Providing safe water to the urban poor needs circular processing of their toilet waste offering social, economic and environmental benefits.
For most of the world's one billion low-income urban dwellers, water is undrinkable.
Even when accessible municipal water is relatively safe, faecal bacteria contaminate the water as it is dispensed at shared water points and subsequently by people who carry it to their homes.
There are many adverse consequences for the dwellers and the wider society when poor sanitation meets drinking water. Local youth, empowered by innovative education, can be agents of change.
Four Lancaster University researchers argue the importance of joined-up, educational action on sanitation, drinking water and the environment in an article for the International Water Association to mark World Toilet Day. They point out the potential to use the commonly
ignored toilet waste generated in low-income settlements to produce bio-energy and soil-conditioner and so capture greenhouse gases.
These environmental benefits are an important add-on to the widely-held social and health benefits of safe sanitation. The researchers advocate involving communities to 'see, learn and own' the multidimensional value of safely managed faecal waste matter.
