The National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (NWSC) Managing Director, Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha, and the General Manager Kampala Water, Eng. Mahmood Lutaaya, demonstrated foresight, and a proactive approach to addressing pressing environmental and financial aspirations as they sought more knowledge on new technologies or rather innovations that could aid the corporation in upscaling commercialization of its wastewater treatment by-products.
This, they did during a knowledge sharing session with Dutch Wasterwater and Sanitation management experts at the Delfland Water Authority in Delft, Netherlands.
The Delfland Water Authority team took time to appreciate the NWSC informative website that gave them the corporation’s success story as one of the most outstanding water utilities on the African continent, as well as an idea of how much has impressively been achieved in terms of sewer services, and utilization of waste which the NWSC believes is only waste, if it has been wasted.
Note that the NWSC is already reshaping waste management, and setting the stage for a sustainable business growth via the production of faecal sludge briquettes at the corporation’s Lubigi Sewerage Treatment plant, as well as turning sludge into organic soil fertilizer of approximately 550m3 per month at the Nakivubo Wastewater treatment plant in Bugolobi. Then there is the generation of both heat and electrical energy through biogas which contributes to 70% of the plant’s energy.
However, NWSC’s ambitions transcend its current accomplishments. The corporation aspires to achieve self-sustainability across all its facilities in terms of energy, while exploring avenues to generate alternative revenue streams through a “waste to wealth” model, and that is where the Delfland Water Authority team comes in, and to feed the NWSC team’s hunger, they fronted the “Closed-loop closure system.”
The Closed-loop closure system is basically the completion of a circular economy cycle, where materials are continuously reused, recycled, or repurposed within a system, minimizing waste and maximizing resource efficiency.
So if NWSC embraces it, it will offer a holistic approach to optimizing resource use, promoting sustainability, and unlocking economic opportunities in the commercialization of wastewater treatment by-products. That way, it enhances the value proposition of the prior mentioned by-products and contributes to a more circular and sustainable financial standing for the corporation, as well as fuel NWSC’s objective of environmental protection.
Also note that with more knowledge on waste water treatment cutting-edge solutions, NWSC will be in a position to optimize its resources, turning waste into valuable commodities while positioning itself as a global leader in sustainable practices. This approach not only fosters business growth through the creation of new profiles and opportunities within the corporation, but also strengthens national, and international collaborations and diplomatic ties focused on wastewater affiliated solutions.
