Hydraulic ram pumps and Sling Pumps

Technical Information W9eBasic sanitation and humanexcreta disposal in latrinesNaturgerechte Technologien, Bau- und Wirtschaftsberatung(TBW) GmbH, Frankfurt, GermanyDecember 2000Technical Field: Energy / Environment (E) Water / Sanitation (W) Agriculture (A) Foodprocessing (F) Manufacturing (M)This Technical Information isavailable in: English (e) French (f) German (g) Spanish (s) Other:1 IntroductionThe severe lack of even the most basicsanitation in many developing countriesleads to a desolate hygienic situationcausing numerous infectious diseases anddeaths. In this context, the loss of biomassand nutrients for agriculture can only beconsidered as being of minor importance.The absence of toilets may be tolerable forvery thinly populated areas, but veryquickly becomes an uncontrollable riskwith increasing population density.Only a few years ago, communal toiletswere implemented in villages in West-Africa, consisting of a deep ditch with along wooden beam installed alongsideacross, a handlebar and a straw roofagainst sun and rain. In spite of itssimplicity, this concept was promoted asprogressive innovation, showing that theexistence of a toilet is not yet standard,especially not in rural areas and smallmunicipalities of developing countries.Here, the construction of sewagetreatment plants of a comparably hightechnological standard is even moreinappropriate than for urban areas in thesame countries, as often capital is morescarce and the infrastructure in manycases does not allow the introduction ofsystems that require the collection ofwastewater in a sewerage system. Often,there is also a lack of required knowledgefor operation and maintenance of evensimple wastewater treatment plants, thusincreasing the risks of low treatmentperformance and therefore water pollution.This technical information will presentdifferent technological solutions for toilets.The systems range from simple pits up tosophisticated designs, varying decisivelyin expenditure, environmental andhygienic effects and costs. Generallyspeaking, all of them may be suitable forhousehold as well as for communalimplementation – however alwaysdepending on the given localcircumstances.2 General aspectsGenerally, faeces are contaminated withpathogens that can be significantlyreduced after a retention time of aboutthree months if no fresh material is added.Odour emissions will also be reduced to aminimum after a similar time frame. Afteranother 18 months, the material will havesoil quality.If no structure (lignin) material is addedand the liquid fraction is not separated bya drainage system or quickly infiltrated intothe underground (sand soil for example),the organic compounds will be degradedmainly by anaerobic bacteria. Only if theprovisions named hereafter are taken,aerobic processes are possible (composttoilet, see chapter 3.4).An average of 15 g of minerals per personand day are contained in the faeces andwill remain in the produced substrate. Inaddition, about twice the amount ofminerals has to be assumed for paper,ash, grass or plant residues if they enterthe treatment system.1gate Information Service / gtz, PO Box 5180, 65726 Eschborn, GermanyPhone: +49 (0)6196 / 79-3093, Fax: +49 (0)6196 / 79-7352, Email: gate-id@gtz.de, Internet: http://www.gtz.de/gate/gateid.afp