Sanergy

The Sanergy Collaborative utilizes a circular economy approach to deliver safe sanitation and organic waste management solutions for cities by partnering with governments. By 2028, Fresh Life plans to serve 1 million people daily with safe sanitation, and Regen Organics aims to manage and reuse 1 million tons of waste annually in Africa. Regen’s climate-smart agriculture solutions will offset more than 500,000 metric tons of GHGs and improve the lives of 250,000 farmers.

The Problem
As cities in emerging economies grow at a breakneck, unstructured pace, they cannot handle increases in waste, and the urban poor are left out of essential services. 4.2 billion people lack safe sanitation systems globally. Existing solutions for waste management, like water-based sewer systems, are expensive to build and maintain. They require space in densely populated areas and rely on increasingly scarce water resources. Today, cities also generate 2 billion tons of solid waste annually. The World Bank estimates that by 2050, annual waste generation will increase by 70%, posing a huge environmental and economic challenge. At the same time, Kenya faces significant challenges in increasing its agricultural production and livestock to meet the growing population. Agriculture is the lifeblood of the Kenyan economy, with 80% of Kenyans relying on agriculture for a living.

The Solution
The Sanergy Collaborative, composed of two independent organizations, Fresh Life and Regen Organics, creates access to sustainable sanitation by building low-cost, high-quality toilets designed for urban slums. The toilets are distributed and serviced through a network of franchise partners: local residents who operate, maintain, and market the toilets. Fresh Life transforms how cities handle their waste, and builds healthy and prosperous communities by making safe sanitation accessible and affordable for everyone, forever. The Sanergy Collaborative takes an innovative, circular economy approach to ensure that waste, which would otherwise harm the environment, is transformed into high-quality, sustainable products. They develop end-to-end sanitation models for informal settlements, delivering dignified, desirable sanitation products and services that meet the needs of low-income residents and remove human waste from these communities. They safely collect and treat 12,000 tons of waste annually — including sanitation, municipal, and agricultural waste — and convert it into valuable products, including insect-based proteins derived for animal feed, organic fertilizer to restore soil quality and structure, and biomass fuel briquettes. Additionally, Fresh Life’s cost is, at scale, $13 per person per year compared to the government’s $54 per person per year.

By 2028, with government partners, Fresh Life will increase sanitation coverage to serve 1 million Kenyan citizens. Their cost- efficient model will serve residents at $10 per person per year. This approach will cost the public sector 5x less than they spend on sewers. Concurrently, Regen Organics is inspiring a regenerative agriculture revolution, serving over 10,000 farmers with high-quality organic inputs like fertilizer and insect protein. By 2028, Regen will serve 250,000 farmers, managing over 1 million metric tons of organic waste per year, offsetting more than 30,000 metric tons of GHGs annually.