This research focuses on an emerging off-grid sanitation option in the form of container-based sanitation (CBS). It is a comparative study across four contexts where CBS is provided by various organisations: an NGO in Cap Haitien (Haiti), a social enterprise in Lima (Peru), the municipality in Cape Town (South Africa), and a social enterprise in Nairobi (Kenya). The study focuses on the sustainability of CBS business models within institutional, legal, and regulatory contexts, the inclusivity of CBS designs, the impact of off-grid services on mental well-being, the connections between CBS and other urban services, and the potential for improving non-sanitation services for marginalised populations in cities.
To protect human health and the environment, sanitation systems must separate people from their excreta and treat it. This does not just involve technologies but other aspects like finance, government policies and human behaviours must be considered. Sewers and wastewater treatment plants can assist in providing safe sanitation, but they are expensive and challenging to build, particularly in dense urban areas or where people do not own the land that they live on. In fact, only 47% of the worldโs urban population have safely managed sanitation; that is where human waste is treated before disposal. Many of these people are instead using off-grid options for sanitation, such as pit latrines and septic tanks. These are physically difficult to empty, especially in areas of high population density, on steep slopes or with a high water table, and pose significant health hazards. The collected waste is often dumped illegally, frequently into water sources. Off grid solutions can only manage waste safely if the waste collection, treatment and disposal is properly considered.
CBS relies on specially designed toilets that collect human excreta in sealable, removable containers which are then transported to treatment facilities for safe processing. It has been deployed by entrepreneurs, municipalities and NGOs at a pilot scale across the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. CBS has potential to transform sanitation service delivery, especially in slums, because it does not require permanent infrastructure at or close to households.ย However, for it to be genuinely transformative, it should become part of full service approaches that include consideration of social, political and economic factors, and be both scalable and embedded in systems of local governance.
This research address five key themes:
