Abstract
Sustainable management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a critical issue around the world, especially in South Asia where waste generation is expected to double by 2050. Closing the food-nutrient cycle through composting biodegradable MSW has the potential to meet human needs, including sanitation and food security, while protecting the environment. We use an interdisciplinary case study approach including systems thinking to assess Sri Lanka's national MSW composting system, which primarily receives residential and commercial food waste. We embed quantitative compost quality analysis and interviews at 20 composting facilities within a broader qualitative assessment informed by ~60 stakeholders in total. This approach yields insights on how institutional, economic, social, and biophysical aspects of the system are interrelated, and how challenges and solutions can create undesirable and desirable cascading effects, respectively. Such dynamics can create risks of composting facility failure and unintended consequences, diminishing the chances of achieving a sustainable circular food–nutrient system. Compost quality, which was variable, plays a pivotal role within the system—a function of program design and implementation, as well as a determinant of value capture in a circular economy. We make several recommendations to inform future efforts to sustainably manage biodegradable MSW using composting, drawing on our case study of Sri Lanka and prior case studies from other nations. Key among these is the need for increased emphasis on compost product quality and markets in policy and program design and implementation. Targeted measures are needed to improve waste separation, boost compost quality, effectively use compost standards, encourage compost market development, ringfence the revenues generated at municipal compost plants, and identify efficient modes of compost distribution. Such measures require adequate space and infrastructure for composting, resource investment, local expertise to guide effective system management, strong links with the agriculture sector, and continued political support.
Highlights
Around the world, economic development, population growth, and urbanization have been linked to increases in per capita generation of solid waste, along with logistical challenges created by the increased concentration of waste in cities (Kaza et al, 2018)
One of the 20 facilities accepted human fecal sludge, but this material was processed in a separate parallel composting process so that the facility made two compost products: one derived from biodegradable municipal solid waste (MSW) and another that was derived from co-composting of biodegradable MSW and fecal sludge
Our analysis shows how institutional, economic, social, and biophysical aspects of the MSW composting system in Sri Lanka are interrelated, where challenges and solutions can create undesirable and desirable cascading effects, respectively
Summary
Economic development, population growth, and urbanization have been linked to increases in per capita generation of solid waste, along with logistical challenges created by the increased concentration of waste in cities (Kaza et al, 2018) Poor management of this waste causes numerous environmental and human health problems, including degradation of aquatic ecosystems and water quality, impedance of stormwater flows causing localized flooding, disease transmission, respiratory problems linked to burning of waste, harmful effects to animals, and diminished tourism (Kaza et al, 2018). The responsibility of solid waste management in Sri Lanka is in the hands of local government entities, including municipal councils, urban councils, and Pradeshiya Sabhas, which rely on budgetary allocations from the central government, along with tax and non-tax revenues (Basnayake and Visvanathan, 2014; Fernando, 2019)
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