UCU launches food waste upcycling plant to boost sustainability and employment

UGANDA – Uganda Christian University (UCU) has taken a major step toward tackling urban food waste by establishing a food waste upcycling plant under Bionovedosa Solutions Ltd, a university-led initiative turning discarded food into sustainable cricket feed.

The pilot plant, located in the Kampala–Wakiso corridor, serves as a demonstration site showcasing how waste can be transformed into value.

According to Geoffrey Ssepuya, a lecturer at UCU and the project’s principal investigator, about 75% of urban household waste in Uganda is food waste, much of which ends up decomposing in landfills and drainage systems.

“Kampala alone produces around 7,770 metric tonnes of food waste daily, with households contributing up to 680 tonnes of that waste,” Ssepuya said.

“This project aims to turn that challenge into an opportunity, improving sanitation, creating jobs, and promoting a circular economy.”

The plant currently consumes one tonne of food waste per week, producing about 300 kilograms of high-quality cricket feed.

The process starts at the community level, where residents are encouraged to separate food waste from plastics and other materials using designated bins.

The initiative has already rolled out in Kasangati, Kira, and Gayaza, with plans for expansion to other districts.

Local leaders have hailed the project for its social and environmental benefits. Josephine Nantumbe, LC II councillor for Busukuma, said it will help reduce waste accumulation while creating new employment opportunities.

Robert Kayizi, a cricket farmer from Wakiso, noted that the new feed would lower production costs and make cricket farming more profitable.

“We have been using poultry feeds which are expensive and not formulated for crickets,” Kayizi explained. “This innovation makes our business more viable and competitive.”

UCU Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi praised the initiative as a model for translating academic research into tangible community impact.

“This project shows how research can lead to innovation, innovation to products, and products to industrialization,” he said.

The upcycling initiative aligns with a growing global movement to convert food waste into valuable by-products.

Similar innovations include Kenya’s Sanergy, which turns organic waste into animal feed and fertilizer, and South Africa’s AgriProtein, which converts food waste into insect-based protein.

If scaled, experts say UCU’s model could significantly reduce Uganda’s urban waste burden while spurring a new green industry around sustainable insect farming.

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