Composting of Faeces in Bangalore, India

A toilet center with eco-friendly type of toilets separating wash-water, urine and faeces has been established in the Rajendra Nagar Slum (Bangalore/India). The toilet center is serving 600-800 persons per day. The collected urine is used for banana production; the faeces are co-composted with green-waste and wastepaper from the computer industry. The compost is used in agricultural production. The project has successfully been operated for more than 2 years.
A workpackage has been started to analyse material and nutrient flows and to generate a sound data basis for further process optimisation. Hygienic properties of human waste processing are tackled to ascertain the future production of high quality fertiliser. A scheme for efficient knowledge dissemination is included in the project.
The project achieves a shift of traditional perceptions and attitudes for environmental as well as economic reasons. Human waste, which has been considered a social stigma and pollutant, is now seen as a valuable resource. Processing faeces and urine becomes a save income potential. The project shows how living conditions of scavenger families (women in particular) can be improved and how discrimination can be tackled using convenient institutional, economical and technical concepts.
Principles of sustainable development are being implemented here, which tackle the problems of sewage and faeces and create an opportunity for slum development: The income generated by the project (users fee, compost, bananas) covers 50 % of the running costs of the toilet center.


Actions

• Mid-Term Mass Balance of Biomass Flows (Faeces, Green Wastes & Waste Paper)
• Detailed Nutrient Balance for Nitrogen & Phosphorous (Urine, Green Wastes & Faeces)
• Pathogen Analysis & Characterisation of Hygiene Properties (Compost)
• Optimisation of Compost Operation (Windrow Structure & Material Handling)
• Transfer of Analytical Methods
• Implementation of Control Strategies

Scope
An initial project phase will focus on Data Generation for material and nutrient balances. Urine and faeces as well as waste paper will be analysed thoroughly over a period of several months.
In a second phase the background for Process Optimisation of the installed windrow composting will be evaluated. Temperature regimes will be characterised and the operational frame for material composition, aeration & turnover will be set.
A third step will ensure efficient Capacity Building by transferring analytical methods and operational knowledge to the local staff.


Outlook
The project will be continued in 2004. Future aspects include:

• Analysis of Project Economy and financial challenges for future work.
• Identification of bottleneck factors for project Multiplication.
• Assessment of nutrient availability and ecotoxicological risks of compost and urine.
• Implementation of local Quality Assurance schemes for high quality fertiliser production.
• Generation of a Marketing Strategy for nutrient Management in compost and human urine.

Partners
HSW University of Applied Sciences, Waedenswil, Switzerland
Seecon GmbH, Lucerne, Switzerland
C-CIT Centre for Chemical Information Technology, Waedenswil, Switzerland
SANDEC Sanitation in Developing Countries, Duebendorf, Switzerland
ACTS Agricultural Centre for Crafts, Training & Studies, Bangalore, India
ICAR Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Bangalore, India