ENDING OPEN DEFECATION IN 10 YEARS WITHOUT BUILDING FLUSH TOILETS IN NIGERIA

27 Jul ENDING OPEN DEFECATION IN 10 YEARS WITHOUT BUILDING FLUSH TOILETS IN NIGERIA

Yes you read the title right.

Nigeria has 47million people practicing open defecation, one of the highest in the world. One of the targets for  Sustainable development Goal 6.2 by 2030 is to end open defecation. In ending open defecation we need access to toilets and this will require building more toilets that flush or use water one way or the other to wash away the human waste into a septic tank. For some communities and households in rural areas in Nigeria where there is no reliable water supply and sewerage system, a good alternative to pit latrines and flush toilets is Composting Toilet.

Composting toilet, also called biological toilet or dry toilet, is a waterless sewage-treatment system that decomposes human excreta into an inert nitrogen-rich material similar to humus. Composting toilets use the natural processes of decomposition and evaporation to recycle human waste. Waste entering the toilets is over 90% water, which is evaporated and carried back to the atmosphere through the vent system. The small amount of remaining solid material is converted to useful fertilizing soil by natural decomposition.

A composting toilet has many benefits:

1. Saves water.
2. Does not contaminate.
3. Odourless.
4. Low maintenance.
5. Ultimately provides liquid fertilizer and safe compost by recycling the human fecal waste in a safe, sustainable, and sanitary fashion.
6. Avoids the costly and labor-intensive construction of a septic tank. 
7. They use no energy.
8. They are easy to construct..

Want to learn more about composting toilets? Check here.