Human Excreta (Night soil)
Sustainable sanitation solution for urban slums
A couple of years ago we featured Peepoo, the Swedish-designed biodegradable plastic bag which, in an effort to tackle sanitation issues in developing countries, turns human waste into fertilizer. Now in Kenya, Sanergy is addressing the same serious problem, by using a waste management model that aims to turn human waste into power and profit.
Solar Oven Outhouse for Safer Fertilizer
Human waste makes good fertilizer, but it can be smelly and dangerous to handle when fresh.
A common way to make it safer is to build an outhouse atop a brick platform so the waste falls into a box. When a door in the “vault” beneath the platform is opened, a full box can be pushed aside with a stick to “cook” for a few weeks while an empty box is pulled into place. Decomposition breaks down dangerous pathogens and reduces the stench.
Safe Use of Treated Night Soil
Human excreta, or night soil, has been used in China to fertilise crops and feed fish for thousands of years. Presently, some 164.25 million tonnes of night soil are produced every year by 300 million people in 479 cities. After a period of disinterest, night soil again gets the attention it deserves, being a valuable resource rather than a contaminant. However, to make safe handling possible, treatment of the raw night soil is necessary.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health
The safe disposal of human waste (sanitation) by building and maintaining toilets and washing hands prevents the spread of germs and is necessary for good health. This Chapter 7 “Building Toilets”, has been taken from the resource book - A Community Guide to Environmental Health, published in 2008 by the Hesperian Foundation, is a manual that looks at the various aspects of sanitation and toilet building, including understanding sanitation needs of different groups (men, women, children, disabled), planning for toilets for rural areas, cities/towns and emergencies and looks at the various toilet options available and methods to set up each one of them.
Read the manual
Philippines – Closing the Loop between Sanitation and Food Security
If consumers in the advanced Western economies have a hard time swallowing the idea of drinking water recycled from sewage, that may be nothing compared with what those in the Philippines have to go through when they consider eating foods raised from fertilizer recycled from human wastes.
US-Ghana team gets Gates Foundation grant to transform human waste into energy
A US-Ghanaian team has been awarded US$ 1.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a biorefinery that will convert fecal sludge to biodiesel and methane.
US-Ghana team gets Gates Foundation grant to transform human waste into energy
A US-Ghanaian team has been awarded US$ 1.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a biorefinery that will convert fecal sludge to biodiesel and methane.
Human excreta and sanitation: Potential hazards and information needs
Improvements in sanitation continue to lag behind the needs of the population and the provision of water services for a number of reasons. The water and sanitation sector has traditionally focused more on the provision of water services than sanitation facilities.Contamination of groundwater by sanitation systems also occurs in settings where centralized sewerage systems are widely in place, as is common in most industrialized countries. They are often poorly maintained and leaks contaminate groundwater with pathogens and a diverse array of household and industrial chemicals.
Traditional night-soil composting continues to bring benefits
Night-soil (human waste) has been considered a valuable agricultural resource since ancient times. When handled safely, its use can contribute to reducing soil degradation and water scarcity in the areas like the Lahaul valley. Despite such known benefits its use is now decreasing with modernisation. Recognising this, the G.B. Pant Institute in India has been taking steps to promote the use of night-soil as one of the organic farming practices promoted in the region. Read More
Action 2010: Safai Karamchari Aandolan
At India Gate, New Delhi, on the eve of the New Year, 1st January 2008, Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) officially launched the ‘Action 2010’ program. The underlying objective is for all stake holders to act decisively with grater determination to eliminate manual scavenging completely. Read More
