Kigali’s organic waste problem could be solved by black soldier flies

Organic waste is still an issue that raises constant questions, especially in regard to its disposal in Kigali. Hundreds of tons of organic waste are collected from the city every single day and taken to the Nduba Landfill, a place that has been constantly complained of by people within its neighbourhood, due to issues like the bad smell that rises from it, among others. A new project based in Kamonyi district has been piloting the use of black soldier flies (BSF) larvae as an essential decomposer for breaking down organic substrates and come up with highly nutritious manure for agriculture. The New Times’ Hudson Kuteesa caught up with Frans Jooste, the Director of The Bug Picture—a company that is partnering with RwaCof to implement the project in question dubbed “Bishenyi Pilot Project.” The conversation revolved around, among other things, the extent to which BSF can help in dealing with the problem of organic waste in Rwanda. Excerpts: Qn. First, tell us, in a nutshell, about the process of using BSF to deal with organic waste. We turn organic waste into wealth through natures most powerful upcyclers—the black soldier fly which is an insect. This approach diverts organic waste from landfills resulting in significantly less greenhouse gas emissions, and produces high quality protein for animal feed and nitrogen-rich organic fertiliser which directly contributes to food production and feeding Rwanda’s growing population with nutrient-rich food. The various types of organic waste are ground and placed into trays, where five-day-old larvae/maggots are then added and allowed to feed over the next 7-10 days. Once the larvae have consumed all of the available nutrition and matured, they are separated from the remaining dry material called ‘frass’. This frass is an organic, nitrogen-rich bio-fertiliser, which restores soil health and is used in crop production. The larvae can then be sold as a ‘wet’ protein source, but in most cases, they are dried and ground into insect meal, which has a much longer shelf life. Qn. How much waste can you handle, say in a day? And what percentage does that represent as far as all the waste in the city is concerned? A third of food is wasted and ends up in Nduba Landfill, which is the primary landfill in Kigali. Nduba Landfill receives approximately 260 metric tonnes of organic waste every day. This is 95,200 metric tonnes every year. This excludes the opportunity that is available through agricultural waste such as coffee pulp of which Rwacof produces over 6,000 metric tonnes annually. This is a huge opportunity for companies like ours that see organic waste as an asset that can and needs to be upcycled. The Bishenyi facility is currently processing approximately one metric tonne of organic waste per day. Qn. Then, to what extent are you confident that this solution can deal with the problem of organic waste in Kigali, or even the country at large? Very much so. But it will require collaboration between the private sector, local authorities and national government to ensure that suitable organic waste is channelled to companies that offer this solution, and that the necessary funding is made available for this sector to establish itself and flourish. There is no silver bullet to solve the waste, protein and food security crises that are being experienced globally, so it is essential to create a holistic and complimenting network of solutions that work together. Qn. What challenges are you facing currently? Access to suitable waste supplies to meet our growing demand: Despite the immense quantity of organic waste that is available in Kigali and available to be diverted from Nduba Landfill, the organic waste that the larvae can process needs to be purely organic therefore, much of the waste is not suitable as it is mixed with things like plastic and metals (imagine what goes into your homes dustbin). Access to funding is necessary to cover the investment in equipment to facilitate scaling of our production. We are working very hard on securing both of these and are confident that things will come to fruition very soon. Qn. I know that you have been implementing a pilot phase. For how long have you been piloting it, what are the observations so far? Then, what are the chances of scaling up the project? The pilot has been running for around 12months and despite some difficulties experienced during Covid-19 lockdowns, it has only been going from strength to strength. We have definitely learned a lot over that period of time, with the most rewarding observation being that the core processes of our production are giving us the results we want. It is now just a question of refining those processes through the use of more purpose-built equipment. Plans for scaling are already underway and our intentions to be the largest dried insect producer in Rwanda, as well as one of the biggest in the region, is not something we take lightly. Qn. By the way, is this technology not costly? Give me a picture of how much it costs. That is a question with a very open answer. As I always say to investors, the cost is determined by how big a facility they are willing to let us build. On a serious note though, one is talking about money being spent on fixed assets that have the potential to generate revenues over a long period of time. Add to this the social and environmental value that the upcycling of waste and production of sustainable agriculture inputs can have for the people of Rwanda, and we believe that the investment costs are very easily justified. Even over the short to medium term. Qn. And is it something that an ordinary citizen can use? Or is it exclusively for dedicated projects like yours? Some of the equipment we currently use is definitely ’DIY’ technologies that can be used by anyone looking to convert their own organic waste into insects for their chickens and fertiliser for their gardens, but those solutions would differ somewhat from what a commercial facility would look like. The Bug Picture in Kenya is now working on training smallholder farmers in small scale production of BSF larvae, in order to reduce their cost of production for livestock, as well as creating self-made organic fertiliser to improve their soil quality. Once this training program is finalised, we will also be looking at introducing this to customers in Rwanda. Qn. Are you the only project using this tech in Rwanda? No, there are other projects on the go, and although I am not 100 per cent sure of the techniques they are employing, I am confident that they are fairly similar. Qn. Are there some positive experiences that you have learnt from other countries (in case there are some that are using this tech)? Yes, The Bug Picture started in Kenya and brought with it the foundation knowledge onto which this facility is built. We have also spoken to various BSF producers across the continent, to share learnings and experiences, and have used these to contribute to the drafting process of the recently approved RSB standards for insect rearing.

News

Kigali’s organic waste problem could be solved by black soldier flies