Carter, L.J. orcid.org/0000-0002-1146-7920, Dennis, S., Allen, K. orcid.org/0009-0008-8569-2646 et al. (11 more authors) (2024) Mitigating Contaminant-Driven Risks for the Safe Expansion of the Agricultural─Sanitation Circular Economy in an Urbanizing World. ACS ES&T Water. ISSN 2690-0637
Abstract
The widespread adoption of an agricultural circular economy requires the recovery of resources such as water, organic matter, and nutrients from livestock manure and sanitation. While this approach offers many benefits, we argue this is not without potential risks to human and environmental health that largely stem from the presence of contaminants in the recycled resources (e.g., pharmaceuticals, pathogens). We discuss context specific challenges and solutions across the three themes: (1) contaminant monitoring; (2) collection transport and treatment; and (3) regulation and policy. We advocate for the redesign of sanitary and agricultural management practices to enable safe resource reuse in a proportionate and effective way. In populous urban regions with access to sanitation provision, processes can be optimized using emergent technologies to maximize removal of contaminant from excreta prior to reuse. Comparatively, in regions with limited existing capacity for conveyance of excreta to centralized treatment facilities, we suggest efforts should focus on creation of collection facilities (e.g., pit latrines) and decentralized treatment options such as composting systems. Overall, circular economy approaches to sanitation and resource management offer a potential solution to a pressing challenge; however, to ensure this is done in a safe manner, contaminant risks must be mitigated.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under CC-BY 4.0. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > River Basin Processes & Management (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 05 Mar 2024 10:50 |
Last Modified: | 05 Mar 2024 10:50 |
Published Version: | https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.3c008... |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society (ACS) |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00803 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:209870 |