Sustainable sanitation

Sanitation involves interventions to reduce people’s exposure to diseases by providing a clean environment in which to live and with measures to break the cycle of disease. This usually includes hygienic management of human and animal excreta, refuse and wastewater, the control of disease vectors and the provision of washing facilities for personal and domestic hygiene. It also involves both behaviours and facilities which work together to form a hygienic environment (The World Bank, 2002).

Improved sanitation refers to excreta disposal facilities that can effectively prevent human, animal, and insect contact with excreta, ranging from simple but protected pit latrines to flush toilets with a sewage connection. Public or shared latrines, open pit latrines and bucket latrines are not considered to be examples of improved sanitation. To be considered effective, facilities must be correctly constructed and properly maintained (The World Bank, 2005).

In order for sanitation to be successful there is also a need to use some principles of sustainability. Sustainable sanitation generally encompasses the following criteria:

  • Disease prevention: the sanitation system must be capable of destroying or isolating faecal pathogens.
  • Environmental protection: the sanitation system must prevent pollution and conserve valuable water resources.
  • Nutrient recycling: the sanitation system should return nutrients to crop production.
  • Acceptability: the sanitation system must be aesthetically inoffensive and consistent with cultural and social values including gender equality.
  • Simplicity: the sanitation system must be robust enough to be easily maintained with the limitations of the local technical capacity, institutional framework and economic resources.

Sustainable sanitation systems and services protect and promote human health, seek to minimise environmental degradation or depletion of the resource base, are technically and institutionally appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable (Bracken et al., 2005). This definition expands the triple bottom line definition of sustainability (ecological, economical and social) with two categories that are specific and extremely important for sanitation systems: health and technical sustainability − health, since the prime objective in the first place with a sanitation system is improved health; and technical, since the technical function of sanitation systems is crucial for its sustainability.


What is meant by the term “sanitation system”?

Bracken et al. (2005) define a sanitation system as compromising the users of the system, the toilet infrastructure, the collection, transport, treatment, and management of end products (human excreta, solid waste, grey water, storm water and industrial wastewater). 

A definition of the term “sanitation”

Sanitation covers a broad range of aspects including all the elements identified in a sanitation system, in addition to hygiene education. The term can take different definitions depending on the circumstances. For the purposes of this report, we have chosen to use an adaptation of the definitions of sanitation and adequate sanitation provided by Kader Asmal et al.

The term sanitation refers to the principles and practices relating to the collection and management of refuse, human excreta and wastewater, as they impact upon communities, users, operators and the environment.

What is meant by “adequate sanitation”?

Adequate sanitation refers to the situation where there is provision and ongoing operation and maintenance of a system of removing and managing human faeces, solid waste and wastewater which is acceptable and affordable to the users (Kader Asmal et al, 1996).

What is meant by “sustainable sanitation”?

The following was extracted textually from Sustainable Sanitation Alliance web page, available in www.susana.org 

 

The main objective of a sanitation system is to protect and promote human health by providing a clean environment and breaking the cycle of disease. In order to be sustainable, a sanitation system has to be not only economically viable, socially acceptable, and technically and institutionally appropriate, it should also protect the environment and the natural resources.

When improving an existing and/or designing a new sanitation system, sustainability criteria related to the following aspects should be considered:

  1. Health and hygiene: includes the risk of exposure to pathogens and hazardous substances that could affect public health at all points of the sanitation system from the toilet via the collection and treatment system to the point of reuse or disposal and downstream populations. This topic also covers aspects such as hygiene, nutrition and improvement of livelihood achieved by the application of a certain sanitation system, as well as downstream effects.

  2. Environment and natural resources: involves the required energy, water and other natural resources for construction, operation and maintenance of the system, as well as the potential emissions to the environment resulting from its use. It also includes the degree of recycling and reuse practiced and the effects of these (e.g. reusing wastewater; returning nutrients and organic material to agriculture), and the protection of other non-renewable resources, e.g. through the production of renewable energies (such as biogas).

  3. Technology and operation: incorporates the functionality and the ease with which the entire system including the collection, transport, treatment and reuse and/or final disposal can be constructed, operated and monitored by the local community and/or the technical teams of the local utilities. Furthermore, the robustness of the system, its vulnerability towards power cuts, water shortages, floods, earthquakes etc. and the flexibility and adaptability of its technical elements to the existing infrastructure and to demographic and socio-economic developments are important aspects.

  4. Financial and economic issues: relate to the capacity of households and communities to pay for sanitation, including the construction, operation, maintenance and necessary reinvestments in the system. Besides the evaluation of these direct costs also direct benefits e.g. from recycled products (soil conditioner, fertiliser, energy and reclaimed water) and external costs and benefits have to be taken into account. Such external costs are e.g. environmental pollution and health hazards, while benefits include increased agricultural productivity and subsistence economy, employment creation, improved health and reduced environmental risks.

  5. Socio-cultural and institutional aspects: the criteria in this category refer to the socio-cultural acceptance and appropriateness of the system, convenience, system perceptions, gender issues and impacts on human dignity, the contribution to food security, compliance with the legal framework and stable and efficient institutional settings.

 

Most sanitation systems have been designed with these aspects in mind, but in practice they fail far too often because some of the criteria are not met. In fact, there is probably no system which is absolutely sustainable. The concept of sustainability is more of a direction rather than a stage to reach. Nevertheless, it is crucial, that sanitation systems are evaluated carefully with regard to all dimensions of sustainability. Since there is no one-for-all sanitation solution which fulfils the sustainability criteria in different circumstances to the same extent, this system evaluation will depend on the local framework and has to take into consideration existing environmental, technical, socio-cultural and economic conditions. Taking into consideration the entire range of sustainability criteria, it is important to observe some basic principles when planning and implementing a sanitation system. These were already developed some years ago by a group of experts and were endorsed by the members of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council as the "Bellagio Principles for Sustainable Sanitation" during its 5th Global Forum in November 2000:

  1. Human dignity, quality of life and environmental security at household level should be at the centre of any sanitation approach.

  2. In line with good governance principles, decision making should involve participation of all stakeholders, especially the consumers and providers of services.

  3. Waste should be considered a resource and its management should be holistic and form part of integrated water resources, nutrient flow and waste management processes.

  4. The domain in which environmental sanitation problems are resolved should be kept to the minimum practicable size (household, neighbourhood, community, town, district, catchment, city).

Further information (in English version)

Further information (in French version)