On 11 April 2006 the first community Ecosan (ecological sanitation) toilet was opened in the Indian town of Musiri (pop. 35,000), Tamil Nadu, by the Society for Community Organisation and People's Education (SCOPE). SCOPE, a local NGO, is implementing the Musiri Ecosan Pilot Project as part of the ISSUE programme, managed by Waste, The Netherlands. The project will construct two community ecosan toilets and 500 individual units in peri-urban flats. One of the aims of the project is to prevent domestic wastewater from entering the open drain and polluting the main irrigation canal and other parts of the town.

The community Ecosan toilet has two blocks, one for men and another for women, each having seven cubicles. The urine and wash water are collected separately. The wash water, collected in a filter bed, will be used to irrigate a nearby banana plantation, while the collected urine will be used as fertiliser for farming.

To promote ecosan, a two-month intensive awareness raising campaign was held. In June 2006, SCOPE planned an Ecosan workshop for builders, flat promoters, civil engineers and environmentalists.

Web site: EcoSan

See also: Ask IRC - WELL Enquiries on Urine-diversion composting latrines and EcoSan and anaerobic wastewater treatment options

Contact: Gert de Bruijne, Programme Officer on Ecological Sanitation, Waste, The Netherlands, gdebruijne@waste.nl

Source: UWEP Bulletin, May 2006 ; The Hindu, 9 Apr 2006

Tags: on-site sanitation, water resources management