Tackling barriers to using human waste derived fertilisers in supporting sustainable food production in the UK

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Achieving food security worldwide is a major challenge we will face in coming years. The majority of crops produced require soil to grow, a finite resource that needs to be carefully managed and preserved to ensure continuity in its fertility. It is necessary to maintain soil organic matter to ensure fertility which is not provided by chemical fertilisers. A major issue facing low income countries is access to sanitation and safe treatment and disposal of faecal sludge. It is estimated that between 65% and 100% of sanitation in Sub Saharan Africa is provided by on-site sanitation systems, which require emptying as well as appropriate treatment and disposal to prevent public health and environmental hazards. Human waste is made up of organic matter and contains essential plant nutrients; its recycling into land can therefore provide a solution to both soil fertility and sanitation issues. Loowatt is a UK enterprise trying to achieve exactly that with their novel dry toilet combined with a treatment system that produces human waste derived fertilisers (HWDF) in order to achieve full recycling of nutrients and generate revenue.It has been shown that fertilisers, which are pathogen-free and have a positive effect on soil and crops can be produced from human waste. There are however barriers to commercialising HWDF both in high and low income countries mainly due to unclear regulations surrounding these fertilisers. Loowatt are developing a commercialisation strategy for their HWDF in Madagascar but they are faced with several barriers. EU and UK regulations are unclear on the use of HWDF, which results in European markets being cautious when buying produce grown using HWDF in low income countries like Madagascar. In order to overcome this barrier it is therefore proposed in this project first to engage key stakeholders to find out where the barriers to importing produce grown using HWDF lie. This will be followed by creating a scheme to provide quality assurance for HWDF. In the UK the Biosolids Assurance Scheme (BAS) was developed to ensure that its recycling into land is transparent and subject to external controls. This project proposes that a similar scheme can be developed for fertilisers derived directly from human waste from dry toilets. Working with the main individuals and organisations involved in policy-making on fertilisers and more specifically organic fertilisers in the EU and the UK, an analysis will be conducted to identify the obstacles to the use of HWDF. This will involve international organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) or the European Commission, producers, importers, farmers and private standard setting organisations. From this analysis, we will identify what scientific evidence needs to be provided to change the perception and regulations around HWDF and a list of parameters needed to prove the effectiveness and safety of use of this valuable resource. A plan to gather and provide this evidence will then be devised and analyses carried out accordingly using Loowatt's fertilisers. The stakeholder analysis along with consultation with UK experts that developed the BAS will enable drafting a HWDF-specific assurance scheme. Results of the analyses will then be assembled and serve as basis for discussions for potential policy changes towards the acceptance of HWDF. This would be a significant step towards a sustainable and circular economy of human waste management, contributing towards reducing fossil fuel consumption related to fertiliser production as well as towards improving or maintaining soil health in countries where nutrient depleted soils are too widespread. The results from this project will directly benefit Loowatt by setting the path to eliminating a barrier to commercialising their fertilisers and will also benefit farmers, agronomists and crop buyers by increasing their confidence in using HWDF.