MADE IN KENYA: Nakuru County's NAWASSCOAL making briquettes from human waste

On the shores of Lake Nakuru, waste exhausters are driving in at intervals. They are here to empty fecal sludge collected from homesteads in Nakuru county. This is the collection point for NAWASSCOAL, a subsidiary of the Nakuru Water and Sanitation Company, who use the sludge to make briquettes. 

"We are doing this through a circular economy approach whereby we are transforming this fecal waste into products, in this case we are making briquettes. This is an alternative to ordinary charcoal, it can be used for domestic purposes. We also make seedballs, whereby we get the seeds of indigenous trees and carefully coat them with treated fecal sludge, which are good for afforestation," says Eng. John Irungu, the NAWASSCOAL General Manager.

The process starts with collection from homesteads in Nakuru county through a partnership with private service providers. At the plant, the sludge is dried for a number of days. 

'We do dewatering; removal of excess water. After drying we take it through the carbonisation process; we heat it at high temperature of about 400 degrees. This eliminates the pathogens, the harmful bacterias, and also increases carbon concentration. We combine this carbonised sludge with other biomass like avocado waste then we have properly blended material. And then we use molasses as a binding agent. We use an extruder, we also make round-shaped briquettes for different applications. We then bring it out here for drying where it will take 2-3 days." Irungu explains.

The briquettes not only burn longer than charcoal, but also have zero emissions that are harmful to the environment.

The county government is engaging  in public private partnerships to help  manage the waste generated in the county.

"So you need everybody to come in, whether you are investing in different kinds of waste stream, you are all welcome, and we believe if we are able to partner like we are doing with KCIC in terms of reviewing our legal framework to feed the daily needs, we are then able to help and also create job opportunities for our people," Nakuru county Director of Environment Grace Karanja says.

"In Nakuru county we are implementing the Sustainable Waste Innovation for a Future in Transition (SWIFT) programme, which supports entrepreneurs with business incubation and acceleration support; what is needed for businesses in the circular economy space to commercialise," KCIC's Vincent Ogaya adds.