FLOWERS - Facilitating Local Organic Waste Exchange for Regenerative Systems

RATIONALE

In rapidly urbanizing areas of Uganda and Malawi, organic waste from restaurants, food vendors and 4 university canteens is often mismanaged (e.g., openly dumped or burnt), resulting in nutrient loss, environmental pollution, and missed opportunities for sustainable food systems. Meanwhile, smallholder farmers face declining soil fertility, low crop yields, and limited access to affordable soil amendments or livestock feed, increasing their vulnerability to climate stress and threatening food security. As the restaurant sector continues to grow, its higher waste volumes and easier supply chain potential compared to households make it a strategic intervention point. In Kampala, Uganda, informal waste supply chains already connect restaurants with traders and farms, demonstrating a resilient and efficient system. However, these flows remain understudied and undocumented.  

To strengthen this value chain, we must not only analyse how and why existing systems work but also map the waste flows of restaurants that do not participate. Understanding their motivations and operational barriers will help identify ways to expand the network and strengthen the value chain. By building what works and tapping into unused potential, the project aims to co-design scalable, locally appropriate solutions.  

This approach will also be adapted to Malawi, where organic waste supply chains are less developed, allowing the project to generate comparative evidence on barriers and enablers across systems. The disconnect between nutrient-rich urban organic waste and nutrient-poor rural soils represents a critical and solvable food and nutrition challenge.  

The FLOWERS project directly targets this gap by mapping and analyzing waste flows, identifying supply chains, and piloting scalable waste treatment solutions like composting, Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming, or anaerobic digestion (AD). It will also generate insights into the scalability and replicability for other rapidly urbanizing areas.

OBJECTIVES

The Kampala Capital City Authority and Municipalities within the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Areas (GKMA), Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Local Government, National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) of Uganda recognize the restaurant “booking” system as a low-emission organic waste reuse strategy

Farmers or waste practitioners in Uganda and Malawi adopt decentralized organic waste treatment technologies and apply resulting waste processed products to enhance crop yields

The Blantyre City Council and relevant municipal authorities in Malawi adopt and formalize the restaurant “booking” system as part of their organic waste management strategy

International development agencies and organizations and global national stakeholders recognize and consider the adoption of the restaurant “booking” system as a scalable SLCP mitigation strategy by the end of 2027.

 [WST-25-008] - FLOWERS-Facilitating Local Organic Waste Exchange for Regenerative Systems