This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
On July 30, 2019, the Daily Nation reported on a groundbreaking innovation in Nakuru that has transformed human waste into a valuable resource.
Human waste is being used to make briquettes, which are replacing charcoal and firewood in the region. The briquettes are made from a combination of 50% human waste and 50% sawdust, processed through a rigorous drying and burning process.
According to John Irungu, General Manager of Nawasscoal, the company's research with Egerton University and the University of Nairobi found that one tonne of human sludge briquettes could save 88 trees of average size. If the company produces 300 tonnes of briquettes per month, it will save 26,400 trees in that period.
The innovation was sparked by the government's ban on logging and charcoal burning to conserve forests. Nawasscoal focuses on green energy technologies and produces methane and tar as by-products, which are useful in the community.
Sanivation, another social enterprise in Naivasha, has also been changing human waste into briquettes using a Blue Box portable toilet that separates urine and faecal matter. The waste is then dried, burned, and carbonised before making briquettes.
These initiatives are expected to boost the government's campaign to increase forest cover by 10% by 2022, according to Winnie Guchu, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Water and Sanitation ministry.
