Dissemination of Best Practices on Waste Management

Although waste-related best practices and innovations are surely happening all over the world, only small number of people can recognize and benefit from them. In order to establish and scale up sustainable waste management systems, it is important to improve access to innovations and interventions that can transform waste into wealth and recover resources. Such dissemination can assist waste management stakeholders who are seeking effective practices and feasible interventions to improve waste management in their cities.

World Habitat Day 2019 was a great opportunity to showcase and disseminate waste innovations from all over the world and bring a more positive outlook to the waste management discourse. Through the “Call for Innovative Solutions to transform Waste to Wealth,” UN-Habitat assisted innovators to present their best solutions and innovative ideas, and to reach out to other organizations, waste management practitioners and beneficiaries, in an effort to publicize their work to stakeholders across the globe.

Applicants submitted their innovative technologies, solutions, ideas, and approaches that change the way we think about, use and treat waste. The submission needed to support the 5R (Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) and opportunities that can transform waste to wealth.  Relevant submissions were published on the UN-Habitat website and shared with the Waste Wise Cities Campaign. The 20 best submissions were published and showcased as part of World Habitat Day:

1. Comida Invisivel (Invisible Food), Brazil: Food waste reduction through an online platform
2. Takawiri paper, Kenya: Fighting the water hyacinth in Lake Victoria by using it as a raw material for biodegradable products
3. Phone2Wallpaper, Burkina Faso: Converting used cellphone covers into switches
4. Liter of Light, Philippines: Creating cheap lighting from recycled material, powered by renewable energy
5. Beib el Chouf, Lebanon: Sustainable cultural centre using recycled building materials and renewable energy
6. eTrash4Cash, Nigeria: Payment of low-income residents for recyclable waste collection
7. Soso Care, Nigeria: Healthcare cover in exchange for waste collection
8. Sustainable Recycling Industries, global: Guidelines on e-waste management
9. Wastezon, Rwanda: Online e-waste purchasing and collection platform
10. MIRA, Ghana: Artificial intelligence-powered recycling assistant
11. Salubata, Nigeria: Reusable shoes from recycled materials
12. Bioresource Recovery Centre, Kenya: Organic waste conversion to fertilizer using Black Soldier Fly larvae
13. Institut Catholique de Kabgayi, Rwanda: Conversion of coffee pulp into animal fodder
14. Positive Change for Marine Life, India: Building of aquaponic systems from recycled materials for poor fishing communities
15. Brick-by-Brick, Dominica/USA: Manufacturing of disaster-resistant building material from hurricane debris
16. Sense in nonsense, Nigeria: Water cleaning through adsorption using chitosan technology
17. Sanivation, Kenya: Sustainable briquette production using faecal matter
18. Yapeka, Indonesia: Post-disaster waste management infrastructure in tourist environment
19. RecycleIt, Armenia: Creation of waste recycling and sorting culture in 6th-most waste-generating country
20. UN-Habitat, Lebanon: Installation of Reverse Vending Machines and transformation of waste into phone credit.

The projects were selected for being truly innovative and having significant and sustainable impact on a large number of people. These innovations are environmentally friendly, socially acceptable, economically viable, and successfully address the Sustainable Development Goals.