Towards Brown Gold? Challenges and opportunities of reuse for universal sanitation in urban areas

Human waste is rich in water, nutrients and organic compounds. The 'Towards Brown Gold' interdisciplinary research project explored the potential of reusing excrement as part of the circular sanitation economy in five rapidly urbanising areas in Africa and South Asia.

Brown Gold refers to the safe (re)use of human waste and wastewater by, for example, turning it into products like organic compost, animal feed and fuel. 

Studies have shown a range of challenges – including financial, technical, social and cultural – to such reuse practices. To shed more light on these barriers, the Towards Brown Gold interdisciplinary research project explored the potential for reuse in five rapidly urbanising areas: Mekelle in Ethiopia, Wa in Ghana, Nanded and Alleppey in India, and Gulariya in Nepal. 

The research found that the potential for reusing human waste was limited by the poor condition of sanitation infrastructure, cultural perceptions, a lack of cross-sector collaboration, and a narrative that overpromises the benefits of the circular sanitation economy. It also found low levels of safely managed sanitation services, particularly in informal areas and for marginalised groups, and extremely poor working conditions for sanitation workers.

Barriers to progress on universal sanitation include insufficient resources that are skewed towards centralised sewered systems – leaving informal areas disproportionately underfunded – along with unclear roles and responsibilities, and limited understanding of and skills on safely managed sanitation.

The research recommends that decision makers:

• Ensure safely managed sanitation services in small towns and cities is a political priority
• Facilitate comprehensive and inclusive sanitation planning
• Protect the rights of sanitation workers and ensure decent work for them
• Be strategic and realistic in promoting the circular sanitation economy  
• Ground reuse efforts in the economic, social and cultural context
• Reform policy to create an enabling environment for reuse 

Top image: Community leader, Vijaya Tai, points out a rota of activities initiated during Community-Led Total Sanitation activities in Nanded, India.