While at-scale rural sanitation programming has been undertaken for decades and improving basic sanitation coverage remains the focus in many countries, fecal sludge management (FSM) in rural areas is at a nascent stage. WASHPaLS #2 undertook a desk review, examined several examples of FSM models in varied rural contexts, and interviewed key informants to understand the potential for viable business models for safe FSM in rural areas.
Basic sanitation coverage in rural areas of several low- and middle-income countries has progressed significantly over the last decade, especially in Asia. Sustaining the resulting gains in human, environmental, and community health as well as progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 targets requires safely managing the sludge generated in on-site sanitation (OSS) systems. Abandoning full toilets and building new toilets, generally a safe method for managing sludge, is, however, not feasible for all rural households. The alternative solution of emptying toilets by households or service providers is largely characterized by unsafe practices along the sanitation value chain. The private sector (PS) is a traditional actor in the emptying, transport, and disposal/reuse of fecal sludge (FS), primarily in the shape of informal service providers. Yet, limited knowledge of business models for safe fecal sludge management (FSM) in rural areas exists.
By analyzing several examples in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, interviewing experts, and reviewing the literature, this review sought to understand the market for rural FS services, suitable methods along the sanitation value chain, and viable business models involving the PS for safe FSM in rural areas. However, few examples of safe rural FSM services with PS participation emerged from expert interviews and secondary research. Therefore, the desk review team widened its scope to include examples from peri-urban and medium-high population rural settlements (i.e., towns, rural growth centers, or equivalent local settlement classifications) for lessons that could be applied in the wider rural context. The team reviewed nine cases, including a potential innovation to desludging wet toilets safely, and complemented the findings and guidance with relevant literature. The objective of this review is to contribute to the knowledge base on area-wide safe FSM solutions, which also may include household-managed and government-operated services.
This report presents WASHPaLS #2’s findings and informs the research agenda on the subject.
