World Toilet Day

From pit to product: how to deal with untreated toilet waste

In three quarters of the world’s countries less than 10% of the population has access to toilets that are connected, via sewers, to a waste water treatment plant. As urbanization races ahead of infrastructure development, the problem looks set to get worse.

Most toilets in poor countries drain into pits or septic tanks. When these get full, there is no option but to pump out the waste and dispose of it elsewhere. All too often it is simply dumped, untreated, into water courses or the sea. This degrades the environment, imperils public health and, because human waste contains high levels of nutrients, wastes a potentially valuable resource.

IWMI’s research into Resource Recovery and Re-Use (RRR) looks at how this waste could be converted to valuable fertilizer. It is comparing business models from around world to find viable solutions to manage waste and create jobs.

For World Toilet Day 2015 we explore the issue further and highlight some of the promising solutions that this initiative is identifying across Asia and Africa.

Accra, Ghana. Sewage waste being dumped into the environment. In Ghana, as in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, more than 90 percent of human waste is discharged into bodies of water, contaminating coastal areas, urban land, waterways, and food supplies. In the capital city of Accra, the large majority of the feces ends up in the ocean without any proper treatment, not far from beach resorts. Photo: IWMI

Dhakar, Bangladesh. A Pit latrine emptier collects and transports human waste to a site to be processed into fertilizer. Waste collection like this, whether by bicycle or tanker truck, tends to be the preserve of the private sector in most African and Asian cities. It creates jobs, but handling and safe disposal of the waste once collected remains a challenge. Photo: Neil Palmer

Nairobi, Kenya. Workers compost human waste to make fertilizer. In Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, IWMI is investigating the investment climate for resource recovery and reuse (RRR), a study which will now be expanded to six countries in South and South-East Asia. An essential component of the work is to engage actively with relevant stakeholders to identify and develop indicators for the assessment of the business environment under which the RRR businesses are operating in a region. Photo: Thor Windham Wright

Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. Researcher Lakshika Hettiarachchi measures compost temperature at an RRR pilot site. Careful monitoring of the composting allows the researchers to fine tune the process, to create an optimal product. The IWMI project in Sri Lanka is working with the Sri Lankan government to improve septic tank management practices and to convert fecal sludge into fertilizer pellets. Photo: Hamish John Appleby

Ghana. Workers prepare compost samples of Fortifer, a pathongen-free organic fertilizer made using enhanced fecal waste. The pilot project is the first in West Africa under an innovative waste-to-food business model. Laboratory analysis in Ghana shows that Fortifer is a safe product and can improve agricultural yields by 20 percent to 50 percent compared with the use of inorganic fertilizers, while also maintaining soil health. Photo: Josiane Nikiema

Dhakar, Bangladesh. Freshly made pellets of organic fertilizer made from processed human waste. After compost is mixed with binding agents, it is fed into a machine to produce pellets. Safe to handle and use on food crops, the pellets are also easy to store and transport. Researchers are investigating whether the pellets can help stagger the release of nutrients, potentially reducing the number of applications by farmers. “While human waste management is a challenge, it also offers a business and development opportunity that could benefit millions of poor farmers,” says Pay Drechsel, leader of WLE’s Resource Recovery and Reuse research theme. Photo: Neil Palmer

Dhakar, Bangladesh. Researchers check plants grown with compost pellets made from treated fecal waste. The pellets are also being trialed with food crops such as tomato, spinach, chili and bell pepper. The high-quality compost meets World Health Organization safety standards. Photo: Neil Palmer

Find out more:

• Background to resource recovery and re-use
• IWMI’s approach as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Water Land and Ecosystems