FAQs
Ecological Sanitation
| 1. What is ecological sanitation? |
Ecological sanitation, or „ecosan“ for short, is a new paradigm in sanitation that recognises human excreta and water from households not as a waste but as resources that can be recovered, treated where necessary and safely used again. The philosophy of ecosan is to reuse nutrients and water contained in “waste water” for agriculture, horticulture or wasteland greening, instead of disposing them into rivers, lakes or groundwater aquifers where they cause many environmental problems and contaminate precious fresh water resources. |
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| 2. Where I can get more information regarding Ecological sanitation? |
You can get more information from:
• the new ecosan curriculum 2.3 CD
• you can participate in one of our Ecosan Training Courses to get an in-depth knowledge about ecological sanitation
• or you can contact us at ecosan@ecosanservices.org |
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| 3. Where have ecological sanitation projects been implemented in India? |
Organisations such as UNICEF, SCOPE and Eco-Solutions and many others implemented Ecological sanitation projects all over India. The Ecosan Services Foundation with its partners from the Innovative Ecological Sanitation Network India (IESNI) is implementing ecosan projects in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Please check the project link to have more information regarding projects. Please check the project link to have more information regarding projects
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4. Is Ecological Sanitation an appropriate technology for urban areas? |
Yes. In fact, it is a logical option where population densities are high. VIP toilets are a problem in confined spaces because one cannot simply move them when the pits become full, and they are difficult and expensive to empty. A large number of pit toilets in a densely populated area can lead to foul odours hanging around and may also pollute groundwater resources. Septic tanks with soakaways represent a similar problem, as the soil may eventually become unable to absorb all the effluent. Ecological sanitation technologies avoid these problems - there are no odours if the systems are managed properly, no danger of groundwater pollution, maintenance is easy and, best of all, toilets can be installed inside the house. |
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"My suggestion is that we should first work to ensure the Third World has clean drinking water and sanitation "
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- Bjorn Lomborg |
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Services Overview
Training Services Education on ecosan by ESF is to enable the people to develop, plan and implement eco-sanitation systems that are hygienically safe, socially acceptable, economically feasible, environmentally sound and technically appropriate.
Promotional Activities ESF partners different organizations in bringing sanitation to limelight, and thus giving true meaning to the word advocacy - “the process of managing information and knowledge strategically to change and/or influence policies and practices that affect the lives of people – particularly the disadvantaged”.
ProjectsThe concept behind ecological sanitation (ecosan) is that sanitation problems could be solved more sustainable and efficiently if the resources contained in excreta and wastewater were recovered and used rather than discharged into the water bodies and the surrounding environment.
Consulting ServicesThe Consulting unit has the mission of supporting individuals, industrial, commercial, residential, educational and governmental partners with the implementation of ecological sanitation systems to manage communal water in their premises.
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