MACRO – Food in circular robust systems (2020-2022)

In the MACRO project large-scale source-separating wastewater systems and their implementation in urban areas are investigated. The work is led by Stockholm municipality and funded by Vinnova. The knowledge and experiences gained from this project will be implemented into the course “Resource-efficient water and sanitation systems” (V7013B) that is given at Luleå University of Technology.

A large-scale implementation of source separating wastewater systems in urban areas has large benefits, as shown in earlier projects (e.g. MACRO2). Among other things, source-separating systems contribute to a more circular resource management in the water, energy and waste sectors. Synergies are created between these systems and a more sustainable management of the city's waste products is made possible by (1) reduced negative impact on receiving waters regarding eutrophication and health risks, (2) reduced climate effect through increased biogas generation and heat recovery from greywater, and (3) increased circulation through circulation of plant nutrients from city to the countryside.

This project (MACRO3) will focus on the development of source-separating wastewater systems in the urban environment by planning for the infrastructure that needs to be implemented. Experiences from a system that is being built and taken into operation during the spring of 2020 in the port of Helsingborg will be summarized and fed into the planning and design of systems to be developed for Stockholm Royal Seaport. The project's experiences will be summarised and documented in a manual to facilitate the implementation of similar systems by other cities. Luleå University of Technology will implement the experiences and results of the project in the course “Resource-efficient water and sanitation systems” (V7013B).

The project is led by the city of Stockholm and the project partners are the water utilities SVOA and NSVA, Gotlands municipality, Luleå University of Technology, Midroc AB, RISE, Swedish Water, the Swedish University of Agricultural Science and Södertälje municipality.

Inga Herrmann, Elisabeth Kvarnström and Annelie Hedström