Ecological Sanitation: A Concept
Practical Action
simplifying treatment, due to urine and faeces requiring different processes;
keeping urine relatively free of pathogens, allowing use of its nutrients without
increasing risks;
reducing odours, making facilities more pleasant for users; and
keeping the volume of dangerous material low.
In a rural situation the best means of re-using urine is through direct application to land. In
urban areas or households who do not own much land, it could be collected and stored
(storing for over one month can make the urine even safer to use) or simply evaporated.
Potential Problems with Ecosan
The main risks associated with ecosan result from either mismanagement of the facilities (by,
for example, not allowing enough storage time or allowing water into a dehydrating system), or
poor construction of facilities. The outcome of both of these is that the pathogen content of
the waste is not reduced to safe levels, putting a selection of stakeholders at risk, namely:
those responsible for emptying the facilities;
workers who spread the excreta across the land;
farm workers who plant crops or walk on land to which by-product is applied; and
consumers of crops that do not require cooking which have been fertilised with the
excreta.
The greatest concern for pathogen survival is ascaris (a type of parasitic roundworm) which
requires the longest storage (approximately 12 months) to reduce to safe levels. Other
pathogens, including cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A, will reduce with more ease than
ascaris. Refer to the technical brief ‘Re-use of excreta and urine from ecosan’ for more
information on the diseases involved and the processes used to kill them.
Potentially, the largest barrier to successful ecosan is the lack of householder willingness to
take part. In some societies the idea of handling human waste is too much of a barrier to
overcome; these societies are often called ‘faecophobic’. Alternatively, other societies (such
as those in central America and China) are not averse to such systems and have been using
human waste in agriculture for a number of years; these societies are called ‘faecophilic’.
It is of primary importance when executing an ecosan program that people are correctly
educated on how to operate and maintain systems. Ideally support should be provided during
the first couple of cycles of operation and re-use. If users are not adequately trained and
supported then the chances of them contracting disease during the operation of the facilities
is high. On-site sanitation systems were created to form a barrier between deadly pathogens
in faeces and householders; if ecosan is used incorrectly it holds the potential to counteract
this purpose, putting householders and communities at risk.
Conclusion
The ecological sanitation concept can provide many benefits to communities and individual
households. The recycling of nutrients not only improves the environment, but can provide
safe sanitation in areas with water shortage and improve food security by providing cheap
fertilisers.
However, the systems put a lot of emphasis on the householder to operate the facility and,
more critically, they must operate it effectively else they will place themselves and the local
community at risk. In urban areas there is likely to be a need for good service provision to
empty facilities and take the compost to a suitable place to be used.
In order to realise the benefits of ecological sanitation care must be taken to develop a
suitable solution for the area in question. Careful planning must take place to assess people’s
willingness to handle the by-product of ecosan, and whether they will be willing to use this for
agriculture. There are a range of ecosan toilet options, some of which are more suited for
communities who have not used ecosan previously. Further details of these systems can be
found in the technical brief ‘Composting and other ecosan toilets’.
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