Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to;
- Define sanitation
- Describe the purposes of sanitation
- Describe types of sanitation
- Explain the benefits of improving sanitation
Sanitation refers to conditions of public health that are related to safe drinking water, and the disposal and treatment of sewage and human excreta. Preventing the contact of humans with feces is a part of sanitation, as well as washing your hands with soap.
Systems of sanitation aim to protect human health through the provision of a clean environment, therefore stopping the transmission of disease. For example, diarrhea can be minimized through adequate sanitation. Many diseases can be easily transmitted due to low sanitation levels. They include; cholera, polio, trachoma, and schistosomiasis.
The different technologies and approaches to sanitation include;
- Ecological sanitation
- Container-based sanitation
- Community-led total sanitation
- Environmental sanitation
- Onsite sanitation, and
- Sustainable sanitation
A system of sanitation includes capturing, storing, transporting, treating, and disposing or reusing human excreta and wastewater. Reuse activities in the sanitation system aim to collect nutrients, water, organic matter, or energy contained in wastewater and excreta. This is called the sanitation economy or sanitation value chain.
The picture above shows the process of reusing waste. Some of the uses include; as a fuel source, a food source for animal feeds, as a source of building materials, and the recovery of precious metals.
Purposes of sanitation
The general purpose of sanitation is to provide a living environment that is healthy for everyone. Other purposes of sanitation include; protecting natural resources like soil, surface water, and groundwater, and providing safety and dignity for all when they urinate or defecate.
Effective systems of sanitation provide barriers between humans and excreta. This helps to break the cycle of disease transmission.
Sanitation technologies may include engineering structures such as sewer systems, solid waste landfills, surface runoff treatment, and sewage treatment. These structures are mainly designed for the treatment of municipal solid waste and wastewater. Sanitation technologies can also be in the form of simple onsite sanitation systems. In some cases, this can be a simple pit latrine for the management of excreta.
Types of sanitation
- Basic sanitation. This refers to the use of improved facilities of sanitation not shared with other households. Sanitation facilities used by 2 or more households are called limited sanitation services.
- Container-based sanitation. This is a system of sanitation where toilets are used to collect human excreta in containers that are sealable and removable. These containers are called cartridges. The cartridges are then transported to treatment facilities. After transportation, the collected excreta can be disposed of or reused.
- Community-led total sanitation. This approach is mainly used in developing countries to improve hygiene and sanitation in a community. This type of sanitation is mainly aimed at changing the behavior of people in a community in relation to sanitation. This leads to long-term behavior changes such as the abandonment of open defecation. It is mainly done in rural areas. This can be done through the construction of simple toilets, like pit latrines.
- Dry sanitation. This is a system that applies a type of dry toilet without sewers to transport excreta. Often, dry sanitation is used to refer to a system that diverts urine from solid excreta.
- Ecological sanitation. This system aims at safely reusing excreta in agriculture. It has many advantages as it provides nutrients and organic matter for safe use in agriculture. One of the main aims of this system is to reduce the use of non-renewable resources.
- Emergency sanitation. This is a system of management that provides sanitation in emergency situations. For example, during operations of humanitarian relief for refugees, internally displaced persons, or those affected by natural disasters. Some of the first emergency responses include the management of open defecation.
- Environmental sanitation. This involves the control of environmental factors that may facilitate the transmission of disease. They include; wastewater treatment, solid waste management, noise pollution control, and industrial waste treatment.
- Onsite sanitation. This is a system where wastewater and excreta are collected and treated or stored on the plot where they are generated.
- Sustainable sanitation. This is a system that is designed to work safely and manage waste over a long period of time. The requirement for these types of systems includes; economic and social acceptability, and protection of the environment and natural resources.
Benefits of improving sanitation
They include;
- Reduction of the spread of intestinal worms, trachoma, and schistosomiasis, which are tropical diseases causing millions to suffer.
- Reduction of the severity of malnutrition.
- Promotion of dignity and boosting safety, particularly among girls and women.
- Promotion of school attendance through the provision of sanitary services.
- Reduction of the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
- Recovery of nutrients, water, and renewable energy from fecal waste, and
- Mitigation of water scarcity, through safe wastewater use.
Summary
We’ve learned that;
- Sanitation refers to conditions of public health that are related to safe drinking water, and the disposal and treatment of sewage and human excreta.
- Systems of sanitation aim to protect human health through the provision of a clean environment, therefore stopping the transmission of disease.
- A system of sanitation includes capturing, storing, transporting, treating, and disposing or reusing human excreta and wastewater.
- Sanitation can also be used for the recovery of nutrients, water, and renewable energy from fecal waste.
