Abstract

The publication challenges the present food system in which most food is consumed in cities, but valuable water and nutrients like phosphorus are discharged as wastewater. The authors apply Substance Flow Analysis to assess the potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) to close water and nutrient cycles within the urban food system. NBS are a robust and low-energy solution to treat wastewater and biodegradable kitchen waste and recover water and nutrients for reuse.

Results indicate that, using NBS, the wastewater and kitchen waste from 77,250 persons could fully cover the nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer demand of the entire vegetable production in Vienna, which currently supplies one-third of Vienna’s vegetable consumption.

Cite & Share

Wirth, M., Vobruba, T., Hartl, M. et al. Potential Nutrient Conversion Using Nature-Based Solutions in Cities and Utilization Concepts to Create Circular Urban Food Systems. Circ.Econ.Sust. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00081-6

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