The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India

Safely managed waste reuse may be a sustainable way to protect human health and livelihoods in agrarian-based countries without adequate sewerage. The safe recovery and reuse of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF) has become an important policy discussion in low-income economies as a way to manage...

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Autores principales:	Zachary Burt, C. S. Sharada Prasad, Pay Drechsel, Isha Ray
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	IWA Publishing 2021
Materias:	caste fecal sludge human waste management preference model resource recovery and reuse Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d1afad90f6494bd6947badf516e7f266
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d1afad90f6494bd6947badf516e7f2662021-11-05T19:31:53ZThe cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India2043-90832408-936210.2166/washdev.2021.196https://doaj.org/article/d1afad90f6494bd6947badf516e7f2662021-05-01T00:00:00Zhttp://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/11/3/386https://doaj.org/toc/2043-9083https://doaj.org/toc/2408-9362Safely managed waste reuse may be a sustainable way to protect human health and livelihoods in agrarian-based countries without adequate sewerage. The safe recovery and reuse of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF) has become an important policy discussion in low-income economies as a way to manage urban sanitation to benefit peri-urban agriculture. But what drives the user acceptance of composted fecal sludge? We develop a preference-ranking model to understand the attributes of FSF that contribute to its acceptance in Karnataka, India. We use this traditionally economic modeling method to uncover cultural practices and power disparities underlying the waste economy. We model farmowners and farmworkers separately, as the choice to use FSF as an employer versus as an employee is fundamentally different. We find that farmers who are willing to use FSF prefer to conceal its origins from their workers and from their own caste group. This is particularly the case for caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners. We find that workers are open to using FSF if its attributes resemble cow manure, which they are comfortable handling. The waste economy in rural India remains shaped by caste hierarchies and practices, but these remain unacknowledged in policies promoting sustainable ‘business’ models for safe reuse. Current efforts under consideration toward formalizing the reuse sector should explicitly acknowledge caste practices in the waste economy, or they may perpetuate the size and scope of the caste-based informal sector. HIGHLIGHTS A discrete choice method is used to uncover preferences and power disparities in the Indian human waste economy.; Caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners prefer to conceal the origins of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF).; Most workers are open to using FSF if it is dry and not malodorous.; The formalization of fecal sludge reuse could inadvertently perpetuate caste-based disparities and unsafe waste handling.;Zachary BurtC. S. Sharada PrasadPay DrechselIsha RayIWA Publishingarticlecastefecal sludgehuman waste managementpreference modelresource recovery and reuseEnvironmental technology. Sanitary engineeringTD1-1066ENJournal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, Vol 11, Iss 3, Pp 386-397 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	caste fecal sludge human waste management preference model resource recovery and reuse Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066
spellingShingle	caste fecal sludge human waste management preference model resource recovery and reuse Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Zachary Burt C. S. Sharada Prasad Pay Drechsel Isha Ray The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
description	Safely managed waste reuse may be a sustainable way to protect human health and livelihoods in agrarian-based countries without adequate sewerage. The safe recovery and reuse of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF) has become an important policy discussion in low-income economies as a way to manage urban sanitation to benefit peri-urban agriculture. But what drives the user acceptance of composted fecal sludge? We develop a preference-ranking model to understand the attributes of FSF that contribute to its acceptance in Karnataka, India. We use this traditionally economic modeling method to uncover cultural practices and power disparities underlying the waste economy. We model farmowners and farmworkers separately, as the choice to use FSF as an employer versus as an employee is fundamentally different. We find that farmers who are willing to use FSF prefer to conceal its origins from their workers and from their own caste group. This is particularly the case for caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners. We find that workers are open to using FSF if its attributes resemble cow manure, which they are comfortable handling. The waste economy in rural India remains shaped by caste hierarchies and practices, but these remain unacknowledged in policies promoting sustainable ‘business’ models for safe reuse. Current efforts under consideration toward formalizing the reuse sector should explicitly acknowledge caste practices in the waste economy, or they may perpetuate the size and scope of the caste-based informal sector. HIGHLIGHTS A discrete choice method is used to uncover preferences and power disparities in the Indian human waste economy.; Caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners prefer to conceal the origins of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF).; Most workers are open to using FSF if it is dry and not malodorous.; The formalization of fecal sludge reuse could inadvertently perpetuate caste-based disparities and unsafe waste handling.;
format	article
author	Zachary Burt C. S. Sharada Prasad Pay Drechsel Isha Ray
author_facet	Zachary Burt C. S. Sharada Prasad Pay Drechsel Isha Ray
author_sort	Zachary Burt
title	The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
title_short	The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
title_full	The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
title_fullStr	The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
title_full_unstemmed	The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India
title_sort	cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban karnataka, india
publisher	IWA Publishing
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/d1afad90f6494bd6947badf516e7f266
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The cultural economy of human waste reuse: perspectives from peri-urban Karnataka, India

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