KitaQ System Composting and Its Applicability in Asia: Lessons Learned and Future Potential ○ D.G.J.Premakumara(*); H. Kazuyoshi(1) , E. Tamura(2) (*) (1) Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Kitakyushu Urban Centre (2) Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Kyushu International Centre

1. Introduction Solid Waste Management (SWM) is considered to be one of the most serious environmental issues confronting urban areas in Asia. The growth of urban populations and economies has resulted in a corresponding growth of solid waste which local governments are finding difficult to dispose of. Existing dumpsites are filling up and finding new dumpsites is becoming increasingly difficult. This has led to strong appeals to develop more sustainable and innovative methods for reducing the amount of waste generation at the source rather than later at the end-of-pipe. However, these efforts are still very limited with mixed of results, especially in developing countries, where organic materials usually comprise over half of the total waste generation in the cities. In order to help this situation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - Kyushu International Centre, Kitakyushu City, the Figure 1: Uncontrolled waste disposal poses a serious Kitakyushu International Techno-Cooperative Association (KITA) and the Institute for Global environmental issue in Asian cities Environmental Strategies (IGES) are working together in promoting KitaQ System Composting in Asian cities aiming to reduce reliance on landfill as a disposal route, establishing more sustainable material-cycle society. The KitaQ System Composting was first piloted in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. In contrast to the centralised, larger-scale, high technical composting method, KitaQ System Composting is focused on decentralised, community-managed, simple technologies. The local Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Pusdakota, encouraged the residents in Kampong Rungkot Lor (an urban community with about 200 household adjacent to Surabaya’s largest industrial area) to separate waste at the source. The organic waste is then collected separately and treated at a nearby composting centre adopting the Takakura Method, a simple composting method developed by Koji Takakura of J-Power Group, JPec Co., Ltd utilising fermentation microorganisms, which can be easily found in the local foods and the nature. The Material Recovery Facility (MRF) was established to collect inorganic materials and links them with existing informal recycling business. The KitaQ System Composting was further refined and applied by Surabaya City at the city-wide level, introducing waste reduction and recycling activities; community- managed waste collection services and polluter pay principle; promoting composting practices by setting up composting centres and distributing free compost baskets to its residents; and organising community cleanup campaign and waste recycling activities Figure 2: Waste reduction in Surabaya City by 30% within five building partnership with other stakeholders such as the Women’s Network (PKK), local years. Source: Ema, 2011. Compiled by Premakumara, 2011 NGOs, waste pickers, academic institutions, private ventures and media. This supportive policy environment has helped to reduce the amount of waste being transported to final disposal sites by as much as 30%, enhanced recycling by removing organic matter from the waste stream and improved the city’s overall waste collection system. Based on the success of Surabaya City, there is a considerable demand for technical assistance in adapting the KitaQ System Composting in various other cities in Asia. JICA, Kyushu International Centre also started to use the experiences of the KitaQ System Composting for its overseas training programmes, pre-training programmes for Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) and by allocating funds from JICA Partnership programmes. With this backdrops, a regional seminar was organised in Kitakyushu City during 29 June to 01 July 2011 inviting related cities and organisations to share and discuss from successful experiences and challenges in promoting KitaQ System Composting in Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Asian cities. Figure 3: Seminar participants are in group exercise 2. Methodology This paper therefore discusses the key findings of the three-day long seminar on KitaQ System Composting in Asia, which was jointly organised by the JICA, Kitakyushu City, KITA and IGES from 29 June to 01 July 2011 in Kitakyushu and gives some recommendations for the successful implementation of the KitaQ System Composting in Asian cities. Twenty representatives attended the seminar from the respective local governments, including Indonesia (Balikpapan, Makasar, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya, Tarakan), the Philippines (Cebu), Malaysia (Sibu, Kampar) and Thailand (Nonthaburi). It gave opportunities for participants to make presentations on their individual city’s experience, take part in interactive discussions and go on site visits. The interactive discussions were facilitated through small group discussions and plenary sessions, which were designed to draw on the learning from the city presentations. Further, a model of successful practice of KitaQ System Figure 4: Presentation of group findings Composting in Surabaya City was presented in both analytical and practical perspectives to serve as basis for discussion.

Corresponding author: [email protected], [email protected] 〒805-0062 IGES, Kitakyushu Urban Centre, International Village Centre 2F, 1-1-1, Hirano, Yahata-Higashiku, Kitakyushu City, Japan. Tel：81-93-681-1563 FAX：81-93-681-1564 Keyword: KitaQ System Composting, Decentralised Composting, Citizen Participation, Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM), Asia 3. Discussion: Key Promotional, Inhibiting Factors and Strategies for Adopting KitaQ System Composting in Asian Cities The representatives gave a brief introduction about the status of the SWM and existing composting programmes in their cities. This was followed by 4 working groups which discussed and identified key promotional and inhabiting factors as well as strategies for applying the KitaQ System Composting in MSWM based on the observations of the city reports. The findings of the working groups were then presented in the plenary (see Table 1).

Table 1: A Summary of the Promotional Factors, Inhibiting Factors and Proposed Strategies in applying KitaQ System composting in MSWM Group Promotional Factors Inhibiting Factors Proposed Strategies Technical and Existing knowledge and Lack of knowledge and technical expertise on composting Conduct pre-operational survey on appropriate composting approach (household basket/backyard operational expertise; existing methods; lack of sound resource persons/institutions that composting or community composting centre) and appropriate composting methods (Takakura, community-based composting can provide know-how for composting; inadequate attention Windrow, box or in-vessel) based on technical, financial, socio-cultural and institutional capacity; schemes; trained staff; and knowledge on the biological process; lack of quality develop information and education materials (literature and audio visuals); develop guidelines for existing networks; awareness assurance; lack of list of proven technologies; and lack of appropriate technologies; select the appropriate waste collection system and promote waste of residents cost for operational and maintenance separation at the household level; forming a specific body such as Composters Association or Federation creating networks among competent composters (public organizations, private entrepreneurs and NGOs); monitors member schemes in technical and operational issues; serves as hotline for troubleshooting; training and capacity building programmes; assistance for start-up cost and available lands for the composting facility Social Existing public awareness Lack of awareness, commitment, understanding, Design and implementation of information, education and communication programmes with mobilisation and campaigns; good education, acceptance and participation within community members; assistance of CBOs, NGOs and others; explain and promote the economic, social and organisational incentives; competitions, lack of committed and sustainable leadership at community; environmental benefits of community composting schemes; select appropriate organizational reward and punishment lack of support from authorities, lack of skills and capacities approach of composting schemes based on the level of community capacity; integrate all system; documentation and in social mobilisation; lack of commitment, experiences and stakeholders into planning, design and implementation and marketing of a composting sharing best practices skills in working with citizen groups and NGOs; lack of programme; establish an award system for motivating citizen participation for community partnership with media, academic institutions and private composting activities; establish partnerships with the private sector, mass media, and academic ventures; and lack of law enforcements institutions in design and implementation of socialization programmes and award systems; create community rules and law enforcements for ones who do not obey the schemes; and social punishment for non-cooperative body Financial and Awareness on organic Lack of seed money or shared cost arrangements; Develop an appropriate marketing strategy based on demand and production capacity; set-up marketing farming; existing promotional insufficient market demand for composting; scepticism and demonstration projects; integrated with existing markets and distribution networks; use by local campaign; national standards, lack of awareness on organic fertiliser; far distance to governments for its city greening and parks; promote new life-styles on organic farming; offer cost-benefits analysis; public market and farmers; poor quality, competition from chemical support to composters conceptually and financially that is accessible, applicable and consistent; parks and green areas fertilisers; poor marketing experience, accounting practices shift subsidies towards organic fertilizer; use of compost for soil rehabilitation; MoU among local and neglect of the economic aspect of composting authorities; ensure quality control; develop a national/local standards for compost; establish national/local certification system for compost; carryout research and development on compost quality in cooperation with academic and research institutes; training programmes on compost quality control, enforcement for officers to buy compost, Institutional and Strong support of the Mayor; Lack of policies, legal guidelines and regulations for Develop institutionalized framework for planning, authorisation and support of composting in societal available knowledge and composting; lack of vision, strategic and marketing plans for MSWM; develop local policies and strategic plans indicating clear visions with active participation expertise in the city; trained composting; no institutional framework to plan, support and of different stakeholders; establish appropriate legal framework; allocate sufficient budget; staff; existing network with coordinate composting programmes; lack of acceptance establish training programmes; create network with relevant stakeholders; establish resource other stakeholders; existing and coordination among different departments and centre or learning facilities (e.g. data collection, information sharing); and national policy and regulations; policies and stakeholders; lack of skills and capacities; no land use strategy to support compost promotion programmes on SWM planning and earmarking for composting sites and urban agriculture; political influence Source: Compiled by Premakumara, based on the results of group discussions in the Seminar, June 29 – July 01, 2011

The participants identified that increasing waste generation, inadequate collection and uncontrolled disposal of solid waste, high proportion of organic waste factor, recent efforts at global, national and local level for promoting 3Rs, strong political concern and support, public education, awareness and pressure, partnership with relevant stakeholders, existing knowledge and pilot programmes on composting and existing network with the international agencies are some of the promotional factors, which are favourable to apply composting in MSWM. Further, it was identified that the KitaQ System Composting based on decentralised, community-based approach is more effective for their cities in reducing waste generation with low financial costs establishing a sound material-cycle society. It can be started with very little capital and operating costs, flexible for implementation from household efforts to community and the city-wide level, integrate existing informal sectors involved in the MSWM, provide excellent opportunities to improve the city’s overall SWM system as well as Takakura Method, a composting technology in the KitaQ System Composting is also simple, easy-to-follow, locally acceptable and have great potential to be automatically transferred, adapted and replicated without much outside resources. However, composting is not more wide-spread in their cities due to number of inhibiting factors, such as, inadequate attention to the biological process, lack of knowledge and technical expertise, lack of policies, legal guidelines, regulations and strategic vision, lack of supportive and coordinating framework, institution and budget allocation, neglected economic aspect of composting, poor quality control, perverse incentives like fertiliser subsidies, lack of community participation, and partnership with other stakeholders. Thus, participants identified the importance of taking following strategies for the sustainable application of composting in MSWM, such as integration of composting into SWM strategy with appropriate processing technologies selected based on market opportunities, economic feasibility and social acceptances, encourage community participation through establishing community awareness programmes and organising competitions to encourage participation, building partnership with relevant stakeholders such as NGOs, the private sector, and the media aiming to mobilise outside resources to up-scale and replicate successful community composting programmes at the city-wide level, develop marketing strategy to meet the local requirements, proper cost accounting, and integration with organic agricultural and horticultural activities, formulating strategic plans, creating effective MSWM system, developing guidelines, establishing and enforcing compost quality standards, regulating and monitoring the performance of compost operations, promoting the use of compost, using compost in its own departments, such as public works and agriculture, reducing subsidies on chemical fertilisers, allocating lands for compost facilities and providing technical assistance on composting techniques and promote city-to-city networks for capacity building and development assistance mechanisms.

4. Conclusion The findings and observations of the seminar reveal that the following factors are needed to be considered in international assistance and cooperation to enhance municipal composting efforts in Asian cities: (i) appropriate technology should be applied and ensured a sound operation, (ii) suitable financial and management model is need to be considered, and (iii) enabling policy, legal and institutional conditions should be established.

Notes The authors would like to thank all the participants for their active participation, observations and insights that gave during the seminar. A special thank goes to Dr. Yoshida and Mr. Yao, JICA for their valuable expertise given in organising the workshop sessions as well as Mr. Kodama, JICA, Kyushu International Centre, Mr. Mitoma, Kitakyushu City, Mr. Nagaishi and Ms. Morimoto, KITA, Mr. Maeda and Ms. Murakami, IGES and Mr. Takakura and Ms. Yaoya, J-Power, Jpec Co., Ltd for their valuable support and technical inputs in organising this seminar. Some of the reference materials shared in the seminar are; Composting for Waste Reduction: Information Kit, IGES, 2010; Premakumara, D.G.J., Abe, M., Maeda, T., Reducing Municipal Waste Through Promoting Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) Practices in Surabaya City, Indonesia, Ecosystem and Sustainable Development VIII, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 144, pp. 457-468, WIT Press, 2011; Maeda, T., Reducing Waste Through the Promotion of Composting and Active Involvement of Various Stakeholders: Replicating Surabaya’s Solid Waste Management Model, Policy Brief 9, IGES.