Abstract
Unmanaged waste in informal settlements poses serious health hazards and lead to poor living standards. This manuscript looks at a chemical engineering solution to the problem by the design of a plant that will enable communities in informal settlements to use waste material and turn it either into a valuable product that can meet their local needs or a marketable product as a source of income. While designs and economic models of large scale waste to energy processes exist, the plant suitable for informal settlements requires completely different designs and economic models owing to the different social and economic dynamics. The process design has to consider a number of social and technical aspects regarding, what the society perceives as their needs and thus what final products would be most appropriate or beneficial, the economics, the scale, the safety and the operation of the plant. The manuscript highlights the challenges that one may encounter and options that can be considered within the framework of bringing the product and plant design to meet specific needs of informal settlements.