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 n natural systems, there is no such thing as waste.
Everything that's excreted, exhaled, or exhausted from one organism
is used by another. Some of the most innovative industrial designers
are following nature's model and turning waste into valuable
byproducts.
 Waste
is particularly unacceptable in poor regions of the world, where
food, water, and energy are scarce. Gunter Pauli, founder of
the Zero Emissions Research Institute, and George Chan, a civil
engineer from Mauritius, are working primarily in the Third World
on designing industrial processes that turn waste products into
valuable inputs for other processes -- particularly those associated
with meeting basic needs.
As Paul Hawken
says, "Waste is too expensive; it's cheaper to do the right
thing."
There's a
new brewery in Namibia in southern Africa that sounds too good
to be true: "Good beer, no chemicals, no pollution, more
sales, and more jobs." When the chairman of Namibia Breweries
heard from George Chan, an engineer, that it is possible to brew
beer and generate no waste, he could not believe it. But as a
veteran in the brewing industry with 60 years of experience in
the German tradition, Werner List was willing to listen.
To his surprise,
he found that Chan's proposals were simple and made a lot of
sense. The Mauritius-born civil engineer was simply applying
the principles of nature: whatever is waste for one is food for
someone else.
Namibia Breweries
had decided to construct a sorghum brewery in Tsumeb, a five-hour
drive north of Windhoek, the capital city; the question was,
could the zero-emissions concept be applied in the desert? Funded
by the United Nations University, George Chan undertook a field
visit in the summer of 1995 and concluded that it was not only
feasible, it was necessary. Less than 18 months later, on January
31, 1997, the first phase of the project was inaugurated by Namibian
President Sam Nujoma.
The system,
engineered and built under the supervision of George Chan, is
the result of extensive research and design over the Internet.
Teams of scientists from all parts of the world worked together
in cyberspace to figure out how to make best use of the spent
grain, the alkaline waste water, and the CO2 gases that make
up 98 percent of the waste from the brewery. The solutions they
developed turn all waste into products that are particularly
valuable in a country that lacks water, food, and cash.
Traditionally,
spent grain left over after the brewing process is given away
to farmers to use as cattle feed. However, cattle cannot digest
the fibers, and the result is a lot of gas. Cattle are the second
largest source of methane gas, one of the major causes of global
warming. But this lignin-cellulose component, which makes up
70 percent to 80 percent of the spent grain, can be broken down
by mushroom enzymes.
So, George
Chan brought S.T. Chang, professor at the Chinese University
of Hong Kong, to Namibia. This world expert on mushrooms trained
the Namibians in the cultivation of this high-priced product,
which the country traditionally imported. Each day, the brewery
will produce four tons of spent grain -- enough to grow one ton
of mushrooms. Professor Chang is confident that Namibia will
soon be exporting rather than importing mushrooms.
The spent
grain is up to 26 percent protein. Wasting protein is unacceptable,
particularly in Africa. So George Chan, in cooperation with Namibia
University, is initiating the cultivation of earthworms, which
are to be used as chicken feed. For a country that imports all
chicken feed and 80 percent of its chickens, this is a blessing.
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When
George Chan learned that Namibia Breweries had secured a license
to extract ground water, but planned to discharge 80 percent
of it, he designed a system that ensures not a single drop will
be lost. Normally, the law requires that the waste water, which
is alkaline, undergo an expensive chemical treatment process
to make it pH neutral. Instead, the alkaline water will be used
for the cultivation of Spirulina algae, which is up to 70 percent
protein -- exactly what is needed locally to fight child malnutrition.
Instead of wasting protein, the brewery becomes a protein factory,
and the waste water will generate additional revenues instead
of extra costs.
The residual
water is then channeled to fish ponds where fish farming is introduced.
As in China and Vietnam, multiple species of fish and aquatic
plant life will mimic a natural ecosystem, keeping disease to
a minimum and maintaining the health of the ponds. By producing
15 tons of fish per hectare per year, the brewery will also become
a fish factory.
The two most
needed ingredients for a fish farm are water and feed. Namibia
traditionally had neither. Now, it has abundant water for fish
farming and feed provided by the earthworm/chicken/mushroom waste
streams.
There is
more: the chicken manure goes through a digester and produces
methane gas. The gas, which would otherwise be released into
the atmosphere, is used as a fuel, reducing demand on wood which,
for 80 percent of the Tsumeb population, is the main source of
energy.
The Namibian
brewery will produce a total of 12 products in addition to beer.
This integrated biosystem will produce seven times more food,
fuel, and fertilizer than a conventional operation and four times
as many jobs.
The opening
of the brewery in Tsumeb, Namibia, is not just a local affair.
Representatives from around Africa, and Asia, Australia, Europe,
and Latin America will attend a special training course to be
held in Windhoek. This course is aimed at unleashing entrepreneurship
and creativity, resulting in more jobs and a better use of natural
resources.
Meanwhile,
at the UN University, we have expanded our research on the application
of the zero-emissions concept to vegetable oils (palm, coconut
and olive), construction materials (cement, bamboo), paper, fruits,
sugar, seaweed, and sisal, with a particular emphasis on techniques
and products that can be used in the developing world.
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William
McDonough, dean of the University of Virginia's school of architecture,
has said, "Only industry is capable of producing things
no one wants." Zero emissions is simply the continuation
of the drive of industry toward higher levels of productivity
and away from waste. After zero defects (total quality), zero
accidents (total safety), zero inventory (just-in-time), zero
emissions means that all raw materials will be fully used.
This model
could well prove the economists and politicians wrong. They believe
that in order to increase the productivity of a company, you
have to reduce jobs.
We are showing
that when you focus on the productivity of the raw materials,
you can generate more income, higher returns, and more jobs,
while at the same time eliminating pollution. This is the industrial
model of the future. 
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Professor Keto Mshigeni, a respected botanist and provice chancellor of the University of Namibia, helped introduce the zero-emission concept to Namibia. Email: kmshigeni unam.na.
Zero Emissions Reserach and Initiatives (ZERI) seeks to create a new paradigm of sustainable industry by targeting zero gaseous, liquid and solid emissions, and by making Zero Emissions a world-wide industry standard. ZERI Foundation, International Environment House, 11-13 Chemin des Anemones, CH - 1219 Geneva, Switzerland. Phone: +41-22-9178 205; fax: +41-22-9178 083; e-mail: info@zeri.org.
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