Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WORM (Waste in humanitarian Operations: Reduction and Minimisation)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31
The project “Waste in humanitarian Operations: Reduction and Minimisation” (WORM) aims to design guidelines and support actions for circular economy in the humanitarian sector. It integrates bio-based technological solutions, leverages procurement for waste reduction, improves waste management methods and prioritises the sustainable livelihoods of waste pickers. WORM focuses on two selected settings: field hospital deployments and humanitarian livelihood programmes with a waste picking component. Following a collaborative and multi-actor approach, WORM brings together medical and humanitarian organisations, procurement service providers, logistics providers, waste management services and academic partners.
WORM’s overall objective is designing guidelines and support actions for circular economy in the humanitarian sector. WORM focuses on two selected settings: field hospital deployments, and humanitarian livelihood programmes with a waste picking component. Across these settings, the project focuses on several cross-cutting focus areas:
• the integration of bio-based technological innovation solutions in the humanitarian context,
• using procurement as a gatekeeper for waste avoidance, and gateway to integrate innovative solutions,
• improvements in waste management, and the use of less polluting waste treatment methods,
• a specific focus on the sustainable livelihoods of waste pickers, and
• policy development, advocacy and a heightened local awareness of improved WM in the relevant local contexts.
WORM is structured across three phases.
Phase 1: Prioritisation (M1-M6). This phase consists of a scoping exercise of commonly used product groups that could qualify for seeking bio-based alternative solutions, a waste stream analysis of field hospital settings, and collecting procurement practices.
Phase 2: Evaluation of alternatives (M7-M12). In this phase, LCAs are conducted for prioritised product groups and their bio-based alternatives; and to compare waste treatment processes. A supply market analysis, and a technical and viability assessment is conducted on identified bio-based solutions. In parallel, WORM creates a framework for the sustainability assessment of these solutions to be integrated in procurement processes. At the same time, WORM identifies local WM innovations and circular business models and creates guidelines and policy recommendations for their scalability. In a field hospital setting, alternative non-destructive disinfection methods are evaluated for infectious waste.
Phase 3: Policy and implementation (M13-M24). The final phase supports the implementation of the above through the development of SOPs for use, reuse, and handover options of field hospitals and develops WM guidelines and policy recommendations for them in a way that considers both the integration of field hospitals with local WM and, if that is not possible, WM by field hospitals. WORM further focuses on the other use case of humanitarian livelihoods, looking at WM from a socio-economic perspective and ensuring that WM business models are set up in a way that considers the livelihoods, safety and hygiene of waste pickers. The project also assesses, and addresses, the potential limitations, trade-offs and unintended consequences of the introduction of bio-based solutions in the humanitarian context. Local awareness campaigns support the implementation of improved WM.
WORM’s overall objective is designing guidelines and support actions for circular economy in the humanitarian sector. WORM focuses on two selected settings: field hospital deployments, and humanitarian livelihood programmes with a waste picking component. Across these settings, the project focuses on several cross-cutting focus areas:
• the integration of bio-based technological innovation solutions in the humanitarian context,
• using procurement as a gatekeeper for waste avoidance, and gateway to integrate innovative solutions,
• improvements in waste management, and the use of less polluting waste treatment methods,
• a specific focus on the sustainable livelihoods of waste pickers, and
• policy development, advocacy and a heightened local awareness of improved WM in the relevant local contexts.
WORM is structured across three phases.
Phase 1: Prioritisation (M1-M6). This phase consists of a scoping exercise of commonly used product groups that could qualify for seeking bio-based alternative solutions, a waste stream analysis of field hospital settings, and collecting procurement practices.
Phase 2: Evaluation of alternatives (M7-M12). In this phase, LCAs are conducted for prioritised product groups and their bio-based alternatives; and to compare waste treatment processes. A supply market analysis, and a technical and viability assessment is conducted on identified bio-based solutions. In parallel, WORM creates a framework for the sustainability assessment of these solutions to be integrated in procurement processes. At the same time, WORM identifies local WM innovations and circular business models and creates guidelines and policy recommendations for their scalability. In a field hospital setting, alternative non-destructive disinfection methods are evaluated for infectious waste.
Phase 3: Policy and implementation (M13-M24). The final phase supports the implementation of the above through the development of SOPs for use, reuse, and handover options of field hospitals and develops WM guidelines and policy recommendations for them in a way that considers both the integration of field hospitals with local WM and, if that is not possible, WM by field hospitals. WORM further focuses on the other use case of humanitarian livelihoods, looking at WM from a socio-economic perspective and ensuring that WM business models are set up in a way that considers the livelihoods, safety and hygiene of waste pickers. The project also assesses, and addresses, the potential limitations, trade-offs and unintended consequences of the introduction of bio-based solutions in the humanitarian context. Local awareness campaigns support the implementation of improved WM.
By the end of the first interim period of WORM (31.12.2024) WORM has completed the following work towards its five objectives:
Objective 1. Integration of bio-based technological innovation solutions in the humanitarian context.
Completed during the first reporting period: Multi-actor approach for selecting and prioritising product groups, and LCAs of prioritised product groups.
Objective 2: Using procurement as a gatekeeper for waste avoidance, and gateway to integrate innovative solutions
Completed during the first reporting period: Multi-actor approach to select sustainability criteria in procurement, development of a dedicated WORM procurement platform, integration of prioritised product groups in the platform, and launch of first requests for information through the WORM platform.
Objective 3: Improvements in waste management, and the use of less polluting waste treatment methods
Completed during the first reporting period: Evaluation of alternative methods for medical waste treatment (alternatives to incineration such as disinfection), and LCAs of the waste treatment of bio-based alternatives.
Objective 4: A specific focus on the sustainable livelihoods of waste pickers
Work towards this objective is in focus during the second reporting period.
Objective 5: Policy development, advocacy and a heightened local awareness of improved WM in the relevant local contexts
Completed during the first reporting period: Completed policy briefs on sustainability criteria (D2.1) procurement guidelines (D2.2) scaling up (D3.2) plug and play framework (D4.2). Wide dissemination of the policy briefs within WP7.
All the work towards the five WORM objectives is on schedule.
Objective 1. Integration of bio-based technological innovation solutions in the humanitarian context.
Completed during the first reporting period: Multi-actor approach for selecting and prioritising product groups, and LCAs of prioritised product groups.
Objective 2: Using procurement as a gatekeeper for waste avoidance, and gateway to integrate innovative solutions
Completed during the first reporting period: Multi-actor approach to select sustainability criteria in procurement, development of a dedicated WORM procurement platform, integration of prioritised product groups in the platform, and launch of first requests for information through the WORM platform.
Objective 3: Improvements in waste management, and the use of less polluting waste treatment methods
Completed during the first reporting period: Evaluation of alternative methods for medical waste treatment (alternatives to incineration such as disinfection), and LCAs of the waste treatment of bio-based alternatives.
Objective 4: A specific focus on the sustainable livelihoods of waste pickers
Work towards this objective is in focus during the second reporting period.
Objective 5: Policy development, advocacy and a heightened local awareness of improved WM in the relevant local contexts
Completed during the first reporting period: Completed policy briefs on sustainability criteria (D2.1) procurement guidelines (D2.2) scaling up (D3.2) plug and play framework (D4.2). Wide dissemination of the policy briefs within WP7.
All the work towards the five WORM objectives is on schedule.
WORM is a CSA project, and thereby the majority of its results are related to policy briefs. That said, WORM has developed a dedicated procurement platform that supports the identification and uptake of bio-based alternative products and technologies in the humanitarian sector.