(5%): the metabolic linearisation was almost complete. On one hand, agriculture
became specialised, disconnecting crop and livestock farming and leading to opened
biogeochemical nutrient cycles (chapter “The Seine Watershed Water-Agro-Food
System: Long-Term Trajectories of C, N, P Metabolism”); on the other hand, the
final stage of agro-food nutrient management, i.e. urban human excreta management, reveals yet another disconnection, between food production and human
excretion, with linear management of human excreta considered as waste.
This questions the future of urban sanitation systems and their aptitude to
promote circularisation and achieve sustainability. A combination of source separation of urine (possibly with faecal matter) and end-of-pipe techniques gives the best
results, with more than 90% recycling rates for both N and P around 2060. This
scenario is only feasible if human excreta are again considered as resources and if the
aim of urban sanitation is redefined. This implies a complete transformation of the
political basis of sanitation, a better integration of social metabolism in urban
policies (and others), a decompartmentalisation of urban and rural policies. This
also implies a change in sanitation techniques, the conception of buildings, the
training of those who are in charge of these services and more generally of the
material culture of urbanites. In short, a socioecological transition.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank all partners of the OCAPI programme (www.
leesu.fr/ocapi) and the PIREN-Seine programme for their technical and financial support to this
chapter. The PIREN-Seine research programme (www.piren-seine.fr) belongs to the Zone Atelier
Seine part of the international Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) network.
References
1. Steffen W, Richardson K, Rockström J et al (2015) Planetary boundaries: guiding human
development on a changing planet. Science 347(6223):1259855. https://doi.org/10.1126/sci
ence.1259855
2. Skambraks AK, Kjerstadius H, Meier M (2017) Source separation sewage systems as a trend in
urban wastewater management: drivers for the implementation of pilot areas in Northern
Europe. Sustain Cities Soc 28:287–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.09.013
3. Esculier F, Tabuchi JP, Créno B (2015) Nutrient and energy flows related to wastewater
management in the Greater Paris: the potential of urine source separation under global change
constraints. International conference on water, megacities and global change, Paris
4. Barles S (2005) L’invention des déchets urbains: France 1790–1970. Champ Vallon, Seyssel
5. Fischer-Kowalski M, Haberl H (2007) Socioecological transitions and global change: trajectories of social metabolism and land use. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Northampton
6. Barles S (2007) Feeding the city: food consumption and flow of nitrogen, Paris, 1801–1914. Sci
Total Environ 375:48–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.12.003
7. Esculier F (2018) Le système alimentation/excrétion des territoires urbains: régimes et transitions socio-écologiques. Thèse de doctorat en sciences et techniques de l’environnement.
Université Paris-Est, Paris. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01787854/document
8. Schmid Neset TS (2005) Environmental imprint of human food consumption: Linköping,
Sweden 1870–2000. PhD thesis, Linköping studies in arts and science. Department of Water
and Environmental Studies, Univ. Linköping
138
F. Esculier and S. Barles
became specialised, disconnecting crop and livestock farming and leading to opened
biogeochemical nutrient cycles (chapter “The Seine Watershed Water-Agro-Food
System: Long-Term Trajectories of C, N, P Metabolism”); on the other hand, the
final stage of agro-food nutrient management, i.e. urban human excreta management, reveals yet another disconnection, between food production and human
excretion, with linear management of human excreta considered as waste.
This questions the future of urban sanitation systems and their aptitude to
promote circularisation and achieve sustainability. A combination of source separation of urine (possibly with faecal matter) and end-of-pipe techniques gives the best
results, with more than 90% recycling rates for both N and P around 2060. This
scenario is only feasible if human excreta are again considered as resources and if the
aim of urban sanitation is redefined. This implies a complete transformation of the
political basis of sanitation, a better integration of social metabolism in urban
policies (and others), a decompartmentalisation of urban and rural policies. This
also implies a change in sanitation techniques, the conception of buildings, the
training of those who are in charge of these services and more generally of the
material culture of urbanites. In short, a socioecological transition.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank all partners of the OCAPI programme (www.
leesu.fr/ocapi) and the PIREN-Seine programme for their technical and financial support to this
chapter. The PIREN-Seine research programme (www.piren-seine.fr) belongs to the Zone Atelier
Seine part of the international Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) network.
References
1. Steffen W, Richardson K, Rockström J et al (2015) Planetary boundaries: guiding human
development on a changing planet. Science 347(6223):1259855. https://doi.org/10.1126/sci
ence.1259855
2. Skambraks AK, Kjerstadius H, Meier M (2017) Source separation sewage systems as a trend in
urban wastewater management: drivers for the implementation of pilot areas in Northern
Europe. Sustain Cities Soc 28:287–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.09.013
3. Esculier F, Tabuchi JP, Créno B (2015) Nutrient and energy flows related to wastewater
management in the Greater Paris: the potential of urine source separation under global change
constraints. International conference on water, megacities and global change, Paris
4. Barles S (2005) L’invention des déchets urbains: France 1790–1970. Champ Vallon, Seyssel
5. Fischer-Kowalski M, Haberl H (2007) Socioecological transitions and global change: trajectories of social metabolism and land use. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Northampton
6. Barles S (2007) Feeding the city: food consumption and flow of nitrogen, Paris, 1801–1914. Sci
Total Environ 375:48–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.12.003
7. Esculier F (2018) Le système alimentation/excrétion des territoires urbains: régimes et transitions socio-écologiques. Thèse de doctorat en sciences et techniques de l’environnement.
Université Paris-Est, Paris. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01787854/document
8. Schmid Neset TS (2005) Environmental imprint of human food consumption: Linköping,
Sweden 1870–2000. PhD thesis, Linköping studies in arts and science. Department of Water
and Environmental Studies, Univ. Linköping
138
F. Esculier and S. Barles