Development of a circular economy based on faecal sludge recovery at fecal sludge treatment plants - Aqua for All

DELVIC Sanitation Initiatives is a Senegalese private FSM company specialised in the collection, treatment and valorisation of feacal sludge and is operating multiple Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs) in Senegal.

This project, named the FSA (Faecal Sludge recovery in Agriculture) initiative builds on a small-scale pilot and aims to further develop DELVIC’s circular economy activities in 4 FSTPs in two regions of Senegal: Thiès and Diourbel by valorising faecal sludge and transforming it into treated water and fertilizer to grow and produce vegetables (tomatoes, pepper and mint).

Besides having a clear focus on strengthening DELVIC’s business model, the project also has a strong environmental/climate focus as it promotes the development of organic fertilizer and reuse of treated effluent, which allows for limiting impact on natural water resources. In addition, social impact is obtained by working closely together with the women farmers group, providing training, fertilizer and water, enabling agricultural activities all year round, which will increase their income.

The objective is to bring this learning to an intermediate scale, demonstrating the interest of the recovery of faecal sludge by-products (organic fertilizers and treated wastewater) to make FSTPs profitable, while identifying the key success factors (technical, financial, social, environmental, institutional) that can make scaling up possible.