Abstract
The challenge of providing food, water, and nutritional security for households and communities in 2050 will be greater than the challenge today. The increasing demands, especially from urban areas, will place significant pressure on land, water, and energy resources. While water recycling and reuse offer the opportunity to augment water resources, there are other valuable resources that can be recovered, as well. Innovative technologies are available that can transform wastewater and bio-solids into energy, fertilizer and other useful materials. With additional investment in resource recovery and reuse, the potential for achieving cost recovery in the sanitation sector increases. A key step is to introduce ‘business thinking’ and private sector investments in a sector that traditionally relies on public funding. With continued applied research, effective policies, supportive institutional capacities, private sector involvement, and successful business development and advocacy, the prospects of transforming wastewater from an environmental burden into a safe economic asset are quite promising.
“Wastewater is only wastewater when we choose to waste it” (Michael J. Wilson)
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Wichelns, D., Drechsel, P., Qadir, M. (2015). Wastewater: Economic Asset in an Urbanizing World. In: Drechsel, P., Qadir, M., Wichelns, D. (eds) Wastewater. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9545-6_1
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