saniblog.org

Sanitation, solid waste and climate change

According to IPCC, the waste sector (wastewater + solid waste management) accounts for 2.7% of global Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, this does not reflect the whole truth as IPCC calculatations only take into account end-of-pipe waste management strategies neglecting the potencial of reducing, re-using or recycling waste (which applies mainly for solid waste management but also for innovative sanitation tecnologies such as anaerobic digestion and ecosan approaches).

For this reason it is important to investigate the contribution of the waste sector to GHG emissions and integrate the mitigation potential in waste management. Besides many interesting papers presented at conferences worldwide about the importance of an integrated organic waste and wastewater management and its influence on climate change, GHG emissions and the potential of CDM-projects in this field, instruments are needed that show the potential of emission reduction in the waste sector.

One of those instruments available is the recently published “Tool for calculating Greenhouse gases in solid waste management (SWM-GHG Calculator)“. The SWM-GHG Calculator was developed by IFEU Institute and sponsored by KfW Development Bank in cooperation with GTZ. It is based on Excel as a common spreadsheet application and accompanied by a user manual. By help of the calculator waste management strategies can be compared by calculating the GHG emissions of different waste fractions over their whole life cycle following the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. It does however not provide an in-depth LCA and is not suited for calculating the anticipated quantity of certified emission reductions in the CDM-framework.

More tools that demonstrate the relationship between sanitation and climate change are definitely needed.

See also: Website of the SWM-GHG Calculator (in German).

new WSP publication: Financing On-Site Sanitation for the Poor

New publication by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP): “Financing On-Site Sanitation for the Poor - A Six Country Comparative Review and Analysis” (PDF; 2.4 MB)

Public investments of varying forms enable an absolute increase in the number of poor people gaining access to sanitation, varying from 20 percent to 70 percent, according to a study of six cases in Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Mozambique, Sénégal, and Vietnam by the World Bank-administered Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).

This publication seeks to identify the best-performing approaches and the relevant factors and issues to consider in designing a sanitation financing strategy. The report offers guidance to sector professionals developing on-site sanitation projects and programs, which play the leading role in providing access to sanitation.

The Water and Sanitation Program is a multi-donor partnership administered by the World Bank to support poor people in obtaining affordable, safe, and sustainable access to water and sanitation services.

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Sector Wide SanWat Survey Out Now!

The German Toilet Organization, BORDA and WECF in collaboration with End Water Poverty have set up a new initiative to strengthen internal sectoral communication, knowledge management and issue based advocacy in the fields of sanitation, water and hygiene in Germany.

The first step has been to carry out a sector-wide survey to identify the actors (specifically German development NGOs) that are active in these fields and to collect suggestions about how better communication and cooperation amongst those players can be achieved in the future.

The results of the survey will presented to all the organisations that have participated in the survey at a SanWat-Symposium planned for February / March 2010 in Berlin or Bonn. This will provide an opportunity for suggestions and ideas for joint network activities to be presented and discussed. More details, including the agenda and location, will be provided in good time.

To participate in the survey, please click on the link below.

German version: http://sanwat-network.limequery.org/index.php?sid=99747&lang=de

English version: http://sanwat-network.limequery.org/index.php?sid=99747&lang=en

WECF: Sustainable and Safe School Sanitation

A new publication titled “Sustainable and Safe School Sanitation – How to provide hygienic and affordable sanitaiton in areas without a functioning wastewater system” is now available online (PDF; 4.4MB) from WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future).

“School sanitation is an important but often neglected issue for public health. Children are most vulnerable and affected by poor sanitation conditions. Related diseases, particularly diarrhoea and parasite infections hinder the children´s physical and intellectual development. In a number of countries, evaluations have shown that pupils are dropping out of school due to bad toilet conditions.

This publication gives background on what are important issues to make school sanitation sustainable and success stories. The focus is on urine diverting dry school toilet (UDDT) systems …(which)…offer high quality and comfort. Because of the separation technology in the toilet device, these toilets do not smell or attract flies. For the operation, no water is used for flushing. Water is however needed for the hand washing facilities which are always included in the projects.

This publication is in particular intended for school directors and teachers, administration employees, engineers, architects and construction workers from the field and NGOs.”

The 28-paged publication contains examples from Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Urilift

Public toilets are missing in most countries – even in 2009 we still lack decent, clean & affordable public toilets in most places and it’s still only a few companies that are active in this sector.

One reason for coming up with this blog certainly was the lack of such public facilities, and it is projects like the Kenyan Ikotoilet that my main interest is focussed on (~ seeing “sanitation as a business”, not only as an unpaid for, unappreciated public service). While we will blog about Ikotoilets in the coming days (will be published on AfriGadget.com first), let me introduce you to a Dutch company called Urilift that produces so-called “pop-up urinals”:

Urilift: “The Urilift is placed where it is needed: at hot spots in entertainment districts, for instance. Three people can use the urinals in the attractively styled stainless steel cylinder at the same time without seeing or being bothered by each other. The Urilift is only above ground when it is needed. For the rest of the time, it is completely hidden underground.” And there’s one interesting detail: “The Urilift is connected to the water mains but can also be supplied with a water tank, or without water. The water tank operates on an ecosystem that is filled automatically with rainwater.”

UriGienic… is similar to the Urilift, but with a toilet seat: “The unique UriGenic toilet pan, a ‘wok’ with a suspended toilet seat, is the perfect solution for men and women. Since the toilet seat returns automatically to a vertical position after use, the unit can also be used by men as a urinal. Splashes on the seat are therefore a thing of the past. Naturally the unit is completely lockable so that the user can enjoy total privacy. It is also practical to use and exceptionally hygienic.”

UriVisable “…can not be hidden below ground level. For this reason the UriVisable is extremely suitable for locations where permanent placement does not cause any objections and where, taking into account the pattern needed, a urinal is required 24 hours a day.”

There are also videos available online on the website of Urilift as well as on YouTube which demonstrate how such a public toilet pops up on the street and how they submerge e.g. during daytime.

Now, being connected to the mains sewer means that these toilet system will probably only work in cities where the sewage system already exists and that all valuable nutrients contained within the waste streams are actually wasted. The interesting questions are:

• How much does such an installation cost and what kind of permits are required from the City Council?
• Are there any subsidies from the local City Council to promote such public toilets (which, to my understanding, would have to be paid for by bar/restaurant owners)?
• Would a waterless urinal also work in such an environment?
• Would it make sense to turn a UriLift urinal into a waterless urinal in order to save on flushing water and to collect the urine for use in urban agriculture projects (e.g. allotment gardens within the city)?

UriLift sure is an interesting technology and the right step forward. I’d love to have one of those toilets right here in Frankfurt/M., btw.

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No. 32 of GTZ ecosan newsletter published

As admin and co-editor of the GTZ ecosan newsletter – a quarterly newsletter on ecological and sustainable sanitation – I am pleased to announce the publication of the latest edition no. 32 from July 2009.

Highlights of this release are the translation into French – done by our colleague and dear friend Dr. Abdoulaye Fall from Paris/Dakar – which will hopefully also reach those from Francophone countries. The newsletter currently has 3.960 subscribers from all over the world

The newsletter is available for download as a PDF file (English or French, 0.4 MB) and may also be subscribed to on this page (which also offers other interesting GTZ newsletters). An archive of previous editions is also available on the website of the GTZ ecosan program.

RESPTA Nutshell Guidelines

Based on the results of field research and experience gathered by implementing ecosan systems at Valley View University (VVU) in Accra, Ghana, nutshell guidelines have been developed jointly by the University of Hohenheim, Berger Biotechnik and VVU as part of the “Re-use of Ecological Sanitation Products in Tropical Agriculture (RESPTA)”-project.

These 2-page guidelines focus on the operators and users of the different installations, to improve acceptance, maintenance and safety.

Available are:

• Nutshell guideline 1: Small scale composting of human faeces (PDF; 0.5MB)
• Nutshell guideline 2: Fertilization with human urine (PDF; 0.5)
• Nutshell guideline 3: Maintenance of public urine diverting toilets (PDF; 0.5MB)

Further publications from RESPTA are available here.