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The Value of Waste

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The Value of Waste0The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH) recently evaluated the economic value of humans’ bodily waste. The recent study showed that the world population of
7 billion produces about 290 billion kilograms of feces, and about 1.98 billion liters of urine a year. The UNU-INWEH predicted that turning human fecal matter during the same period into biogas fuel could be worth up to $9.5 billion. This is equivalent to the amount that 138 million households, or the total number of households in Indonesia, Brazil, and Ethiopia, pay for electricity.
The Value of Waste2The amount of water in human fecal matter is anywhere from 55 percent to 75 percent, while the rest is methane gas. Dried fecal matter is an energy source similar to coal. Zafar Adeel, the director of the UNU-INWEH, said, “If we can demonstrate a simple, cost-effective new approach … we can enhance development, protect the environment, and help reduce sanitation problems causing one-tenth of all world illnesses.” The study may become a starting point for people to develop new ways to recycle human waste.

Nancy Cho
Staff Reporter
(chohy@timescore.co.kr)