survival farmers. They have few
resources to invest in composts or
fertiliser yet would benefit from
improving the quality of their land.
The lack of widespread use of
externally composted waste amongst
such farmers suggests that in most
cases it is either too expensive to use
or of too low quality. At the same
time, good quality organic waste from
easily accessible and affordable
sources, such as the farmer’s own
animals and local food markets, will be
readily used. This implies that there is
a clear recognition of the value of such
practices. Box 4.2 (b) illustrates how
the needs of local farmers may
compare to the cost and quality of
waste produced by some alternative
waste management practices.
From this example the challenges for
city managers are two fold. firstly, they
must develop an understanding of the
needs of local farmers in terms of cost
and quality of waste. Secondly, they
must involve local farmers as key
stakeholders in the development of
initiatives to recycle organic waste from
food. It is, however, a sad reflection
on reality that at present local farmers
are rarely considered as key
stakeholders in solid waste
management.
4.5 Combining decentralised and large
scale approaches
Achieving widespread reuse and
recycling of waste from food is likely to
require a combination of both small
scale decentralised initiatives as well as
large scale approaches.
Consider decentralised approaches
where possible
If viable, it is usually preferable to
reuse waste close to where it is
generated, implying a decentralised
approach to waste management. This
is especially true for organic waste