Turning Waste into Profit - The Latest Waste Management Trend
Turning waste into money is among the latest trends in waste management and is proving to be a highly successful business model for many companies. Think about how many millions of tonnes of waste that are created every day. As urbanization continues and population growth is an inevitability, the amount of waste we generate every day is only going to increase.
Fortunately, there are many companies who have made it their mission to turn waste collection into profit. For example, a company in the UK recently created a product that allows consumers to recharge their phones using their own urine. By targeting the micro-organisms that feed in urine and that produce electrons as a result of this feeding, they’ve uncovered a way to generate a sufficient amount of electricity to charge mobile devices.
To anyone seeking to build a business off waste, look to the cities. Urban regions account for as much as 75 percent of the consumption of natural resources, producing more than half of the world’s waste. Existing waste management systems, especially in low and mid-income regions, are particularly stressed or inefficient at managing the waste they have. So many entrepreneurs are entering these spaces and others, seeking new ways to make the most out of our garbage. Looking ahead, a sustainable future is going to be heavily dependent on these businesses, and the technological innovations that are and will continue to happen with regards to waste management.
There’s another example that lies in a community organization in Nairobi, Kenya who are using feces to produce energy. The organization set up a system of toilets for more than one thousand people to use daily. After waste collection, the feces is decomposed then fermented. The gas that is created from this process is later used as a form of bio-gas which can then be used in cooking facilities, and/or offered to homes or businesses in the region who require low cost energy.
A company in India, Bangalore to be precise, is producing compost from solid waste from various municipalities. Then, this compost is being sold to farmers who make use of it to organically fertilize their fields. This business is slowly reinventing waste management in Bangalore, reducing costs and finding more effective ways of using waste output.
Water is another major area of waste management that is in requirement of being addressed. Internationally, there is approximately three hundred and thirty cubic kilometres of municipal water put out every year as waste. Through bio-gas generation, this same waste re-purposed has the potential to power as many as 130 million households or to irrigate up to forty million hectares.
Already, companies are seeking ways to reinvent the ways in which water waste is used. In Tunisia, there is a company in Monastir who is using water waste to grow food for the local marketplace. The city’s wastewater facility treats it and then repurposes the water by sending it to farmers who grow olive, peach, and pomegranate trees.
As silly as using urine, feces, or waste of any kind may seem, take a minute to think about all the good that can be derived from such sources. By reusing waste, we can increase energy, food, and water supply. Today’s biggest businesses are internet tech giants. Tomorrow’s may be the companies who can turn everyday waste into something meaningful for the environment and the community.
