The idea of rolestorming as a means to come up with novel, out of the box ideas, fascinated me, and I recorded the whole event, so as to be able to share this transcript together with snippets collected in this short video clip.

My communication manager, Ms Anna Spiteri invited all participants in the first project progress meeting in Malta to step outside their usual role and assume a different one. She asked to first spend a few moments to reflect on what each of us would come up with in this assumed role so as to bring about a much needed paradigm shift on wastewater reuse. 

Enjoy the read and especially look out for the out-of-the-box ideas each of the personas came up with!

Housewife

I live in a country where the practice of irrigating with untreated wastewater is common. I wish to buy vegetables that are free from pesticides and have been irrigated with properly treated wastewater.

NGO representative

We should also be asking from where the vegetables are coming.

Investor

Before taking the decision whether to invest, I would expect detailed information to be available e.g. through the news media.

Journalist

Yes, you are right, but my problem as a journalist is that I never know whether the person in front of me is telling me the truth.  For example a mayor of a council confirmed what a researcher had told me earlier, but actually there is no evidence of the new technology being in use. So whom can I trust?

Minister for Agriculture

Yes, this is true. The previous government did not care about this. We are working on a national plan. It will involve farmers, NGOs and all interested parties to build a master plan for agriculture. This will define ways on how we are going to ensure that the quality of the produce will meet standards and will be safe for human consumption.

NGO representative

Yes, but we have been carrying out our own analysis and found a lot of problems with the quality of the water that was used.

Farmer

We have been checking on our crops and find that crops irrigated with treated effluent are of a higher quality than others, so this suggests that there must be other sources of contamination. Among all the operators in the market chain – we are the ones that are being checked upon but there is no control in place of others! In the end, we have a situation where shoppers are not buying from vendors who they know are selling produce that has been irrigated with treated wastewater.

Consumer

I am willing to pay more for good quality produce, but it may backfire if a product is labelled ‘cultivated with treated effluent’. We need the government to study this in more detail.

Traveller

In my country I can know whether the vegetables and fruits are irrigated with treated effluent or not. But when I travel to another country how will I know which produce has been irrigated with natural water or with treated water?

Treatment plant operator

We take the monitoring of water quality very seriously so that we are in line with the standards set by the government. We also have a contractual agreement with farmer associations to whom we are providing the treated effluent as a product. Moreover, environmental NGOs are telling us people are ready to pay extra for eco-labelled products.

Supermarket owner

This is fine, but government should give us some form of subsidy so we can support the idea of promoting products produced by an eco-innovative wastewater treatment technology.

Minister for Agriculture

We have to gain the trust of the consumer, but we are faced with a situation where the news provided by journalists cannot be trusted.

Journalist

We have been following up on scientific research findings and our articles make full references to the sources of our information.

Minister for Agriculture

As a government we have invested in several in-depth studies but we are still in need to have these translated so as to raise awareness and confidence among consumers. I have asked the Minister for Economic Affairs to finance this type of actions.

Treatment plant operator

We should be mindful that there is a major difference in all this between countries that permit irrigation with untreated effluent and countries that do not allow this.

Moderator of rolestorming session

This project is planning to draw up a Charter on Wastewater Reuse. I understand there are existing Charters on Wastewater Reuse already. How do each of you see a ‘niche’ for the promotion of the APOC technology?

Farmer

As we are faced with a situation of our natural, fresh water resources becoming ever more scarce, and a growing demand for water from other sectors, we see the new technology as an opportunity to invite our government to invest in decentralized wastewater treatment plants that cater for smaller communities.

Consumer

I would suggest we look at how to reduce on the pollution we generate, because I am pretty sure the cost of wastewater treatment would then also be reduced. For example, we should avoid pharmaceutical waste to enter into the domestic wastewater stream. And the recovery of biogas through the use of the eco-innovative APOC technology could be used to provide electricity to the local community.

NGO representative

Yes, valid considerations, but aside from those we should also take into consideration the type of cultivation. Could the minister provide us with information on the quality of the treated effluent?

Minister for Agriculture

I would like to invite you to consider alternative treated wastewater reuse applications, such as existing golf courses, industrial use and managed aquifer recharge.

Journalist

Yes, but with a growing population, we should be concerned about security when it comes to food production.

Teenager

As a teenager I just do not believe anyone. Nobody is teaching us about these things at school. The only thing I know is that I cannot buy some products because my mother says ‘don’t eat this’. I cannot swim in the sea or play near the river. I think that the government has contracts with the journalists. The minister is paying for the research and controls the media.

Supermarket owner

My supermarket is in a small village of 2000 people. So the important people are the village priest and the teacher, and if they were to raise awareness on all these issues, they would be the local trusted champions.

Treatment Plant Operator

Like Greta Thunberg you are surely aware that eco-innovative technologies such as this novel water treatment technology give the opportunity to be showcased as a climate change impact mitigation measure. My experience of taking schoolchildren around our plant is very positive. They take a great interest and ask me a lot of questions.

Supermarket owner

If teenagers are interested in trends we can introduce a new fashion: ‘APOC Style’!

I eagerly admit that I am looking forward to more rolestorming in the coming months. I very much encourage you to try it out with friends and colleagues, and thanks for watching the video clip !