Ecological Sanitation System: a Practical Approach

Sanitation is a critical issue as it is linked to both human health and dignity. Poor sanitation is leading directly to a decline in the quality and quantity of available water resources, and the problem is now finally being treated with a greater degree of seriousness than ever before. Ecological Sanitation (EcoSan) can be an approach to improve sanitation and recovery nutrients from human excreta and urine. Ecological Sanitation regards human excreta as a resource to be recycled rather than as a waste to be disposed off. Recycling returns nutrients to soils and plants reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and restores good soil organisms to product plants. EcoSan represents a new basic understanding of wastewater handling in which faeces and urine are not considered as pollutants but instead as useful resources. It offers a solution to sustainable sanitation provision as it aims at providing improved sanitation by sanitizing the excreta and re-using it in agriculture.