Environment & Poverty Times
07 2012
UNEP/GRID-Arendal
10 11
Appropriate sanitation technology for improvement of health and the environment
By Anita Jha
Quoting a pre-millennium opinion poll, Time Magazine reported that people voted the toilet the most important invention of this century – more important than life-saving drugs, space vehicles and the mobile phone. In other words, the toilet is humankind’s top achievement. This is true because it has helped considerably reduce the age-old practice of open defecation in most countries, including India.
Inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene It is estimated that as many as 2.7 billion people in the world or two-fifths of the global population do not have access to adequate sanitation and that 1.5 billion suffer from parasitic worm infections stemming from human excreta and solid wastes in the en- vironment. In developing countries an esti- mated 2.2 million people, mostly children, die every year from disease associated with open defecation, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.
If sanitation is poor in developing countries, it is because Western solutions have often been used. These responses are often not economically, culturally or socially suitable for local conditions. For instance, sewerage systems developed in the West are often inadequate and inappropriate for develop- ing countries with different habits, social practices and water constraints. An alterna- tive system is consequently required. The system developed in the 1970s by Sulabh In- ternational, a non-government organisation, has proved to be an acceptable technology for human waste disposal, winning broad recognition from many national as well as international organisations.
Open defecation and scavengers Poor sanitation coverage is primarily due to low awareness, coupled with a lack of access to affordable sanitation technology. In India only a few towns have appropriate sewer- age systems, and some use bucket toilets and septic tanks. The two systems that are prevalent on a large scale are defecation in the open, and manual cleaning of human excreta by a class of people called ‘scaven- gers’. They clean dry toilets and manually carry human faeces.
It is believed that the practice of scavengers manually cleaning excreta has existed for 4 000 years in India. They were treated as ‘untouchables’, the lowest of the low in India’s caste hierarchy. The practice continues even today in some places. Ironically the scavengers were humiliated and insulted, even by those who employed them to clean toilets in their homes. They had to clean bucket toilets before sunrise, so that nobody could see them or touch them. They had to live on the margins of the village or town. There was no question of their going to school or entering temples to pray. Finding an alternative method of disposal of human excreta that would liberate these scavengers and rehabilitate them into other occupations has posed major challenges.
A sanitation breakthrough Some of these challenges are being ad- dressed by Sulabh International, which was founded by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak. A major breakthrough was achieved in 1970 when Dr Pathak developed and demon- strated two-pit pour-flush toilet technology for on-site disposal of household human waste. This became popularly known as the Sulabh toilet (see box). The technology is simple, economically affordable and socially acceptable. It replaces the bucket toilet and scavengers no longer required to clean and carry excreta by hand.
In 1974 Sulabh started converting bucket toilets into Sulabh toilets in cooperation with the government in Patna, Bihar state, India. The switch to Sulabh toilets has meant a big relief for many scavengers, now released from a humiliating task. The programme has steadily gathered momentum and it is currently estimated that more than a mil- lion scavengers have found work in other occupations and joined the mainstream of society. About 7 000 are also receiving school education and vocational training in various trades such as tailoring, embroidery, plumb- ing, beauty care and cooking.
Reaching out Sulabh has reached millions of people with more than 1.2 million bucket toilets. In addition the Government of India and state governments have built more than 54 million toilets using the Sulabh design. To achieve this widespread impact, Sulabh
The Sulabh twin-pit, pour-flush toilet
The Sulabh toilet requires only 1-1.5 litres of water to flush per use, thus saving a sub- stantial amount of water. There are two pits, only one in use at a time and the other kept as a standby. When the first pit is full, the flow of human waste is switched over to the other. In the first one, the waste turns into manure after two years, contain- ing nitrogen, potassium and phosphates. It works as a bio-fertiliser. The impact on health also seems to be positive, as cases of jaundice are reported to have dropped significantly in places where Sulabh toilets are in use.
Advantages of the Sulabh toilet • Hygienically and technically appropriate, socio-culturally acceptable. • Affordable and easy to build with locally available materials. • Design and specifications can be modified to suit the householder’s needs and budget. • Can adapt to various physical, geological and hydrogeological conditions. • Free from health hazards, with no pollution of surface or groundwater, if proper precautions and safeguards are taken during construction.
• Can be located within the premises as it is free from foul smells and pests such as flies and mosquitoes.
• Can be installed on the upper floors of houses. • Pits are generally designed for a three-year de-sludging interval, but if required, can be designed for a longer period or can be reduced to two years.
• Easy, simple, low-cost maintenance. • Needs only 1–1.5 litres of water for flushing, while conventional flush toilet needs 12 to 14 litres.
• Needs less space than a septic-tank toilet system. • Householders can clean the pits and dispose of sludge. • Produces rich fertiliser and soil conditioner. • Easily connected to sewers when the area is connected. • Low-volume flushing cistern may be attached to avoid pour-flushing.
Scavengers are being retrained for other occupations, with vocational training for various trades such as tailoring, embroidery, plumbing, beauty care and cooking. Sulabh International
social workers have visited households to educate people on the benefits of giving up bucket toilets.
Efforts have also focused on schools where the absence of toilet facilities results in high dropout rates among girl students. Sulabh has tried to reverse this trend by providing toilet facilities in the schools. In all Sulabh has produced more than 7 500 public toilets, with NGOs and governments also installing many more similar toilets. The Sulabh de- sign not having been patented may be used by anyone without permission.
Biogas technology and Sulabh effluent treatment technology Human waste from public toilets, high- rise buildings, hostels and hospitals can be recycled using a simple technology, which includes on-site treatment of effluents and biogas generation. The excrement is refined by a biogas digester and converted into a usable fuel. The system organically breaks down faeces into trapped biogas that can be burned to provide cooking fuel and electric-
ity. The water discharged from the biogas digester is treated using Sulabh Effluent Treatment (SET) technology, passing through a sedimentation chamber, a sand filtration tank, charcoal and finally ultraviolet rays. The biochemical oxygen demand of the waste- water is consequently less than 1 mg/l. The wastewater is pure containing phosphorus, nitrogen and potash. Its nutrients can raise farm productivity, but it can also be used as a fertiliser for flowerbeds and kitchen gardens.
A holistic approach Achieving universal sanitation coverage requires close cooperation between local gov- ernments and communities or local NGOs. Neither the government nor the NGOs can complete the task alone. Technical as well as social problems need to be tackled, in a holistic manner. The strategy developed by Sulabh can easily be replicated in other de- veloping countries to improve the sanitation status and quality of life.
About the author: Anita Jha is Senior Vice-President at Sulabh International Social Service Organisation.
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