E CONOMIC SANITATION

The second pillar of sustainability is the economic aspect. The impact of adequate sanitation on the economy can often be overlooked. Nevertheless, a society cannot function if sanitation is not properly taken care of. Developing sanitation can also give a great deal of push to local entrepreneurship and innovation.

4.3.1 Business opportunities

In improving sanitation, the additional benefits are often forgotten. In addition to improving the state of public health and clean environment, a functional sanitation system also improves the economy of society as well as an individual.

Especially in rural areas, where many households grow their own food, there is a dire need for fertiliser. An affordable solution, such as composting and/or urine diverting toilet could be an alternative to expensive artificial fertiliser. Many households in several countries have, after the introduction of dry toilets, been interested in substituting their use of artificial fertiliser, at least in part, with human based fertiliser. (See, e.g. Petterson & Wikström 2012; Andersson 2014.) This has not only been done on a household level, but also larger farms have experimented with recycling the nutrients from human excreta, often by using treated or composted wastewater or sludge. In these cases the yields have grown, and the attitudes have eventually been accepting towards the fertilising method. Yet, current legislation in some countries limits the use of “humanure” toonly landscaping, and not farming. (HSY Water Services 2012; Jiménez 2012.)

Apart from fertiliser use, sanitation does bring other forms of employment and livelihood. First of all, there is a growing need for people who know how to build and maintain toilets. Also in industrialised countries the skills required to build a functioning indoor dry toilet are rare. (O’Connell 2014.) The construction process is one thing, but also the maintenance and collection of the waste need to be organised well, especially in an urban community where people do not necessarily have their own gardens. In some countries, e.g. Sweden, the projects have moved on from pilots to more wide-scale municipal implementation, but on the whole there is still a long way to go – even though these service providers already exist in the form of

Sanitation also brings new opportunities to the energy sector, as the composting material can be used as a source of bioenergy, too. This is useful especially in rural areas outside the power grid, but the uses can be extended to more modern locations to add to power use. (Otterpohl et al.2012; Gamisonia 2012.)

Moreover, it is necessary to remember to look at the bigger picture. With adequate sanitation, there are more opportunities for tourism, recreation and healthy living for both inhabitants as well as guests. National parks, holiday reserves and other locations have benefited from good dry toilets, which are affordable and easy to maintain. (Cant 2009; Kiukas 2011; Regerand et al.2009.)

4.3.2 Technology

It is important to consider not only the question why, but also how ecological sanitation can be made into a feasible option. Several researchers have developed, tested and evaluated various models, as well as tested their suitability in different conditions and environments. Some of them are described below.

Ecological sanitation can be achieved in numerous ways. Dry toilets come in many forms, but basic composting toilets and urine diverting dry toilets (UDDT) are the most common models in rural and poor areas without electricity. More technological approaches are offered by freezing, incinerating, evaporating and other forms of toilet. In disaster areas, a decomposing bag toilet might become just as handy as an old fashioned dry toilet – especially if no sanitation facilities exist. In rural areas with no sewage network, a dry toilet with grey water treatment system is usually the cheapest as well as the most ecological option (Lehtoranta & Vilpas 2012; Panesar et al. 2010).

Furthermore, the latest technological innovations have been used to improve ecological sanitation, from nanotechnology to state of the art diversion and evaporation systems, which collect the important nutrients and discard the unimportant part. It is also the goal of the wastewater treatment industry to improve the nutrient intake in the wastewater treatment process and recycle most of the nutrients safely and affordably. (Qu et al. 2013; Sharma & Sharma 2012; Schönning 2002.)

There are various models of toilets that support the ecological sanitation approach. The Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine is an easy-to-build dry sanitation option for rural areas. It is simply an ordinary pit latrine that has been fitted with a vent pipe and a fly screen to remove smells and prevent flies from entering the toilet. As the toilet includes a pit, it is necessary to construct it at least 50 meters from the nearest well, borehole or spring to avoid contamination of the groundwater. It is not ideal for areas with a high water table, even if the pit is lined, but it does offer an affordable dry sanitation option for many rural and dry areas. It is also possible to build a VIP with two pits: when one is not used the contents are being composted, and after the composting period the pit can be emptied for fertiliser. This method is also known as the Fossa Alterna toilet. (CSIR 2012.)

The Urine Diversion Dry Toilet (UDDT) is ideal for practicing ecological sanitation. They also come in many shapes and models, and are suitable for nearly any location. The key feature making a UDDT different from an ordinary toilet is the separating capability. The urine is separated in a seat with two holes or another mechanism for separating the liquid from the solid excreta. Some models separate liquid at the bottom of the storage unit, which makes the liquid more unsanitary than basically sterile urine. (CSIR 2012; GDTA 2012.)

In emergency situations it is not always possible to build a permanent facility for sanitation. In these conditions, alternative solutions, such as the Peepoo sanitation solution (Wirseen & Wilhelmson 2012), have been developed.

Even though there are several options available for ecological sanitation facilities, a wide scale emergence of dry toilets has yet to be seen. The design of a toilet is very important: a good toilet is user-friendly, easy to maintain, odourless, does not block or break easily and is convenient to use. (Ulrich & Deegener 2012.) Naturally, the qualities required of a toilet depend on the user as well as the using environment; most of the value is given to the users’ experience and preference to emphasise ownership.

Overall, dozens of ecosan models have been developed to fit a certain environment or culture. Some of these models work better than others, but there is a continuous development in the technology available (see, e.g. GDTA 2012; Panesar et al. 2010). From outdoor pit latrines and long drops, the development has moved on to porcelain indoor dry toilets without any flies or odours (Engström et al 2011).

The latest models have also incorporated nanotechnology to ensure the reuse of nutrients (see, e.g. Gates Foundation 2012; Kappel 2012).

Nevertheless, it is still challenging to support the dry toilet as the most efficient option. The sanitation ladder approach can be used for measuring the development of sanitation facilities from open defecation to unimproved facilities, and onwards to shared sanitation facility and eventually to improved sanitation, the latter including pour/flush toilets with a piped sewage system or septic tank, VIP latrine or composting toilet (UNICEF 2008b; JMP 2010). This approach measures the development towards more improved sanitation facilities, but until recently did not include an ecosan option: composting toilets were added to the list of improved sanitation facilities only in 2006. Still, the ladder, as well as the global norms – the sanitation institution – indicate that waterborne sanitation is the most desirable option. New suggestions for a more function-based sanitation ladder have been made, so the ecological aspects such as nutrient recycle and clean water management could be taken into account better. (Kvarnström et al. 2011.)