Low-cost Sanitation: a Survey of Practical Experience

ALTHOUGH SANITATION MAY also refer to drainage, “sullage” and solid waste disposal, this review of sanitation technologies and approaches deals exclusively with systems for the treatment and disposal of excreta, and the author’s goal is to give evidence for and against particular sanitation methods by recounting practical experience from a wide range of countries. The first section outlines the state of sanitation in the South and explores the factors that constitute appropriate sanitation (such as the effects on health, privacy, the environment and the social and economic contexts of sanitation needs), as well as the links between sanitation, health and the transmission of disease. It goes on to look at some sanitation alternatives and some of the cultural factors which determine choices and preferences for sanitation and latrine types. The second section analyses different sanitation systems, including a variety of pit-latrine types, systems which draw on excreta as a resource, removal systems, septic tanks and “aqua privies”, and systems dealing with the treatment and disposal of liquids and solids. The functions and logic of the different systems are explained and illustrated with simple diagrams and illustrations, and their successes and shortcomings are illustrated with references to practical examples.

A similar approach is taken in the third and final section which explores methods of implementing sanitation systems, with reference to costs, operation and maintenance for individuals, the mobilization of community sanitation efforts and their interaction with donor agencies, regulations controls and planning, and a look at public and communal latrines. Finally, there is a section which deals with the selection of different systems, with tables and procedures that break down the information required to make informed choices about which sanitation systems are recommendations. A useful glossary of terms and a list of references completes the text.