Sanitation partnerships: Beyond storage

This paper discusses the need for on-site sanitation to work as a system and debates the potential for partnerships. Much of the discussion is forward-looking.
Some concrete conclusions are:

• Too little attention is paid to the fact that on-site facilities are typically only one link in a broader chain of waste removal and treatment.
• For the public goods of sanitation to become a reality, public subsidies will be often be needed. These subsidies need to reinforce rather than undermine the private and provider’s goods.
• Manual latrine emptying needs to become a recognised part of broader solutions and the health risks must be mitigated.
• Solid waste offers interesting parallels for on-site sanitation but disaggregated demand remains a key challenge.
• Sludge transfer and disposal are key bottlenecks to delivering a viable sanitation system.
• Partnerships may offer one way of reconciling the links needed, but sanitation offers challenges distinct from either water or solid waste.

BPD doc_114 Beyond Storage.pdf (849.9 kB)