From the Field Organic Waste Recycling for a Sustainable Future in Kenya

With a rapidly growing urban population, many cities across the world are struggling to manage large amounts of organic waste. In the report titled 'Trends in Solid Waste Management', the World Bank estimates that the world generates 2.01 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually, and this is projected to double by 2050, reaching up to 3.40 billion tons. Of this solid waste, approximately 44% is food and green waste.

Kenya generates between 3,000 to 4,000 tons of waste per day, the majority of which originates from urban areas. According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Nairobi (the country’s capital city) generates between 2,000 to 2,500 tons of waste daily, of which 80% is organic and 20% is in plastic form. Of the waste generated by the city, only 45% is recycled, reused or transformed into a form which can yield an economic or environmental benefit: very far from the 80% target set by the NEMA. The bulk of the waste, especially in urban areas, ends up in landfills or is burnt, leading to environmental pollution and the release of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) such as black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons, which contribute to climate change.

Beyond being a health and environmental hazard, organic waste has huge economic costs for producers. Traced along the value chain, wasted organic matter means that the resources that went into its creation (such as water, fertilizer, energy and land) also go to waste.

Embracing the principles of circularity could be a major strategy for Kenya to achieve a sustainable food future. To create circular economy loops requires an agroecological thinking at all levels of the food system (production, marketing, transportation, consumption and waste management). Food by-products generated during production, transportation, storage, food processing and any lost or wasted produce within the value chain can be turned into useful bio-products, generating positive economic and environmental outcomes.

"Valuable resources are lost when food is wasted in dumpsites. Adopting circularity through organic waste conversion to organic fertilizer helps to return the nutrients back to the farms" noted Boaz Waswa, Soil Health Specialist at the Alliance.

"For us organic waste is a valuable resource. We collect about 20 tons of organic waste daily from major markets in Nairobi and Kiambu and turn it into organic fertilizer" says Richard, CEO of Organic Fields Ltd., the makers of Hygrow Organic Fertilizer.

The idea of addressing waste management was born in 2018. Richard and the team saw an opportunity in two interconnected challenges. On one side was the challenge of disposing of organic waste in markets, and on the other hand, there were many smallholder farmers with poor soils and declining production who were unable to buy expensive chemical fertilizers. The opportunity was to convert the waste into organic fertilizers that farmers can use to improve their soil health and boost production at a low cost.

The process of making organic fertilizers starts from visiting markets to collect organic waste using trucks. The waste is then taken to the first handling point where it is sorted to remove plastics and other non-decomposable materials such as glass and fabrics, which are resold to other processors for recycling. There are endless opportunities for turning 'waste' into useful products, which can drive innovation and create sustainable jobs.

The organic waste is then taken through steps of decomposition, mixing regularly to ensure uniform decomposition and sieving to remove stones and undecomposed plant materials.

“We use a controlled aerobic decomposition process aided by beneficial microorganisms, a process that reduces the emission of foul smells and generation of methane,” explains Richard.

Use of beneficial microorganisms not only aids decomposition but also sterilizes the fertilizers and reduces the risk of passing harmful pests and diseases back to the farms.

One of the innovations adopted by Organic Fields is adding biochar to improve on structure and water-holding capacity of the organic fertilizers. Biochar is also important as it helps with carbon sequestration. Farmers using biochar-enriched fertilizers store carbon in the soil, thus contributing to climate change mitigation through sequestration.

The final stage involves granulation and packaging at the right moisture level. Granulation helps to ease application either by hand or with machines by large-scale farmers.

It takes approximately 12 weeks to transform waste into the final organic product. For every 5 tons of organic waste collected, we produce one ton of organic fertilizer, explained Richard. Organic Fields has an installed production capacity of 10-15 tons of granulated organic fertilizer.

Over the years of product development experimentation and research, Organic Fields has determined the best ratios that can generate safe and high-grade organic fertilizers. To ensure quality, the organic fertilizer undergoes in-house laboratory testing as well as at external quality reference laboratories such as CropNuts and the Kenya Bureau of Standards. Today, the organic fertilizer produced by Organic Fields is now widely used on coffee, maize, beans, mangoes, and vegetables.

"Farmers using Hygrow Organic Fertilizer can cut on inorganic fertilizer use by 50% and still gain more than 30% yield increase. The soil benefits from the improvement in soil organic matter, water-holding capacity, and more beneficial soil organisms. This makes farming more affordable and sustainable", observed Richard.

However, circular waste management comes with its own set of challenges for private sector actors and farmers.

Waste processing is a labor- and capital-intensive business: "As an emerging SME, we have limited capital which has limited our expansion. We use our own locally produced equipment from sieving to granulation, which come with many operation and efficiency challenges. We appeal for support and incentives to grow and modernize for more efficient production, notes Richard.

The formation of the OFIMAK – Organic Fertilizer & Input Manufacturers Association in Kenya - of which Organic Fields is a member, has played a key role to raise awareness and champion for more investment in this subsector.

Whereas the use of organic fertilizer is picking up with the growing demand for safe and healthy foods, the demand is still low due to low awareness and appreciation by growers and consumers, noted Christine Chege, a Researcher on consumer behavior and agroecology at the Alliance. Partnerships for scaling are crucial to raise awareness of the contribution of organic fertilizers for regenerative and agroecological farming to create demand from farmers.

Another challenge is that the bulk of urban waste is often mixed, making it a challenge to sort before processing the fertilizers. There is a need to provide guidelines, infrastructure and requirements to separate waste before collection and transport to the final disposal points.