Webinar Series - Public preferences for biosolids management approaches, and farmer preferences for organic-derived fertilisers - Dr Curtis Rollins UWA
Author Editor
Updated February 2025
This presentation is part of our ongoing webinar series being undertaken as part of the IWN Webinar Series Circular Economy – Solids stream.
This on-line webinar was presented on 6 February 2025.
The recording of this webinar can be found via the IWN members site .
Below is the Flyer that was published for this event:
Public preferences for biosolids management approaches, and farmer preferences for organic-derived fertilisers
This 3rd seminar will provide an overview of two survey-based research projects exploring biosolids management issues in Australia.
The first component explores public preferences for different biosolids management approaches and outcomes. Approximately 3000 survey responses were collected from a nationally representative sample of the Australian public. The analysis explores how members of the public make trade-offs between resource recovery, pollution reduction, and the financial cost of water treatment and biosolids management. We also measure public acceptance of different end-uses of biosolids-derived products.
The second component focuses on farmers’ preferences for organic-derived fertilisers, such as those created from biosolids. Organic- and waste-derived products are typically adopted at low rates relative to chemical fertilisers, in part because they provide significantly lower levels of nutrients. In this study, we explore the feasibility of marketing blended products that combine chemical and organic-derived fertilisers to farmers, and relative prices and nutrient levels in which farmers may consider switching from chemical fertilisers to organic-based alternatives. Responses to this survey were collected from a nationally representative sample of 200 farmers
About the speaker
Dr. Curtis Rollins is an environmental economics lecturer working for the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics within the University of Western Australia School of Agriculture and Environment. Curtis’ research project with the ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource focuses on decision-making relating to a wide range of environmental, agricultural and natural resource issues, including natural disasters, food system sustainability, biodiversity, and waste management issues