Idea 416 of 500. Cluster 21: Energy, water and waste at small scale
Composting of hotel and market waste into a branded soil product
The mechanism, from the book
The sun shines on every roof and the island imports its fuel.
Every idea in cluster 21 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Ask three plant nurseries and two home gardeners what bagged soil or compost they buy now, where it comes from and what it costs. Then ask one hotel kitchen manager and one market committee whether they would let you collect their food waste daily at no charge. The proof is a waste source secured and a nursery owner willing to stock a trial batch at a named price.
- Who pays first
- A plant nursery or garden shop that already sells bagged potting mix and would stock a local product with a clear name and steady quality.
- What leaves today
- Hotel and market waste goes to the dump while gardeners buy bagged soil; composting turns a disposal cost into a branded product sold on the island.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. FourteenThe List
Energy: first, stop importing it
More from cluster 21
- 411Rooftop solar leasing for households, paid from the electricity bill
- 412Solar-powered cold rooms for the fishing harbours and the farms
- 413Biogas plants for the dairy and pig farms, with the gas sold locally
- 414Rainwater-harvesting installation for the dry-zone villages and the hotels
- 415Waste-collection and recycling businesses in the tourist towns, paid by the businesses they serve
- 417Plastic-recycling units making building products from the beach and river waste
Idea 416 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.