenhouse gas emissions and/or adapting to climate change?
Impact would be 1) Intangible- facilitating research and development of techniques and technologies for most effective utilization of human excreta 2) Tangible- a)- The extent to which the manure from human excreta replace the factory derived chemical fertilizers would determine the quantum of emissions reduced. b)- The extent to which the energy derived from human excreta would replace the fossil fuels will determine the quantum of reductions in emissions from fertilizer manufacturing industry. c)- The use of waste products for constructive social purposes would have ripple effects in other fields and facilitate adoption of ways of life conducive to reversing the climate deterioration.
What are other key benefits?
1- May help promote a healthier attitude towards waste products of any kind.
2- Help make available organic products from plants growing with the manure use.
Costs/Challenges
What are the proposal’s projected costs?
A major issue could be sharing the technical know how especially during the process of pending patents.
Another would be readiness to adopt a flexible approach towards the issues of superiority of methods and technologies, especially in the context of shifts if required.
Sheer magnitude of possible advantages of collaboration & systematic cooperation in this field would remove the above difficulties.
Timeline
If this society succeeds in demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of Most Effective Utilization of Human Excreta, apart from the tangible and intangible benefits it would help reorient people's interest and thinking about climate solutions.
About the author(s)
Single Author,
Psychiatrist residing in India,
Involvement would be in the form of suggestion of the concept as author lacks technical background to be of greater use than this.
Related Proposals
1) Save & Sow: The Seeds of Growth!
https://www.climatecolab.org/contests/2017/A2R-Anticipating-Climate-Hazards/c/proposal/1333842
2) Swami Vivekananda Fruit Trees Expansion Mission for Environment, Peace, Health
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