Sanitation for Unserved Populations: Technologies, Implementation Challenges, and Opportunities

The global population without complete sanitation services is enormous; it includes those without access to basic, household-level sanitation (2.6 billion) as well as those without adequate collection, treatment, and disposal or reuse of their waste. The main goals of a complete sanitation system are to protect human health and the environment and to recover valuable resources from waste (e.g., water, nutrients, energy). The needs of households and the larger community vary dramatically among the unserved population, as do the financial and institutional resources available to provide sanitation services. Thus, a wide range of technologies is needed that can be adapted to each particular situation. In this chapter, existing sanitation technologies are reviewed, from simple latrines to advanced wastewater treatment, with specific attention to characteristics that affect long-term performance. In addition, the context in which sanitation projects are implemented is discussed, including user preferences and demand, costs and financing, and institutional capacity.