Scaling transformation in organics recovery across the Global South

Emissions from waste are a leading cause of methane emissions. This is primarily due to the anaerobic decomposition of municipal solid waste in managed landfills without gas capture systems (or with inadequate gas capture systems). Organic waste (food, yard trimmings, etc.) is the largest source of methane emission in landfills, particularly across the global south. Across Latin America, organic waste is generally not separated and collected at households and businesses, but is instead mixed with other waste that is sent to landfills and/or open dumps. This project will focus on working with municipalities in Argentina and Brazil to assist them to segregate and valorize organic waste.

Project reference: [WST-22-003] Scaling transformation in organics recovery across the Global South.

What we're doing

This project will address the problem of organics being sent to landfill by creating multiple stream organics separation, collection, processing and offtake. This will be achieved through:

• ·         Social behaviour change: a design-thinking approach that Delterra has successfully deployed in several municipalities to achieve high participation rates in three-stream separation (organics, dry recyclables and refuse)
• ·         Optimized separate stream collection: supporting municipalities and waste workers/cooperatives to orchestrate separate stream collection routes, dates and equipment, including through Delterra’s synchronous and asynchronous (online learning) academy program
• ·         Aggregation and processing: supporting municipalities and waste workers/cooperatives to identify sites, equipment and investment needed to process organic waste (e.g. compost, soldier flies, anaerobic digestion, etc).
• ·         Offtake markets: connect waste workers/cooperatives to offtake market opportunities for treated organics (e.g. agricultural compost, district energy, animal feed, etc.)
• ·         Learning and dissemination: quantify the environmental, social and economic impacts that can be achieved through organics waste diversion/recovery and sharing these results and learning at the municipal, national and international levels to further amplify impact and inform the development of potential new policies to reduce SLCP emissions from waste.