8/22/22
Public Engagement: Scaled Up
By Maile Lono-Batura, Water Environment Federation

During the 2019 WEF Biosolids National Convening, biosolids leaders converged to identify key challenges and concrete actions that the sector could take to ensure biosolids programs remain sustainable. A thread that was clear throughout the Convening was the need to level up our approach to biosolids beyond the status quo as it relates to program management, communication, and research.

Since this Convening, WEF has made strides in the action plan that include:

  • Releasing the Biosolids Communication Toolkit

  • Hiring a new Director of Sustainable Biosolids Program and part-time Biosolids Coordinator

  • Advocating for increased leadership in EPA’s biosolids program

  • Continuing to advance the Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) program

  • Revamping the National Biosolids Partnership to improve accessibility and explore product certification.

To prepare for the new Biosolids Director role in 2021, I canvased the biosolids community to gather insights on what our sector is getting right, what isn’t working, and how we can course correct or reinvent ourselves where we are missing the mark. What I heard was:

  • Be Proactive: Lead our story – we know it best. Be a representative voice for biosolids rather than letting others tell our story.

  • We Are Poised: Biosolids offer a remedy to global challenges including soil conservation, food security, renewable energy, and climate change.

  • Make it Personal: Humanize the conversation and engage people beyond our echo chamber to share ownership of this valuable resource we all create.

This was the inspiration for launching a grassroots campaign that pulled in key actions from the Biosolids Convening as well to:

  • Build broader partnerships

  • Enhance benefits of biosolids communications

  • Establish a biosolids champion

Enter 2022 Year of Poo, a social engagement campaign inspired by the need to reconnect to the critical role we all play in creating a circular resource society. This approachable platform will invite users to learn how everyday conveniences and choices can affect their poo-print. The campaign takes on many poo-related topics with interactive features including Fun Fecal Facts and Friday Flushes featuring Movement Makers who have made poo a part of their repootoire.

The objective is to lift the lid on talking about the fascinating side of poo to begin a larger conversation to transform the way we connect to our food, our flush, and our role as contributors in creating a quality product. A key driver for this type of platform is to focus on connecting with vs. communicating to, moving from outreach to engagement, and connecting to producers further up the pipe at the flush. Flushing is a universal act that bonds us all, 2022 Year of Poo is aimed to move beyond public acceptance to public ownership.

Please visit 2022yearofpoo.org and follow us on social media to meet our featured Movement Makers and gather some digestible chunks of pipeline wisdom. Also, if you’re planning to attend WEFTEC 2022, stop by the 2022 Year of Poo booth next to WEFTEC Live to snap a picture at our photo booth and post to your socials.