Urine Diverting Toilets in Climates with Cold Winters

Home , Dry toilet, Flush toilet, Freezing toilet, National Poo Museum, Shit Museum, Toilet paper

Author and Editors Anna Richert Stintzing VERNA, Ecological Inc., Sweden

Dr. Håkan Jönsson Dr. Caroline Schönning Kati Hinkkanen Dr. Elisabeth Kvarnström Dr. Zsofia Ganrot Margriet Samwel Sascha Gabizon Annemarie Mohr

Urine Diverting Toilets in Climates with Cold Winters Technical considerations and the reuse of nutrients with a focus on legal and hygienic aspects Water and SanitationWater

WECF Women in Europe for a Common Future July 2007 Publication Data 2007 WECF Published by WECF Utrecht/Munich, July 2007

Prepared for WECF by

Editors and authors Anna Richert Stintzing, VERNA Ecology Inc. (main author) Dr. Håkan Jönsson, Stockholm Environment Institute and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Dr. Caroline Schönning, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control Kati Hinkkanen, Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland Dr. Elisabeth Kvarnström, VERNA Ecology Inc. and Stockholm Environment Institute Dr. Zsofia Ganrot, Göteborg University

Margriet Samwel, WECF Sascha Gabizon, WECF Annemarie Mohr, WECF

Layout by Frauke Paré

WECF, Women in Europe for a Common Future

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The Netherlands: Germany: Account Number: 1266 45 11 Account Number 1313 90 50 IBAN: NL96 RABO 0126 6451 16 Bank code 701 500 00 BIC: RABONL2U IBAN: DE68 7015 0000 013 1390 50 BIC: SSKMDEMM Stadtsparkasse München, Munich Urine Diverting Toilets in Climates with Cold Winters

Technical considerations and the reuse of nutrients with a focus on legal and hygienic aspects

Editors and Authors Anna Richert Stintzing, VERNA Ecology Inc. (main author)

Bank account numbers for tax deductible donations: Dr. Håkan Jönsson, Stockholm Environment Institute and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences The Netherlands: Germany: Dr. Caroline Schönning, Account Number: 1266 45 11 Account Number 1313 90 50 Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control IBAN: NL96 RABO 0126 6451 16 Bank code 701 500 00 Kati Hinkkanen, Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland BIC: RABONL2U IBAN: DE68 7015 0000 013 1390 50 Dr. Elisabeth Kvarnström, BIC: SSKMDEMM VERNA Ecology Inc. and Stockholm Environment Institute Stadtsparkasse München, Munich Dr. Zsofia Ganrot, Göteborg University

Margriet Samwel, WECF Sascha Gabizon, WECF Annemarie Mohr, WECF We would like to thank the following persons who have contributed with examples of dry urine diversion systems in Sweden and abroad:

• Kati Hinkkanen, Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland • Börje Johansson, Farmer in Hulta By, Linköping • Andreas Roos, Environmental officer in Tanum Municipality • Rolf Jacobsen, Gaia Architects in Norway • Jan and Karin Eksvärd, Knivsta, Sweden. Jan is Environmental manager of Swedish Farmers Organisation, Karin works at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences • Arno Rosemarin, Stockholm Environment Institute • Nicholas Hort, Inhabitant in Gebers and environmental officer in Stockholm Municipality • Karin Emilsson, VERNA Ecology Inc.

Personal communication Zsofia Ganrot, Göteborg University Kati Hinkkanen, Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland

All of the contributions are gratefully acknowledged!

More about WECF Women in Europe for a Common Future is a network of organisations and individuals working for sustainable development, protection of human health and environment and poverty reduction. Our international network consists of members and partners in Western and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

WECF supports partners in 12 countries with demonstrations of dry urine diverting toilets for private and public (school) use, in:

• Afghanistan • Armenia • Belarus • Bulgaria • Georgia • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Moldova • Romania • Tajikistan • Ukraine • Uzbekistan Contents 1 | Summary 6 Background and legal aspects 6 Aspects of cold winters 7 Knowledge gaps and identified research needs 7 Conclusions

2 | Dry Urine Diversion 8 Background 8 Objective 8 Definitions 8 What is a Dry Urine Diverting Toilet System? 9 Development trends

3 | EU directives relating to dry urine diversion where urine and faeces are reused in agriculture 10 Framework Directive in the field of water policy 10 Pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources 10 Urban waste water treatment 11 Use of sewage sludge in agriculture 11 Organic agriculture

4 | Legal aspects

5 | Cold temperature aspects 12 Freezing of urine 13 Hygiene and treatment of urine 14 Pharmaceuticals and hormones 15 Hygiene and treatment of faeces 17 Technical aspects: construction and maintenance of dry urine diverting toilets in climates with cold winters 19 Pipes for urine 20 Storage 21 Odour control with ventilation 22 System for reuse of urine and faeces in crop production 23 Home gardens 25 Large Scale Agricultural Production

6 | Examples from pilot projects and research from the northern hemisphere 27 Composting toilet with urine diversion in Finland 28 Agricultural reuse of urine and sludge in Hulta by, Sweden 28 Local reuse of urine in a demonstration garden, Nyckelviken, Nacka 29 Tanum municipality – urine diversion mainstreaming through municipal policy work 31 Dry urine diversion with reuse of faeces in Norway, private home 31 Dry urine diversion with reuse of urine and faeces in a single-family home, Sweden 33 Large-scale ecosan services in Dong Sheng, Inner Mongolia, China 33 Gebers –Urine Diverting Dry Toilets in a 2-Storey Building 35 Eklandaskolan in Mölndal – School Sanitation with Urine Diversion

7 | Knowledge gaps and identified research needs 36 Research needs 36 Suggested applied R&D projects

8 | Annex 37 Read more 38 References

1 | Summary

Background and legal aspects Urine and faeces are collected in sepa- Aspects of cold winters Ecological sanitation, and the most fre- rate containers, stored or treated, and Important characteristics for the design quent application, dry urine diverting finally used in crop production. Grey of technical systems in areas with cold toilets with reuse of urine and faeces in water is treated separately, and this is winters are freezing of urine, ventilation crop production, is growing globally. The not in the scope of the report. and microbial growth rates. There are also millennium development goals have often great differences between winter targeted sanitation. There is a need for Ecological sanitation where sanitised and summer climate conditions implying knowledge on aspects that are related human excreta are reused in agriculture that systems should be analysed from to climates where large temperature is a concept that often falls outside of a dual perspective. The growth season is differences between summer and winter, the existing regulatory framework. Two short but intense, which is essential know- and winter temperatures below freezing, major aspects related to sanitation in ledge for the design of systems aiming at are issues. Some of these aspects are the general are public health and environ- a recycling of nutrients. In general a long sanitisation of faeces and urine, storage mental protection. However, in the storage period is needed in addition to aspects, technical aspects related to implementation of ecological sanitation a period during which nutrients are assimi- freezing of urine, odour, and the reuse there is also a need to focus on agricul- lated by plants. Thus, a chain consisting of of the end products. After the publica- tural regulation since the objective is collection of urine and faeces – storage tion of new WHO guideline for the safe agricultural use of human excreta. The and treatment – distribution and applica- use of wastewater, excreta and greywa- often weak legal and institutional frame- tion must be established. ter in agriculture (WHO, 2006), WECF has work in many countries makes it difficult taken initiative to compile a report on of to implement and scale up sanitation During storage the urine should be con- dry urine diversion in areas with long solutions such as ecological sanitation. tained in a sealed tank or container. The winters with temperatures below zero. urine should preferably not be diluted. The The terminology of ecological sanitation general recommendations for urine are Dry urine diversion is one way to imple- has not yet permeated EU legislation. • Direct use after collection or a short ment ecological sanitation, or sustainab- An example of this is that there is a storage time is acceptable on the single le sanitation. Both terms are used for a directive for use of sewage sludge in household level. For larger systems, sanitation system that is designed for agriculture, but no regulation on the use storage should be arranged according minimal negative consequences on the of source diverted urine and faeces. A to storage intervals presented above. environment, while being economically conclusion is that dry urine diversion • An interval of at least one month should and socially viable. According to Bracken with agricultural reuse of the urine and be observed between fertilisation and & Kvarnström (2005), a sanitation system faeces does not clash with the EU harvest, should consider the users of all parts of directives. • Additional stricter recommendations the system, along with the collection, may apply on a local level, in the case of transport, and treatment of human WHO has recently published a new set frequent fecal cross-contamination. The excreta, grey water, solid waste, industri- of guidelines for the reuse of excreta in recommendations for storage times are al wastewater, storm water, and the agriculture (WHO 2006) 1 directly linked to agricultural use and management of the resulting end pro- choice of crop, see box 2 and tables ducts. This definition recognises sanitati- The guidelines are not legally binding; 1 and 2. on as being multi-facetted, and includes however, based on the latest scientific the social aspect of sanitation, the knowledge, they represent the most Additional practices to minimise the risks economic and logistical side, as well as current recommendations on the reuse include the following: resource management. of excreta. Volume four specifically deals • When handling the urine precautions with the reuse of source separated related to the handling of potentially A urine diverting toilet has two outlets excreta and grey water. The volume infectious material should be taken. and two collection systems; one for gives information on assessment and These precautions include wearing urine and one for the faeces, in order to management of risks associated with gloves and thorough hand washing. keep these excreta fractions separate. microbial hazards. The guidelines set • The urine should be applied using Other than that, the system has mainly down requirements to promote the close-to-the-ground fertilising tech- conventional technical construction reuse of excreta including minimum niques avoiding aerosol formation. material/devices, even if they are used procedures (see box 2 and tables 1 and • The urine should be incorporated into in completely or partly new ways. 2), and health-based targets. the soil. This could in practise be done

1 http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuweg4/en/index.html mechanically or by subsequent apply- implement the system are given in the possible to arrange agricultural reuse of ing irrigation with water. text. Examples from pilot projects in urine and faeces in large or small scale Sweden, Finland, Norway and China are crop production. There is currently no recommendation of presented, showing different aspects such • It is possible to retrofit buildings with storage intervals for urine that has been as urine reuse, ventilation school sanitati- dry sanitation, i.e. exchanging a flush frozen. A conclusion regarding tempera- on, two-storey systems and private home toilet for a dry toilet. It is also possible to ture aspects on sanitisation of urine is that installations. implement dry urine diversion in many- not enough is known on the fate of patho- storey buildings as well as in urban gens and indicator bacteria in urine solu- Knowledge gaps and identified settings provided that collection of the tions that are subject to temperatures research needs urine and faeces is arranged. below zero. A general opinion is that urine Well-planned dry urine diversion systems • The fact that there are only short is less risky to handle than faeces, and that with agricultural reuse of urine and faeces periods during the year when urine can the storage treatment of urine according are not mainstream sanitation in the world be used as a fertiliser place demands on to guidelines generally functions well. A today. Most people in the world live with a storage system for the urine. There are larger concern has been the safe treat- dry sanitation, however, the systems are a few alternatives; one of the most ment of faeces, see below. seldom adapted to efficient reuse of the economic may be to arrange storage on nutrients in excreta. There are some defi- a farm, in covered storage containers There are research project going on to nite areas where there is a need of syste- previously used for animal urine. investigate the environmental effect of matic research and development (R&D). • The technical solutions for dry urine pharmaceuticals in urine. Concerning both Some of these, especially related to cold diversion are not complicated. Most hormones and pharmaceutical substances, winter climate aspects, are specified in the applications can be solved with existing it is better to recycle urine and faeces to following text. Monitoring and evaluation materials and technologies. The concept arable land than to flush them into recipi- of existing dry urine diversion projects is a demands to some extent new thinking, ent waters. cost-efficient way of generating know- for example regarding ventilation of ledge. Dissemination of results, regardless toilet chambers etc, but no advanced Out of the two fractions it is faeces that of if they are positive or negative, from technology is needed, only basic know- pose the greater hygienic risk. Faeces existing pilots is vital. The establishment of ledge of ventilation systems. contain large amounts of microorganisms, new pilot projects will also contribute to • There are still development needs and harmful and unharmful. The sanitisation of the bank of knowledge. knowledge gaps. Some of these are faeces has to be designed with care for related to temperate and cold climates, large scale systems so that disease is not Conclusions such as the fate of microorganisms in spread as a result of introduction of dry The major conclusion is that dry urine urine at temperatures below freezing. urine diverting toilet systems. The WHO diversion, including reuse of urine and However, this should not be considered Guidelines on excreta use in agriculture faeces, is one component of a sustainable a major constraint to the development (WHO 2006) give recommendations on sanitation system. Dry urine diversion is of dry urine diversion, since the risk is treatment of the faecal fraction. a way to fulfil many of the Millennium relatively low, and can be handled Development Goals, not only the goal through combination with other Technical aspects on the urine diversion related to sanitation. hygienic activities. system are given in the report. Compo- nents such as toilet model, piping, storage • There are functioning examples of dry tanks, ventilation and odour control are urine diversion in regions in the world covered. Reuse of the urine and faeces is with cold winter climates. The examples explained, and practical instructions to presented in the report show that it is 2 | Dry Urine Diversion

Background Climate regions in the world as used by Bracken & Kvarnström (2005), a sanitation Ecological sanitation, and the most fre- the FAO, have been defined by Koeppens2 system should consider the users of all quent application, dry urine diverting This report highlights aspects on dry urine parts of the system, along with the collec- toilets with reuse of urine and faeces in diversion related to freezing temperatures, tion, transport, and treatment of human crop production, is growing globally. The as well as the changing seasons affecting excreta, grey water, solid waste, industrial millennium development goals have the reuse of urine and faeces. wastewater, storm water, and the manage- targeted sanitation, and many pro- ment of the resulting end products. This grammes are running in developing Dry urine diversion is one way to imple- definition recognises sanitation as being countries. Most of the programmes are ment ecological sanitation, or sustainable multi-facetted, and includes the social situated in countries with warmer climates sanitation. Both terms are used for a aspect of sanitation, the economic and in the southern hemisphere, and the sanitation system that is designed for logistical side, as well as resource knowledge and experiences gathered are minimal negative consequences on the management. generated in these climates. However, environment, while being economically recent development is seeing a rise in and socially viable. Criteria have been set What is a dry urine diverting activities in the northern hemisphere, with up for sustainable sanitation systems toilet system? projects in Finland, Mongolia, China, (Bracken & Kvarnström 2005). According to A urine diverting toilet has two outlets Ukraine, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria the authors, a sanitation system that is and two collection systems; one for urine among others. There is a need for know- sustainable protects and promotes human and one for the faeces, in order to keep ledge on aspects that are related to cli- health, does not contribute to environ- these excreta fractions separate. Other mates where large temperature dif- mental degradation or depletion of the than that, the system has mainly conventi- ferences between summer and winter, and resource base, is technically and institutio- onal technical construction material/ winter temperatures below freezing, are nally appropriate, economically viable and devices, even if they are used in complete- issues. Some of these aspects are the socially acceptable. In westernised coun- ly or partly new ways. sanitisation of faeces and urine, storage tries, waterborne sanitation is considered aspects, technical aspects related to mainstream. However, in many situations The urine diverting toilets can be either freezing of urine, odour, and the reuse this is not a sustainable practice. Some water-flushed or dry, exists in pedestal/ of the end products. reasons may be costs, lack of water, as well risers as well as squatter models. Research as difficulties in reusing the excreta as and experience show that the systems After the publication of new WHO guide- fertilisers. In many cases, dry urine diversi- function in different settings, provided line for the safe use of wastewater, excreta on rises as a sustainable option and this that the systems are properly installed, and greywater in agriculture, 2006 report seeks to show experiences and operated and maintained. (WHO, 2006), WECF has taken initiative to strategies for implementation. compile a report on of dry urine diverting Urine and faeces are collected in separate toilets in areas with long winters with It is essential to define a sanitation system, containers, stored or treated, and finally temperatures below zero. since many have made the mistake of only used in crop production. Grey water is considering the toilet itself. According to treated separately, and this is not in the Objective This report contains information on aspects of dry urine diverting toilet systems related to temperate continental climates where large temperature differences between summer and winter are an issue, with focus on the hygienic aspects of reuse of nutrients. Grey water treatment Figure 1: and reuse is not in the scope of the report Dry urine diversion components. even if it is intimately related to the urine By Wost Man Ecology and faeces system.

Definitions The scope of this report is dry urine diversion in temperate and cold climates. To urine tank

2 http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/sustdev/EIdirect/climate/EIsp0054.htm Figure 2: A urine diverting toilet seat. Photo by WECF

Figure 3: A urine diverting squatting toilet. Photo by WECF

scope of the report as mentioned above. The UN Task Force 7 on Water and Sanitati- Urine diversion in itself shall be seen as a on has shown that meeting the water and complementary technology since the sanitation target will influence, positively, other wastewater flows (faeces, grey water the meeting of all Millennium and storm water) also need to be handled Development Goals. Water supply and and treated. sanitation services were recognised as being critical to sustainable development Development trends – contributing to increased food security, The global sanitation crisis has been supporting and environmental protection, recognised by the international communi- empowering women, and reducing pro- ty with the setting of a concrete target in ductivity losses due to morbidity and the Millennium Development Goals malnutrition. (MDGs) to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking Even if the challenges are greater in many water and basic sanitation by 20153. regions of the world, like Sub-Sahara Africa However, the Joint Monitoring Programme or East and Southern Asia, there is still a has found that if the current rate of provi- substantial amount of toilets that need to sion does not improve dramatically, the be built in temperate/cold climate regions. sanitation target will be missed by over a A preliminary calculation shows that 1267 half billion people, and 2.4 billion people toilets need to be built every day in the world-wide will still be without access in Eurasian region in order to meet the 2015 (WHO and UNICEF, 2004). In 2006, millennium goal challenge. Thus, countries WHO issued the latest version of guide- in areas with cold winters also have an lines on the safe reuse of source separated MDG challenge to meet when it comes to human excreta (WHO, 2006). water and sanitation.

3 http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/2005advocguide/en/index2.html 3 | EU directives relating to dry urine diversion where urine and faeces are reused in agriculture

The terminology of ecological sanitation water use and a register of areas requiring Urban waste water treatment has not yet permeated the EU directive special protection. This directive concerns the collection, texts. An example of this is that there is treatment and discharge of urban waste a directive for use of sewage sludge in The measures provided for in the river water and the treatment and discharge of agriculture, but no regulation on the use basin management plan seek to: waste water from certain industrial sectors. of source diverted urine and faeces. The • prevent deterioration, enhance and Its aim is to protect the environment from text below summarises directives relevant restore bodies of surface water, achieve any adverse effects due to discharge of to the topic of this report to be implemen- good chemical and ecological status of such waters. The proper name of the ted by the member states. The source of such water and reduce pollution from directive is Council Directive 91/271/EEC of the information is a website where EU discharges and emissions of hazardous 21 May 1991 concerning urban wastewa- legislation is compiled4. substances. ter treatment. • protect, enhance and restore all bodies 11 A conclusion is that dry urine diversion of groundwater, prevent the pollution Key terms used in the act with agricultural reuse of the urine and and deterioration of groundwater, and • urban waste water means waste water faeces does not clash with the EU direc- ensure a balance between use and from residential settlements and ser- tives mentioned below. There are aspects recharge of groundwater; vices which originates predominantly to consider, such as timing of fertiliser • preserve protected areas. from the human metabolism and from application, but no direct conflicts. Hope- household activities (domestic waste fully, this system may be integrated into Pollution caused by nitrates from water) or a mixture of domestic waste EU policy work so that the practice beco- agricultural sources water with waste water which is mes mainstreamed instead of an activity The correct term for this directive is Coun- discharged from premises used for trade on the side. cil Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December or industry (industrial waste water) and/ 1991 concerning the protection of waters or run-off rain water; Framework Directive in the field against pollution caused by nitrates from • population equivalent (p.e.) is a measure of water policy agricultural sources. [Official Journal L 375 of pollution representing the average This directive is also called “The water of 31.12.1991]. The objective is to reduce organic biodegradable load per person directive”, and the implementation is or prevent water pollution caused or per day. ongoing in member states. The objective induced by nitrates from agricultural is to establish the protection of inland sources. The Member States must identify, The Directive establishes points, which surface waters, transitional waters, coastal on their territory: Member States must adhere to, for the waters and groundwater, in order to • surface waters and groundwater af- provision of collecting and treatment prevent and reduce pollution, promote fected or which could be affected by systems for urban waste water in commu- sustainable water use, protect the aquatic pollution, in accordance with the proce- nities which meet the criteria laid down in environment, improve the status of aqua- dure and criteria set out in the Directive; the Directive. The main points are as tic ecosystems and mitigate the effects of • vulnerable zones which contribute to follows: floods and droughts. The proper name of pollution. • all communities of more than 10000 the directive is Directive 2000/60/EC of the The Member States must establish codes „population equivalent“ (p.e.) which European Parliament and of the Council of of good agricultural practice to be imple- discharge water into sensitive areas 23 October 2000, establishing a framework mented by farmers on a voluntary basis. must have a proper collection and for Community action in the field of water The Member States must establish and treatment system; policy [Official Journal L 327 of 22.12.2001]. implement action programmes in respect • all communities of more than 15000 p.e. of vulnerable zones. Examples are: must have a collection and treatment Under this directive, Member States have • to limit the spreading on land of any system which enables them to satisfy to identify all the river basins lying within fertiliser containing nitrogen; the requirements in Annex I; their national territory and assign them to • to set limits for the spreading of • all communities of between 2000 and individual river basin districts. Member livestock effluent. 10000 p.e. which discharge water into States must complete an analysis of the The Member States must monitor water sensitive areas, and all communities of characteristics of each river basin district, quality, applying standardised reference between 2000 and 15000 p.e. which do a review of the impact of human activity methods to measure the nitrogen com- not discharge into such areas must have on the water, an economic analysis of pound content a collection and treatment system.

4 http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s15000.htm One important point for the development The use of sewage sludge is prohibited if • the composition and properties of the of dry urine diversion is that it is set down the concentration of one or more heavy sludge (Micro biological properties are that the use of „alternative“ methods must metals in the soil exceeds limit values. not included); ensure at least the same level of environ- Sludge must be treated before being used • the type of treatment carried out; mental protection as the annual mean in agriculture but the Member States may • the names and addresses of the recipi- technique, usually meaning waste water authorise the use of untreated sludge if it ents of the sludge and the places where treatment plants. is injected or worked into the soil. the sludge is to be used. The use of sludge is prohibited: Use of sewage sludge • on grassland or forage crops if the Where conditions so demand, Member in agriculture grassland is to be grazed or the forage States may take more stringent measures The European Union regulates use of crops to be harvested before a certain than those provided for in this Directive. sewage sludge in agriculture to prevent period has elapsed (this period, fixed by harmful effects on soil, vegetation, animals the Member States, may not be less Organic agriculture and humans. There is no definition of than three weeks); The European Union regulates organic source separated excreta in this directive.. • on fruit and vegetable crops during the production in the Council Regulation (EEC) The proper name of the directive is Coun- growing season, with the exception of No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991. Fertilisers 12 cil Directive 86/278/EEC of 12 June 1986 fruit trees; used in organic production are specified in on the protection of the environment, and • on ground intended for the cultivation a list, and human urine and faeces are not in particular of the soil, when sewage of fruit and vegetable crops which are on this list. Attempts have been made to sludge is used in agriculture. normally in direct contact with the soil include these fertilisers from Swedish and normally eaten raw, for a period of officials, with little success. A pilot study In using sewage sludge account must be ten months preceding the harvest and has been initiated in Sweden where an taken of the nutrient needs of the plants during the harvest itself. organic farmer, presented in an example in without impairing the quality of the soil Sludge and soil on which it is used must the text below, has been permitted to use and of surface and ground water. Sewage be sampled and analysed. Member States the urine collected from houses in a sludge may be used in agriculture provi- must keep records registering:• village in production of ley and cereals. ded that the Member State concerned the quantities of sludge produced and the regulates its use. quantities supplied for use in agriculture;

4 | Legal aspects

Ecological sanitation where sanitised objective is agricultural use of human ström, 2005). Creating the political will to human excreta are reused in agriculture is excreta. The often weak legal and instituti- solve the sanitation problems at all levels a concept that often falls outside of the onal framework in many countries makes in society is a major challenge. existing regulatory framework. One reason it difficult to implement and scale up could be that the concept is interdiscipli- sanitation solutions such as ecological The specific benefits of the closed loop nary, making it subject to several different sanitation (Stoll & Schönewald, 2003). approach should be communicated and sets of regulations. Two major aspects An enabling legislation and regulatory promoted in such a way that the advan- related to sanitation in general are public framework do not alone solve the sanitati- tages of ecological sanitation, compared health and environmental protection. on problem. It has been shown that to other available sanitation systems and However, in the implementation of ecolo- without the political will the water policies approaches as well as to the “business as gical sanitation there is also a need to and legislation may not be implemented usual” alternative, become very clear to focus on agricultural regulation since the at all at the local level (Johansson & Kvarn- decision-makers and politicians.

Figure 4: The reuse of sanitised human excreta in agriculture often falls outside of the existing regulatory legal framework Photo by WECF Box 1: Box 2: Proposed Swedish regulations on Guidelines for the safe reuse of urine sanitizing of digestion residues, and faeces in crop production from faeces and urine. the WHO.

The Swedish Environmental Protec- WHO has recently published a new tion Agency has proposed new set of guidelines for the reuse of legislation for use of wastewater excreta in agriculture (WHO 2006). The fractions in agriculture (EPA 2002). guidelines are not legally binding; Adoption of the proposed legislation however, based on the latest scientific is planned for 2007/2008. A key knowledge, they represent the most concept in the new legislation is current recommendations on the to incorporate the term wastewater reuse of excreta. Volume four specifi- fractions instead of sewage sludge, cally deals with the reuse of source enabling a framework for source separated excreta and grey water. The separated fractions as well as conven- volume gives information on assess- 13 tional wastewater and sewage ment and management of risks associ- sludge. Other aspects are hygiene and ated with microbial hazards. The sanitisation of wastewater fractions, guidelines set down requirements to limit values for metals in wastewater promote the reuse of excreta inclu- fractions as well as levels applied ding minimum procedures (see table to the soil. 1 and 3), and health-based targets.

5 | Cold temperature aspects

Important characteristics for the design of For urine, the freezing point depends on ions remain long in the liquid phase as ice technical systems in areas with cold the concentration of ions. The last part to crystals are formed. This means that if the winters are freezing of urine, ventilation freeze will be the most concentrated ice is removed at a certain stage, the and microbial growth and reduction rates. liquid, and according to experience ga- remaining urine solution will be more There are also often great differences thered in lab scale, this can occur at concentrated with regard to nutrients. between winter and summer climate temperatures below – 18 °C (Ganrot, More than 80 % of both nitrogen and conditions implying that systems should personal communication). If the urine has phosphorus can be concentrated in 25% be analysed from a dual perspective. The been totally frozen, the part to thaw first of the initial volume according to a PhD growth season is short but intense, which will be the part that froze last, generally on project in Sweden (Ganrot, 2005). This is essential knowledge for the design of the edges of the container. Urine stored in could be achieved by slowly freezing systems aiming at a recycling of nutrients. a tank above ground will start to freeze at liquid urine or slowly melting a completely In general a long storage period is needed temperatures below approximately – 5 °C frozen amount of urine. There are not yet in addition to a period during which (Ganrot, personal communication). When any known practical applications of this nutrients are assimilated by plants. Thus, a the urine freezes, it will expand in volume, concentration method. chain consisting of collection of urine and which should be considered when plan- faeces – storage and treatment – distribu- ning the system. Tanks should not be filled One question regarding the freezing of tion and application must be established. right to the top, and the design and urine is the fate of ammonium in the urine Read more in the sections below. materials chosen should stand the expan- solution. Potentially, if a tank containing sion of the urine or alternatively, give room urine freezes and there is air in the tank, Freezing of urine for the expansion. increased concentrations of ammonia Sludge treatment by freezing and thawing could form. This highlights the importance is a robust and cost saving method in cold During slow formation of ice from liquid of sealed containers for urine. Observa- climate regions (Hellström, 1998). salt solutions such as urine, the nutrient tions of urine stored in sealed containers, as well as analyses supports this reasoning Hygiene and treatment of urine WHO guidelines (WHO, 2006) are re- since the urine sampled before freezing Urine is sterile in the bladder of a healthy spected, table 1. Source diverted urine is and after contain generally the same person and almost so when excreted from sanitised through storage of the urine in amounts of ammonium (Vinnerås, 1998). the body. Small amounts of faecal matter sealed containers. The high pH in combi- may however be mixed with the urine in nation with temperature and the concent- A concentrated urine solution will be a the toilet due to the fact that the diversion ration of ammonia will effectively kill hostile environment to pathogens, which can never be perfect; there is always a risk harmful pathogens that may be present in could also shorten the demanded time for of faecal contamination of the urine the urine. storage of urine for hygienisation reasons. solution. This is not a problem as long as This has not been studied. the storage times for urine presented in

Table 1: Recommended guideline storage times for urinea based on estimated pathogen contentb and recommended crop for larger systemsc (WHO, 2006).

Possible pathogens in the Storage temperature Storage time Recommended crops 14 urine mixture after storage Food and fodder crops that are 4 °C ≥1 month Viruses, protozoa to be processed Food crops that are to be 4 °C ≥6 months Viruses processed, fodder cropsd Food crops that are to be 20 °C ≥1 month Viruses processed, fodder cropsd

20 °C ≥6 months Probably none All cropse

a Urine or urine and water. When diluted it is assumed that the urine mixture has at least pH 8.8 and a nitrogen concentration of at least 1 g/l. b Gram-positive bacteria and spore-forming bacteria are not included in the underlying risk assessments, but are not normally recognised for causing any of the infections of concern. c A larger system in this case is a system where the urine mixture is used to fertilise crops that will be consumed by individuals other than members of the household from which the urine was collected. d Not grasslands for production of fodder. e For food crops that are consumed raw it is recommended that the urine be applied at least one month before harvesting and that it be incorporated into the ground if the edible parts grow above the soil surface.

During storage the urine should be con- • Additional stricter recommendations mechanically or by subsequent apply- tained in a sealed tank or container. This may apply on a local level, in the case of ing irrigation with water. prevents humans and animals to come in frequent fecal cross-contamination. The contact with the urine and hinders evapo- recommendations for storage times are ration of ammonia decreasing the risk of directly linked to agricultural use and odour and loss of nitrogen. The urine choice of crop see above. There is currently no recom- should preferably not be diluted. The mendation of storage intervals for urine that is stored at general recommendations for urine are Additional practices to minimise the risks ambient temperatures below • Direct use after collection or a short include the following: four degrees storage time is acceptable on the single • When handling the urine precautions household level. For larger systems, related to the handling of potentially storage should be arranged according infectious material should be taken. to storage times presented above. These precautions include wearing • An interval of at least one month should gloves and thorough hand washing. be observed between fertilisation and • The urine should be applied using harvest for crops eaten raw. If the edible close-to-the-ground fertilising tech- parts eaten raw grow above soil the niques avoiding aerosol formation. urine should be incorporated into the • The urine should be incorporated into ground. the soil. This could in practise be done Proposed Swedish legislation regarding year is proposed for urine where there is rages times are given as minimum values the agricultural use of urine collected from no defined temperature for the storage This is added as a precautionary measure, multiple households has been presented; conditions. The requirements presume it is not based on knowledge on see box 1 and table 2 (Swedish EPA, 2002). a pH of at least 8.8 and a nitrogen content bacteria behaviour in urine subjected to In this legislation, a storage time of one of at least 1 g/l. Temperatures and sto- freezing conditions.

Table 2: Requirements on storage and allowed crops for diverted human urine that is collected from larger systems. (Swedish EPA, 2002).

Storage temperature Storage time Allowed crops

4 °C 1 month Food crops that are to be processed

4 ºC 6 months Food crops that are to be processed and fodder crops 1 15 20 ºC 1 month Food crops that are to be processed and fodder crops 1

20 ºC 6 months All food crops 2 and fodder crops 3 , park areas

– 1 year All food crops 2 and fodder crops 3, park areas

1 It is not allowed to spread urine on grasslands for fodder production 2 For food crops consumed raw it is recommended that urine is spread at least one month before harvest and is incorporated into soil. 3 It is not allowed to spread urine on grasslands for fodder production

The environment in the concentrated for urine that has been frozen. A general are mixed into the active topsoil, which urine is very hostile to bacteria. If the urine opinion is that urine is less risky to handle has a microbial community as diverse and is frozen solid, some pathogenic bacteria than faeces, and that the storage treat- active as that in composts, and the and proteins such as urease may be ment of urine according to the above substances are retained for months in the negatively affected. The pathogenic mentioned guidelines generally functions topsoil. This means that there is potential bacteria thrive in temperatures above zero. well. A larger concern has been the safe for the microbes in soil to degrade phar- Below zero, they may enter stages of rest, treatment of faeces, see below. maceutical substances. and the knowledge of exactly what happens needs to be developed. Pharmaceuticals and hormones Concerning both hormones and pharma- There are research project going on to ceutical substances, it is better to recycle A conclusion regarding temperature investigate pharmaceuticals in urine and urine and faeces to arable land than to aspects on sanitisation of urine is that not environmental effects (Lienert et al, 2007, flush them into recipient waters. Since the enough is known on the fate of patho- Schroeder et al, 2007, Escher et al, 2005). aquatic systems have never been exposed gens and indicator bacteria in urine solu- Most studies investigate the content of to mammal hormones in large quantities, tions that are subject to temperatures pharmaceuticals in urine, and the fate of it is not surprising that the sex develop- below zero. The research carried out in pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment ment of fish and reptiles is disturbed when Sweden on sanitisation of urine has defi- plants. No studies have yet been presen- they are exposed to wastewater effluent ned storage times for 4 °C and 20 °C. The ted on the fate of pharmaceuticals in soil. containing hormones. Furthermore, the inclusion of storage times of one year By far the majority of all pharmaceutical retention time of the wastewater in the when the temperature is not known has substances are derived from nature, even treatment plants is too short for many been added as a precautionary measure. if many are synthetically produced, and pharmaceutical substances to degrade The municipalities that have handled urine they are thus found and degraded in and recipient waters are also usually all demand a storage time of at least 6 natural environments with a diverse connected to water sources. months. The guidelines are only proposed, microbial activity. Composting has been implementation in the legal system is evaluated as a biological method to There are many indications that the pos- planned for 2007/2008. Municipalities degrade pharmaceutical substances sible risk from pharmaceutical substances place no special demand on storage time (Guerin, 2001). Urine and faecal fertilizers in the agricultural system is smaller than the risks associated with the present cides) used in agriculture, which are just as contain large amounts of microorganisms, system of centralised wastewater treat- biologically active as pharmaceutical harmful as well as beneficial. The sanitisati- ment plants with discharge into water substances. Substance flow studies have on of faeces has to be designed with care bodies. One such indication is that in confirmed that the dose of natural and for large scale systems to prevent diseases many countries the human consumption synthetic hormones and of many pharma- from spreading as a result of handling the of pharmaceuticals is small compared to ceutical substances is larger when apply- collected faecal matter. The WHO Guide- that by domestic animals, as in most ing manure than when applying human lines on excreta use in agriculture (WHO, countries many commercial feeds contain urine (Magid, 2006; Hammer & Clemens, 2006) give recommendations on treat- antibiotic substances, added as growth 2007) ment of the faecal fraction, Table 3. More promoters. Furthermore, the human use of information on the different treatment pharmaceutical substances is small com- Hygiene and treatment of faeces methods is given in the text below. pared to the amount of pesticides (insecti- Out of urine and faeces, it is faeces that cides, fungicides, bactericides and herbi- pose the greater hygienic risk. Faeces

16 Table 3: Recommendations for storage treatment of dry excreta and faecal sludge before use at household and large-scale (municipal) levels. The treatments assume no addition of non-sanitised material (WHO, 2006).

Treatment Criteria Comment

Household and municipal levels

Storage, ambient temperature Will eliminate bacterial pathogens, reduce 1,5 - 2 years 2 - 20 ° C viruses and protozoa below risk levels. Storage, ambient temperature Substantial to total inactivation of > 1 year > 20 - 35 °C viruses, bacteria and protozoa pH > 9 during > 6 months, Lower pH and /or wetter material will Alkaline treatment temperature > 35 °C and/or moisture < 25% prolong the elimination time

Municipal level

Minimum requirement. Longer time nee- Composting Temperature > 50 °C for >1 week ded

Incineration Fully incinerated (<10% carbon in ash)

Faeces normally need both a primary and cover material such as wood chips after a secondary treatment before application, each defecation. even if the distinction between these treatments is often diffuse. The primary The secondary treatment occurs when treatment is that which occurs during the collection period is over and it can collection, and in dry systems this nor- take place at the toilet (e.g. in a double mally occurs beneath the toilet during vault toilet) or somewhere else. The main the collection period. The primary treat- objective of the secondary treatment is ment has several objectives: to render the faeces hygienically safe. Another objective is to transform the a) to decrease the risk of odours; faeces mixture into a state where it is b) to decrease the risk of flies; and odourless and visually non-repulsive. There is currently no recom- c) to decrease the hygiene risk, i.e. This means that it should no longer be mendation of storage intervals to reduce the number of potential possible to recognise pieces of faeces or for faeces that is stored at pathogens in the faeces. toilet paper. This is important when the ambient temperatures below faecal product is handled manually four degrees In a dry system, this primary treatment but less important when the handling can consist of the addition of ash or other is mechanized. There are several options for secondary odour is most efficiently reduced if the temperatures, especially if the faeces are treatment; composting, digestion, storage, cover material is applied in such a way mixed with inorganic material such as ash, chemical treatment, incineration and that the fresh surfaces of the faeces are lime or soil. Addition of easily degradable heating in solar toilets. The thermophilic not exposed, i.e. the additive should be substrates is needed, usually in amounts treatments (composting, digestion, incine- added after each defecation in such a way at least as large as the amount of faeces. ration) for sanitation rely on all material that it covers all fresh faecal surfaces. The This addition can consist of e.g. food reaching a sufficiently high temperature WHO guidelines indicates that in case an market waste, easily degradable industrial for a sufficiently long time to ensure alkaline treatment of faeces is implemen- waste or source-separated kitchen waste. pathogen die-off. This time ranges from ted a storage time of 6 month is required In addition to this, good operation and seconds for incineration to days or even a if the pH and moisture and temperature maintenance is needed to maintain a few weeks for thermophilic composting. of 35 °C is kept. A temperature of 35 °C thermal process. To ensure that a large To achieve similar sanitation levels, the during six month will not be reachable fraction of the compost really reaches other treatments need more time and in areas with cold winters. Therefore the thermal (>50 °C) conditions, insulation normally the die-off depends not only on storage time of alkaline treated faeces of its surfaces is recommended. temperature but also on a number of has to be prolonged, but more research other parameters, such as humidity, pH, on the safe elimination of pathogens In sub-zero temperatures, the compost ammonia content, etc. is needed. may still generate enough heat to keep 17 the temperature above zero. Naturally, It is important to remember that faeces Incineration insulation of the surfaces is especially should be seen as the fraction of human Incineration is an aerobic process with important, as the microbial activity slows excreta with the larger risk. Out of the essentially complete degradation of the down markedly when the temperature treatments below, incineration and urea organic matter. Thus, if the faeces are decreases. treatment in a closed container will give successfully and completely incinerated, high levels of security regarding inactivati- then essentially all N and S are lost with Storage on of pathogens. Composting, especially the fume gas, while essentially all P and K Storage at ambient temperature is ano- in non-isolated containers or in piles, will remain in the ash. The ash from successful ther possible secondary treatment for most likely not give the elevated tempera- incineration is a concentrated and hygie- faeces. The pathogen reduction increases ture needed throughout the whole pile. nic fertilizer high in total P and K. To make with increasing ambient temperature Therefore, if dessication, composting or best use of this concentrated fertilizer it (Moe & Izurieta, 2004). WHO Guidelines storage is chosen as treatment alterna- should be carefully applied. state that storage for 1,5 - 2 years in an tives, they should be combined with other ambient temperature of 2 - 20 °C will safety measures or barriers, such as extra Faeces – composting eliminate bacterial pathogens and reduce careful hand hygiene, extra strict crop Thermophilic composting, like incinerati- viruses. However, E-coli, Salmonella and restrictions (no addition to food crops the on, is an aerobic process which relies on soil-borne ova may persist, therefore first year, etc). The WHO Guidelines sup- the heat from the degrading organic proper hand hygiene is still recommen- port this lie of reasoning; quote “Some- matter to reach the temperature desired, ded for handling of products (WHO 2006). times partial treatment to a less deman- > 50 °C, for seven days to ensure safe Since composting is a difficult process to ding standard may be sufficient if com- reduction of pathogens (WHO 2006). Most monitor, the above mentioned recom- bined with other measures.” However, household composts do not reach this mendations will give a maximum amount proper hand hygiene and waiting periods level. It takes knowledge of composting to of security. should always be observed since the achieve the good mixture between N, C, relative inconvenience is rather small liquid and air needed for a good thermal compared to the lower risk of disease. compost process. Digestion Anaerobic digestion at thermophilic, Alkaline treatment and desiccation The main proportion (typically 90-95%) of mesophilic or ambient temperatures is The most common treatment of faeces is the N in the finished compost is organic N another option for secondary treatment collection in a ventilated chamber, often (Eklind & Kirchmann, 2000). This organic N of faeces. Digesters are closed and all with some cover material, such as plant becomes plant-available only at the rate inflowing substances leave them either ash, lime and/or dried soil. The additive that it is further degraded in the soil. The with the biogas and/or with the digestion should be dry and is normally far drier remaining N, 5-10% of the total, is ammo- residue (including the sedimented sludge than the faeces. This increased dry matter nium and nitrate, which are directly availa- that often has to be removed every once content decreases the risk of odours and ble to plants. in a while). In the digestion process, a flies. The application of lime or plant ash large proportion of the organic matter is increases the pH, which will increase die- A substrate based entirely on faeces is degraded to biogas (mainly methane and off of pathogens. The risk of flies and normally not enough to achieve high carbon dioxide). Figure 5: Urine-diverting liner for dry urine diverting toilets in summerhouse settings. By Palmcrantz and Co

Chemical sanitation Technical aspects: cleaning, repair and inspection. Also, when Sanitation of faeces can also be achieved construction and maintenance installing urine diversion in a public place by mixing them with urea. This urea is of dry urine diverting toilets in special requirements are put on the toilet degraded to ammonium by the urease climates with cold winters design. The system must be self-explaining that naturally occurs in the faeces. Thus, even if information posters should be this process probably functions best if the Choice of toilet model placed on the walls. faeces are in the form of a sludge, which In most cases an inexpensive toilet model can be mixed. In the sludge, equilibrium is can fill the needs. Important, however, is Urine diversion in dry, non-compli- established between ammonium and that the user in the long run feels comfor- cated systems ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to microbes table and is satisfied with it. It is therefore The least complicated, but in many cases and the reduction of pathogens is very recommended that the prospective user, if well functioning, urine diversion system is good in the process (Vinnerås et al., 2003). possible, tries out the toilet before the built with only one toilet per collecting Additions such as ash and lime that incre- choice is made. An example of how a container, short pipes and reuse of urine ase the pH during primary treatment municipality can supply the inhabitants and faeces in a small home garden. The increase the sanitizing effect. This treat- with information on toilets systems is easiest way of having a urine diverting ment needs to be performed in a closed Nacka municipality outside Stockholm, toilet is by placing a liner consisting of a container. The process resembles storage where a wastewater exhibition has been funnel in the front of a dry toilet. Figure 4 in that no degradation of the faeces takes set up. Toilets have been installed in a shows a liner with lid produced in Sweden place and therefore neither organic matter nature school setting, so that people can by Örnplast AB. In wintertime, the toilets nor N is lost. They are all left for the try the toilets in reality. Other important are used with an isolating ring to sit on. microbes in the soil to thrive on after aspects are that the toilet is easy to clean, The urine can be collected in 10-25-litre application of the sludge as a fertilizer. The that it is robust and easy to maintain. For containers, or a larger 1 m3 tank placed ammonium content of this sludge is the cleaning, the surface finish is impor- beside the latrine bin. For permanent higher than that of urine and digestion tant and for the maintenance the techno- households the current Swedish recom- residue. Thus, it is an excellent fertilizer but, logy, the availability of spare parts and mendation is a collection volume of 2- like digestion residues and urine, it needs labour skilled in their replacement etc. are 3m3 for double flushing toilets. In dry to be handled and applied with care to important. Another important aspect is systems, a 1 m3 tanks should be enough avoid ammonia losses. how easy it is to access the urine pipe for for a four person family but this needs to be confirmed for the individual setting. At Maintenance of urine followed by pouring 1-2 litres of water need the container is emptied and the diverting toilets down the urine bowl as fast as possible, to urine used as fertiliser. The effect of fertili- In all installations there is a risk of blo- flush away any material that might have zing is best during spring and early sum- ckages occurring mainly in the odour come loose by the cleaning. mer. It is easily spread by pouring from the seal. It is a result of fibres and other container directly, possibly equipped with particles entering the piping system and If chemical cleaning is preferred, it is a hose down to the ground or by use of a of chemical precipitation of struvite suggested to alternate between caustic plastic watering-can or similar. (MgNH4PO4) and calcium phosphates soda and acetic acid, as they supplement (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) from the urine caused each other well. The caustic soda is very Odour seal by the increase in pH which occurs when efficient in dissolving hair and organic To avoid odours it is preferable that toilets its urea is degraded. The precipitation residues and frees the mineral precipitates installed indoors be equipped with a seal also forms a viscous sludge, which will so that they can be flushed away as grains. (could be water seal or other type of seal), slowly flow towards the tank provided Care should be taken, however, that the even though small installations (one toilet that the slope of the pipes is correct. caustic soda is well dissolved in enough or urinal on a short piping system prefer- Another, but more costly way to solve the water (at least 2 volumes of water per ably less than 10 metres long and with a blockages, is to replace the water seal at volume of soda), before it is poured into good slope, preferably > 4%) can be built regular intervals. the urine pipe, otherwise there is a risk of 19 without seal. If the inlet pipe goes down the soda itself forming a precipitate in the to close to the bottom of the collection Most blockages that occur in urine diver- pipe. It is recommended that enough soda vessel, the risk of odour from the urine ting toilets are “soft” blockages caused by solution is used to also clear the pipe pipe is minimized. If a water seal is not precipitation on hair and paper fibre. The immediately behind the u-bend. A mixture relevant, a latex/silicon membrane can be other type is hard “blockages”, caused by of 5 dl of caustic soda and 1 litre of warm used. This will allow urine to flow down- precipitation directly on the on the pipe water will often be appropriate, as this will wards, while no air is emitted out of the wall. The blockages are removed either completely fill just over half a meter of a tube. The following pictures show a mechanically by a drain auger or chemi- 50 mm pipe. Care should be taken and membrane smell trap consisting of a cally by use of strong solutions of caustic protective gloves and eyeglasses worn rubber tube that is flat in one end. The soda (2 parts of water to 1 part of soda – when handling the soda, as it is extremely urine flows down through the tube, but should be mixed before being poured caustic. The soda solution should be no smell can pass “upwards” into the flat down the pipe) or acetic acid (>24%). allowed to sit in the u-bend seal and the end of the smell trap. A problem with this These methods can also be used as pre- pipe over night and then it should be system has been clogging and precipitati- ventive measures against blockages. flushed away with at least 2 litres of water on build-up, and the membrane has being poured down the urine bowl as fast needed cleaning every 3-12 months and A suggested initial frequency for preven- as possible (Kvarnström et al, 2006). replacement every 1-3 years, which tive cleaning is twice a year and then means that spare parts must be easy to increasing the frequency if blockages still When acetic acid is used, it should be as get hold of. Another alternative is a seal occur. Irrespective of which method that is strong as possible. The acetic acid does with an oil sealant. used, it is important that the cleaning is not dissolve hair or organic matter as

Figure 7: Cleansing tools for urine piping in a urine diverting toilet. Photo by Ebba af Petersens

Figure 6: Rubber membrane as odour seal. Photo by WECF Figure 9: One cubic meter tanks suitable for storage of urine. Photo by WECF

Figure 8: Hand pumping of 20 urine from household tank for subsequent use in garden. Photo by Mats Johansson

efficiently as caustic soda, but it is more insides of the pipes should be smooth and mize the risk of pipe depressions. Possibili- efficient in dissolving some of the mineral flow restrictions, e.g. sharp 90º bends, ty to inspect, flush and clean the pipes in precipitates. Enough acid should be used should be minimized. both directions should be provided where to completely fill the u-bend and part of there is a sharp bend in the piping, at all the pipe immediately behind it, normally Dimensioning of pipes transitions, e.g. from vertical to horizontal at least 0.5 litres should be used. Also the Piping should be minimized as much as piping and where the pipes leave the acid should be allowed to sit over night possible. The pipes in small systems house. To prevent odours, the piping and the pipe then flushed with at least 2 without any odour trap can have a small system should be very sparingly ventila- litres of water. diameter, 25 mm (even down to 12 mm if ted. No ventilation from the tank is nee- easily replaced or cleaned), but should ded, however, if the tank is large and a The caustic soda increases the pH of the have a good slope, a minimum slope of truck for emptying the tank with suction is urine and thus improves the sanitation of 4% is suggested, and obstacles slowing used, then sufficient inflow of air must be the urine. The acetic acid acts in the down the flow, e.g. sharp bends, should provided so that the tank does not implo- opposite direction, with the effect that be avoided. The piping system should be de. This is achieved by either designing ammonia losses are minimised. Therefore, short, preferably less than 10 metres, to the system with two outlets, where both it is suggested that acetic acid is alterna- limit the time the urine spends in the are opened when the tank is emptied, or ted with use of caustic soda. piping system and thus the degradation of to empty the tank with a hose stuck into urea and risk of precipitation in the manhole. Neither the addition of acetic acid nor of system. caustic soda will affect the urine solution Manholes outside the house shall be quality as a fertiliser. If the toilet has an odour trap, all pipes equipped with child safe lids that are should have a slope of at least 1%. The water tight. To avoid odour, it is usually Pipes for urine pipe diameter should be at least 75 mm, important that the pipe ends close to the Material but where the pipes can be easily cleaned bottom of the collection container to Urine is, due to its content of ammonium, and/or disassembled 50 mm can be avoid air flow through the pipe into the very corrosive. Therefore metals, for exa- accepted, at the expense of regular main- toilet room. mple copper, should be avoided every- tenance e.g. flushing every few years. For where in the system. Plastic pipes are underground pipes, a diameter of 110 mm Care should be taken to prevent ground preferred to metal ones. To maximize the is recommended. Ø110 mm pipes have water leaking into the pipe system. All flow rate of the urine and the sludge, the thicker walls, are more stable and mini- pipe connections underground must be completely tight (i.e. welded or glued, or if There is no problem with concrete tanks Suitable storage for urine can often possible, avoided altogether) to minimize for storage of urine, as long as they are be found on farms which have had the risk for intrusion of ground water. It is sealed against leakages and covered to livestock. Empty slurry tanks can constitu- essential to avoid sedimentation pockets, avoid ammonia losses and smell. te a cost efficient storage for the urine. negative slope should be avoided in all The tank under the hand driven pump However, air exposure should be mini- parts of the pipe system. in figure 7 above is a prefabricated con- mized and thus covers must be provided crete tank of 3 m3. An advantage with as the urine should be stored in The urine pipe is preferably located in the concrete tanks is that they seldom have covered containers. Existing containers same piping trench as other wastewater to be anchored to the ground. Plastic or may need modification. pipes. It should be clearly marked, to avoid polypropylene tanks need to be ancho- mix up with the other pipes. There are red if the ground water table is high, see Collection tanks for urine can be fabrica- many examples of misunderstandings Figure 9. ted in many different materials and desi- from construction personnel who are gns. However, urine is very corrosive and if unaware of urine diversion systems since Large scale storage of urine possible metals should be avoided altoge- they are not yet considered mainstream. When urine is collected from many house- ther in the system. From an energy point holds, the urine should be stored for a of view tanks made of concrete or just a Storage specified time in order to minimise risk of plastic liner in a dugout in the soil or a 21 Small scale storage of urine transmission of disease. For small amounts wooden frame is advantageous, but of According to WHO recommendations, of urine, a number of 1 m3 plastic tanks higher importance for proper technical urine does not need to be stored for can be used. This is a flexible solution, function is to ensure that the tanks used hygiene reasons when it is used in the since the vessels can easily be moved, and are water and air tight as well as robust. If garden of the home where it is collected. subsequent use in municipal parks, gar- a large tank is used, it should be suitable However, as mentioned above, the crop- dens is simplified. In addition, investment for burying in soil. Figure 9 shows the ping season is short and urine collected costs are low. installation of a 10 m3 tank for collection outside that period needs to be stored. In of urine from a neighbourhood in Kullön, a summer house setting, jerry cans may be For larger amounts of urine, permanent Vaxholm. The urine flows by gravity to the sufficient but in an all year round home, tanks are recommended. Concrete or tanks which are dimensioned to be emp- larger tank must be provided for. Care plastic tanks can be found on the market. tied twice yearly. Figure 10 shows full should then be taken to cater for simple Important aspects to consider are rubber tanks above ground for urine emptying of the tank, for example by a • Suitability of the site where the storage collected from households in the Stock- hand-operated pump, Figure 7. is set up holm region. • Ownership. Proper contracts should be Choice of tanks for home use is often arranged for, regulating storage length, Most of the urine that is collected in small governed by economy. A cheap way to quality control etc. In cases where the systems around Sweden is transported to solve the problem of storage is to reuse farmer provides the storage, the urine farms where it is poured into the slurry containers used in agricultural industry, for can be stored close to the land where it storage. This is a simple way of handling example one cubic meter tanks that have is used. Another alternative is to set up small fractions of urine, however if one been used for silage additives, storage on municipal land, for example wants to make use of the nutrients in an “sugar cubes”, figure 8. where the park department is in charge. efficient way and there are larger amounts available, designing storage and spreading according to nutrient potential in urine is better. Figure 10: Urine tanks for a neighbourhood during construction in Kullön, Vax- holm. Photo by Mats Johansson

Figure 11: Rubber tanks for storage of urine, Photo by Anna Richert Stintzing Figure 12: Plastic container for collection of faeces, lined with a black plastic bag. Photo by Mats Johansson

Great care should be taken and the regula- If the chamber where faeces are collected If a ventilation pipe is attached to the tions issued by the proper authority on is dug down into the ground and a contai- faecal chamber according to instructions, occupational safety and health should be ner as mentioned above cannot be used, a the warmer air will rise and cause a flow of followed if it is necessary to go down into proper lining should be arranged. This can air through the system, transporting smell the urine tank, and this task should never be a concrete floor and walls; the only out of the house. Care should be taken be undertaken by one person alone. important thing is to insure that water that the ventilation pipe does not lead does not enter the chamber even if high down into the chamber, but starts directly Faecal collection floods are a risk. near the wall. Warm air rises, and the smell The faeces should, at all occasions, be kept should not be trapped in the collection dry or moist. If excessive amounts of urine chamber. or water from external sources leaks into Odour control with ventilation the system, then smell will be an issue as Avoiding bad smell is an important aspect Proper care must be taken so that the air well as fly breeding and more difficult for dry sanitation systems, especially when from the faecal chamber does not flow handling of the faeces. A recommendation the toilet is installed indoors. Good ventila- from the faecal chamber into the room is to let faeces drop into a container that tion as well as successful diversion of urine where the toilet is places. This can be the can easily be removed, see figure 11. A is the key factor to avoid smell from the case if a fireplace with exhaust chimney plastic container will also simplify in case toilet system. The following text will give draws air from the rest of the house, of malfunction, the container can easily be understanding of the principles of ventila- including the toilet room. If this is the case, removed, emptied and restarted when the tion of a urine diverting dry toilet with the problem may be solved by insuring problem has been solved. practical examples. Working aeration that the room where the toilet is placed guarantees an odourless dry toilet. Great can be closed and that the toilet room is The fate of paper used for wiping after deal of the adjustments made to dry only ventilated through the faecal cham- toilet visits is a matter of opinion. If the toilets after installation, have to do with ber. The ventilation pipe from the faecal treatment method chosen is composting, the aeration according to experiences chamber should rise above the house roof then paper can very well be added, since from Finland (Hinkkanen, personal with at least 30 cm if fan ventilated and paper is also degraded in the compost. If communication). preferably 100 cm if naturally ventilated. the treatment method is long time storage, then the user may want to keep the Indoor settings A problem related to ventilation is the wiping paper separate, so that the final If the toilet is placed indoors, avoiding condensation of water which happens product is less offensive. smell will be a key issue. The faeces cham- when warm air is cooled down through ber can either be placed directly under the ventilation in pipes cooled down by the toilet seat, or in a chamber below the floor. outside climate. Isolated pipes as well as pipes that run mostly through the house already a place for the fan, but if the fan smell in the dry toilet system is the urine. are recommended. The condensation is installed separately, a maintenance If there are several toilets attached to one water can even clog the pipe if it freezes. hatch for it is recommended. The fan urine tank, it is important that the pipe When even a little amount of condensati- can be either attached to the device or leading the urine to the tank is submerged on water starts to melt, it can fall down inside a wall. in the urine liquid, implying that the pipe the aeration pipe on the fan and cause must go almost to the bottom of the tank. problems. It is best to take the pipe An electrical fan is vulnerable to power This will prevent gusts of air flowing from straight up to the roof inside the house. shortages. For short power cuts, closing the urine tank into the room where the Then the wind will carry the odours away the lid of the toilet or putting a plastic bag toilets are placed as the urine is flushed and the pipe is in a warm space. over the seat will be enough to keep the from one toilet into the tank. Another odours inside the toilet. If power cuts are alternative, if smell is a concern, is a rubber The use of a small fan to force ventilation long and frequent, the fan can be con- membrane or an oil type of odour trap. is recommended when the toilet is placed nected to a UPS-battery. This will give the See section on odour seals. indoors. If a small fan is installed, the size fan the required power for the time of the of the ventilation pipe may be decreased shortage. Another option is to use a fan Finally, the following recommendations from 110-150 mm to 75 mm diameter, that operates on solar power when there are important to insure the absence of provided that the function of the fan is is access to sun. smell: 23 stable. There are electrical, wind and solar • Successful diversion of urine from power operated fans available. Outdoor settings faeces. If urine or washing water is led For a toilet placed in an outdoor setting, to the faeces container, the risk of bad The fan in the dry toilet must not be too the principle that the flow of air runs from smell increases. powerful, because it might make the toilet the room where the toilet is placed • Proper ventilation of toilet room inclu- uncomfortable due to draft, and in com- through the faecal chamber and out ding faeces chamber. Use of a fan is posting devices the compost may dry out. through a ventilation pipe is still relevant, recommended. But on the other hand the fan must be especially if the toilet is isolated to keep powerful enough to work even though temperatures during winter. This can be System for reuse of urine and there is other source of suction nearby, insured by assuring that the faecal cham- faeces in crop production. such as a wooden oven, sauna or another ber is air tight, and the ventilation pipe Reuse of faeces only takes place in the fan. If there is no competing aeration rises over the toilet roof and does not small scale in Sweden today. The reason is nearby, a small fan will do fine. extend too low in the faecal chamber. that few large scale applications exist with dry urine diversion. One notable exempti- Replacement and maintenance of the fan Urine on is Gebers, mentioned in the examples must be easy, because the fan must be The previous text describes a situation below. The faeces are composted, and replaced or cleaned of extra dust now and where the faeces generate smell, and how collected by a farmer who spreads the then. In some toilet equipment there is to get rid of it. Another possible source of faeces on agricultural land together with

Figure 14: Even for an outdoor setting is a ventilation pipe. relevant Photo by WECF

Figure 13: Maintenance hatch for toilet system fan. Photo by Toni-Petteri Paju, Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland solid farmyard manure. The amounts of the urine were small, usually around 5% the “productive” surface in the garden faeces generated from the 35 households and never higher than 10% of the nitrogen available for urine spreading. This is to are too small to motivate separate content (Rodhe et al 2004). ensure that the urine use does not jeo- handling. pardize the precautionary principles stated It is easy to calculate the value of nutrients in the Environmental code which could Reuse of urine in Sweden today is carried in urine and faeces using information of possibly apply if too much urine is spread out both on small scale basis at home and the nutrient content in the products and on too small a surface. However, a too allotment gardens and in agriculture, the cost of mineral fertilisers on the mar- conservative approach has been noted in where it is spread with regular farm equip- ket. The following example based on the Swedish municipalities concerning this, ment for slurry. Both cases are presented figures in box 3 shows that money can be when in fact use of urine on cultivated below. The practice of fertilising with urine saved by using urine as a fertiliser in the land is a significant environmental impro- is carried out during the early part of the home garden if it used as a substitute for vement compared to any soak-away or growing season, which in Sweden lasts mineral fertilisers: infiltration system. See Box 4 for calculati- from April–May to September–October. on examples showing how the necessary This means that in a system with urine surface, in order to maximize the use of diversion, urine collected during winter Home gardens the nutrient in urine. 24 must be stored until use in April - July. A Use of urine research project was carried out in 1996- There is an awakening awareness among Urine used as fertiliser does not need to 2000 to investigate the use of urine as household gardeners, and especially be diluted, but many gardeners do dilute fertiliser in agriculture. Extensive field trials allotment gardeners, of the fertilising before spreading even though this incre- were carried out and the results are re- advantages of urine. This has had the ases the handling needed. Usually sprea- ported in Johansson et al, 2000. Results result that even persons that do not have ding of undiluted urine followed by irriga- show that urine can replace mineral urine diverting toilets installed are using tion is simpler and generates less odour. In nitrogen fertilisers in production of spring urine collected in plastic bottles as fertili- the small scale, urine is spread with a sown grain crops. Another finding showed ser for flowers etc. The Swedish University watering can. Care should be taken not to that the ammonia losses when spreading of Agricultural Sciences has carried out use equipment with metal components, several research projects, one of which and if this is done, the equipment should was fertilization of leek. The gardening be carefully washed afterwards since urine associations have produced fact sheets on is very corrosive. the use of urine in home gardens, and the daily papers in Sweden have covered the Urine is best used as fertiliser to nitrogen Box 3: use of urine as fertiliser. This may result in a demanding crops, but most garden crops How much are the nutrients in demystification of use of urine as fertiliser, respond well to urine as a fertiliser. Urine urine and faeces worth? which supports the development of urine has been used with good results on lawns, diversion. roses, berry bushes, vegetables as well as annual and perennial flowers. A one A hypothetical household with From a legal perspective, the use of urine month with-holding period is recommen- a dry urine diverting toilet system in the home garden is allowed, but the ded between last application of urine and collects 1500 l of urine per year. local environmental authority may pose harvest of food crops consumed raw, for The nutrient content in the urine conditions to the urine use, e.g. on size of safety reasons. is 7 g N/l, 0,7 g P/l and 3,5 g K/l. There are many other nutrients in the urine, such as sulphur and micronutrients, but the N, P and K are easiest to calculate with. The amount of N and P in the 1500 l is 10.5 kg N, 1 kg P and 5 kg K. The cost of a mineral fertiliser for the garden on the market in Sweden is 149 SEK for a 20 kg bag containing 3,6 kg N, 0,8 kg P and 2 kg K. A rough conclusion of the value of the urine is that it corresponds to Figure 15: two bags of mineral fertiliser or Visitors apply urine in a demonstration garden in 300 SEK (27 Euro). Sweden Photo by WECF Box 4: Calculation of necessary productive area in garden to maximize nutrient use in urine.

The necessary productive area liquid intake, climate etc. Thus, the Answer: (e.g. grass, flower beds, vegetable excreted amount of N per person Since they live in an area where garden, trees) necessary per and year will be between 1.65 kg two crops can be taken per year person for use on household level – 3.85 kg, using the figures above. and 6 l/m2 can be can be applied depends on three things: If the nitrogen demand of the yearly. Each person excretes about • The nitrogen demand of crop/turf etc is 100 kg/ha and the 550 l, but assuming that some of productive area N concentration in the urine is the time is spent outside the • The concentration of nitrogen 7 g/l the urine from one person home, about 300 l per person is in the collected urine can fertilize 385 m2 (1.5 l of urine collected yearly. The result is • How many “harvests” are made per m2 ), if one single crop is taken 1500 l of urine from a family of per year (in Sweden we only per year. If there is a restriction in five. This will fertilize 250 2m since take one harvest a year, whereas plot size, it is usually possible to each m2 will receive 6 l m2/ on a in other climates two or three increase the fertilization up to yearly basis, giving a quite high 25 harvests are taken) three - four times (thus using up level of nitrogen fertilisation. Thus, to 6 l per m2 ) without any negati- the plot size would be able to Rules of thumbs are useful, if the ve effects on crop or environment. productively use the collected exact figures for the above factors urine. In cases where the plot size are unknown. The nitrogen de- Calculation example: is too small to use the urine mand for vegetables, turfs etc. A family of five has a plot size of productively, one has to either varies between 300 m2 on which they want to use find other ways of disposing of 100 – 200 kg/ha, depending on the urine they collect in their urine the urine (could be done as an type of crop and the yield. The diverting toilet. The family lives in N supplement to composts for concentration of nitrogen in urine a climate allowing for two yearly example) or construct a urine depends on the diet. Undiluted crops. If we assume that they can collection system. urine will usually contain between apply 4 l per m2 for the first crop, 3 – 7 g N/l. and 2 l per m2 for the following A person excretes about 550 l crops, how many m2 do they need urine per year, depending on to use their urine in their garden?

Box 5: Box 6: My 20 litre container for I have a flower bed the size of urine is full. How do I use it 1 m2. How much urine do I need in the garden? to fertilise it?

Twenty litres of urine is sufficient The flower bed really only needs for 4 - 13 m2 of gardening land, about 1,5 litres of urine for one depending on how much nitro- season, but this amount can be gen is needed or can be absorbed, increased with up to four times at and based on one crop per year. need. Summer flowers demand a I would suggest that you apply good soil structure and quite a the urine with a watering can good nutrient status in the soil. early in the planting season, A good strategy would be to when the plants are established. apply urine on a few occasions Water the plants with the same during the flower season, for watering can afterwards, so that example with 2 - 3 decilitres each the urine is washed off any leaves time, and to water down the urine and into the soil. afterwards. Figure 16: Large scale application of urine using a slurry spreader with trailing hoses. Photo by Mats Johansson

26 Odour when urine is used in the a soil conditioner. Since the nutrients are yield have been shown (Morgan, 2004). home garden bound in organic substances, the release, Normal amounts to apply are 20 - 30 The smell when using the urine may be an and the effect will be slow. The nutrient tonnes/ha, corresponding roughly to the issue in the home garden. Experiences content of the faecal compost will vary amount of treated faeces generated from show that if the urine is spread close to quite a lot, and calculating application 2000 - 3 000 persons. and directly onto the soil and watered rates is not as easy as for urine. General down there is little smell and urine is guidelines on application rates are 1 - 4 Use of urine currently used in densely inhabited hou- litres of compost per square metre pro- The use of urine as a fertiliser in agriculture sing areas without complaints from neigh- ductive land in the garden. The use of has not met practical problems, mainly bours. However, handling of urine is faecal compost should be supplemented due to the fact that the use of animal naturally a smelly activity and thus wise with quick-acting nitrogen fertilisers, urine in agriculture is common practice. procedures minimizing air exposure, e.g. for example urine, during the cropping Human urine should be spread in the by using closed containers, application season. same ways, i.e. close to the ground and close to soil and immediate incorporation with incorporation as soon as possible in or irrigation, are strongly recommended. Large scale agricultural order to minimise risk of ammonia losses, production and in periods when the crops need Use of faeces Use of faeces fertilisation. Compared to spreading of Most Swedish municipalities demand that Treated faeces can be used in agriculture mineral fertilizers the agricultural use of the household owner apply for permission in the same manner as solid animal manu- urine, same as animal slurry, has a few to handle the faeces. Some conditions are re, using the same type of spreaders, disadvantages, such as the risk of soil set up for the approval of local reuse of application strategy and dose per hectare. compaction. the faeces. Composting should take place Frequently, the amount of faeces genera- This risk can be handled by spreading the in closed containers with a plastic bottom ted is too small for a large scale farmer to urine when the soil contains low to avoid leakage. The municipalities usual- incorporate in a strategic manner in the amounts of soil moisture, or by using ly demand a container size of 500 litres for agricultural production. In these cases, the specially designed spreading equipment. a household. The compost should not be faeces may be better used in production There is mechanical equipment for appli- placed near a water source, open waters of plant soils or construction gardening. It cation of the urine and the routines on or neighbours. is easier to find uses for urine in large scale the farms do not need to be changed agriculture. substantially. The main aspects that Most municipalities recommend that the farmers have had to deal with are the faeces are left in the composting container When treated faeces are used as fertilisers storage of urine as well as quality control, for at least 6 months after last addition of in agriculture, the main value will be the certification as well as acceptance by the material. This may be adjusted depending organic content, the phosphorous and to buyers of the grain, Box 7. on WHO guidelines in the coming years. some extent the nitrogen although it is bound in slow releasing forms. Most crops Urine is a suitable fertiliser for agriculture, There are no restrictions on the use of can benefit from the treated faeces, and in with levels of N, P and K well matching the faeces after they have been sufficiently regions of the world where there is a lack needs of grain crops. The nutrients in urine treated. The faeces can well be used as of phosphorous in the soil, good results on are best utilised when the urine is spread in spring to grain crops, or when the crop Odour when using urine in is 15 - 30 cm high as a supplementary agriculture fertilisation. The farmers using urine in Urine does smell, but so do most organic Sweden today spread it either in spring to fertilisers. During the application, a strong summer or winter grain, or to leys after smell can be felt, but this is not more first or second harvest. offensive than slurry, and only a short time after application, no smell can be detected In large scale agriculture, there is a need to at all. Notably, urine has been applied on have sufficient volumes of urine for the fields close to Stockholm, in a recreational farmer to even consider using it as a area, and no complaints have been recei- fertiliser. One hectare of grain is normally ved from house owners nearby. fertilised with around 100 kg N per year. This means that the urine from at least Transportation 25 persons will be needed to supply one Important aspects to consider when plan- hectare with nitrogen fertiliser, if all the ning transportation of urine are choice of urine is collected. Therefore, agricultural entrepreneur, hygiene and documentati- use of urine requires introduction of urine on. Municipalities usually have one or 27 diversion on a large scale. a few companies that are contracted to transport the waste fractions generated The urine can be spread with conventional within the municipality. Another interes- spreaders for liquid manures using trailing ting alternative is to contract the farmer hoses, figure 13, or a traditional splash who will be using the urine for transporta- plate. If the urine is spread on bare soil, it tion services. This way the farmer can should be incorporated by harrowing as generate some additional income from soon as possible in order to avoid ammo- handling the urine. The hygiene aspect nia losses. If the farmer does not have must be considered, and the entrepreneur access to the equipment, it can be rented must have information about measures and frequently groups of farmers coope- such as proper hand hygiene after hand- rate using one spreader on many farms. In ling of urine. A mouth cover is not neces- these cases, it is important to wash the sary, more important is hand hygiene. All spreader to avoid contamination if fertiliser transports should be documented as such as untreated sludge is used. a part of a quality control system.

Box 7: Quality control and certification

One need for the farmers is to insure that the company buying the crops does not have objections to the choice of human fertilisers. Recent development has seen quality control systems for crop production evolving, and this is appli- cable for the fertilisers as well. There is currently a Swedish certification system for digested or composted household waste, enabling the use of this waste fraction in agriculture. A similar setup for urine is proposed, which would simplify its use in Swedish agriculture. 6 | Examples from pilot projects and research from the northern hemisphere

Composting toilet with urine need to be replaced. The aeration pipe bedding for the Naturum. The solid diversion in Finland was lead up straight through the wall, and matter from the faecal compost is emp- The family of two adults and two children a wind fan was installed in case of a power tied twice a month during the weekly live in an old country house with an shortage. The electrical fan was connected cleaning and put in the same insulated indoor dry toilet. There were several to the light switch so that they turn on at compost as the kitchen wastes. The reasons to change from water toilet to dry the same time. compost is used in the garden. The one. The well for drinking water was mother of the family commented: “I send running low, the septic tank was too small The urine tank, a used container from the children to their hobbies with their 28 for the family, and emptying of the tank agricultural industry, 1 m3, is buried out- father on Saturdays, and clean all the was expensive. The water toilet caused side the house. The family bought several cages for the pets and the toilet every condensing water when the cold water tanks for various uses (rainwater harves- fortnight. It’s more convenient that way from the well entered the toilet, and the ting, etc.) The container was taken in use than to wait when the bin is full”. whole wall behind the toilet was rotting. in august 2005, and emptied for the first The family chose a urine separating model time in June 2006. At that time it was not The ventilation has worked very well, but which can be installed to replace the completely full, but it was a good time to some times during autumn or spring there water toilet directly. The chosen model has fertilize. has been a smell of compost in the toilet a composting chamber right under the room. At those times the residents have toilet seat. The toilet has been used since Despite the instructions, the aeration pipe put the fan on and the odours have been august 2005. The grey water is led to a was not insulated and some condensation removed immediately. soil filter system. water had flown along the pipe to the toilet seat. The condensation water may The urine container was emptied for the There are different varieties of urine sepa- have been avoided if the aeration pipe first time during the summer 2006. The rating dry toilets with a drum compost was lead to the roof inside the house or at urine was diluted with grey water and inside where faeces and paper are com- least insulated. The warm air cools down used to fertilize the garden. At the time of posted, see figure 14. The drum takes the in the pipe, which causes the water to the fertilization, there was an odour of composted waste in to a container, which condense. Mineral wool is an example of urine in the air, but it went away quite is emptied regularly. About one litre of an insulation material, other possibilities quickly and was not half as bad as the carbon rich additives such as peat or are prefabricated insulated pipes. smell from the neighbour spreading wood chips per user is added to the drum manure on the field next to the house. compost once a week. Experiences of maintenance and use Lessons learned: Finland The toilet has been used since august During the first year the use of the toilet The experiences from Finland show that it 2005. Total costs for the toilet are about has gone well and the residents were is possible to exchange a water toilet for 1600 Euro, as well as a pipe to lead the satisfied with the toilet. The weekly clea- a dry toilet with only minor changes in the urine and a 1 m3 urine container, 50 Euro. ning is done with a spray bottle and an house. The family has been very satisfied The grey water is led to a soil filter system. old dish brush at the same time as all the with their toilet although small flies were other cleaning of the house. At the same present in the beginning. After the family Installation time the dessication material is added, and adapted to the use and maintenance Installing of the toilet seat took only few the compost rotated. routines of the toilet, they have enjoyed hours. In the old house the space and According to the manufacturer’s instruc- the toilet. The example highlights the door holes were quite small, but they still tions, only peat was used as bedding in importance of the proper ventilation in managed to fit in the equipment. The the beginning, but the family thought that cold climates and especially the insulation pipes for urine, 30 mm at the outlet of the it became too compact. The family has of the ventilation pipe. toilet, and 75 mm leading to the urine used very fine wood chips in their other tank, were installed right next to the tap compost for kitchen waste, and it has water pipes. As a result, the pipes are easy worked really well. They decided to mix to access if there are blockages or they the peat with the chips to make better Figure 18: Börje Johansson. Photo by Mats Johansson

Figure 17: Dry urine diverting toilet with faecal collection beneath the toilet seat. Photo by Kati Hinkka- nen, Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland

Agricultural reuse of urine and The equipment used for spreading of compost is used in agriculture, and spread sludge in Hulta, Sweden urine is fairly basic, the same equipment with an ordinary solid manure spreader. Börje Johansson is a farmer in southern used for application of animal urine and One big advantage with the reuse of the Sweden with production of milk, fodder slurry. No modern trailing hoses are used. urine and compost from villagers in Hulta for cows and grain. Börje collects urine Börje is aware of risks of nutrient loss when is that the loop is closed in a very tangible from 18 households in the village where spreading nitrogen rich fertilisers, but he way. The villagers live close to where the he lives, and uses the urine as fertiliser on plans so that he can spread the urine urine and compost is used as fertilisers, leys and in grain production. The total when rains are coming and the urine will and some of them buy food that is produ- amount of urine spread is about 70 m3 be washed into the soil. ced using their own excreta as fertilisers. per year, mostly during autumn and “If the people can see for themselves spring. The strategy is to spread the urine Börjes motive for collecting urine from where their byproducts are turned into to leys that will be ploughed, thus fertili- households was originally to improve the valuable fertilisers, then we have a very sing the subsequent grain crop. The nutrient balance on the farm. The farm is stable and secure system” says Börje. system has been running for six years, and certified organic production, and no Börje is happy with the results. He has full artificial fertilisers are imported to the Local reuse of urine in a demons- control over timing, which means that he farm. In general, human urine is not tration garden, Nyckelviken, can adapt the collection of urine to needs allowed in organic production in the EU, Nacka of fertilising. but Börje has an exemption from the The municipal gardens and greenhouses regulations of the Swedish organisation in Nacka outside Stockholm demonstrate The tanks for urine, as well as toilets and for certification of organic agriculture as the use of urine as fertiliser in the garden. piping system were installed as a part of a pilot study. The urine is collected from the toilet of the a national investment project to promote personnel and is stored in two tanks, 1 m3 sustainable solutions. The villagers recei- Most of the households collecting urine each. The tanks are made out of polypro- ved subsidies for part of investments. have a double flushing toilet, which pylene, and when one tank is full, it is Today the system runs without external means that there is no dry fraction of sealed and set to store for at least 6 financing, for example from the municipa- faeces to collect. But Börje has developed months before use in the garden. The lity. Each household pays 200 SEK when a service to the villagers involved, in that tanks are buried outside the greenhouse. Börje comes to empty the tank for urine. he emptied the sludge that is collected in No special adaptation to winter climates The municipality has been engaged and the septic tanks. This sludge is dewatered has been made, the pipes leading to the Börje has contributed with experiences on site, and the resulting sludge, 30% dry tanks exit the greenhouse underneath the from the use of urine to numerous reports matter, is transported to Börjes farm where ground, and in any case, the system is not and study visits. it is composted together with straw. The in use during wintertime. Figure 19: Tanks, hose and pump for urine. Photo by Ewa Äkerlung

Figure 20: Eva works in the municipal gardens in Nyckelviken, Nacka. Urine is applied several times during the summer season. Photo by Anna Richert Stintzing 30

The urine is spread with a hose that can possible option when planning for future houses in the countryside in a rocky be connected to a water stand, enabling investments to meet new legislation and terrain which makes connections to the subsequent flushing of hose and irrigation environmental goals. Urine diversion has centralized wastewater treatment plant of crops. A small trial has been set up, and also been used as one measure to miti- difficult and expensive. Thus, sanitation the experiences after three years of fertili- gate eutrophication problems along the has high priority on the political agenda. sation are that urine compares well with Swedish coast line. This, together with a political will to strive poultry manure and compost. The garden towards a sustainable development, has has numerous visitors from within and There are a number of Swedish examples led to a new municipal sanitation policy outside the municipality, thus the outre- of urine diversion mainstreaming through that encourages both dry and dual flush ach is very good. the establishment of pro-urine diversion urine diversion. policies on municipal level, both within Tanum municipality in Sweden – and outside the municipal wastewater Today there are about 400-500 private urine diversion mainstreaming jurisdiction. Tanum municipality, with its households (both dry and dual-flush through municipal policy work 12,300 inhabitants, is one example, which urine diversion systems), one museum There has been a shift in the sanitation is described below. Tanum is located on and three camping grounds that have discourse in Sweden since 1995. Urine the West coast of Sweden. In the summer installed urine diverting toilets. Conventi- diversion was originally considered an time the number of inhabitants multiplies onal dry sanitation in the form of out- “alternative” sanitation component, mostly about 5 times which results in extreme houses is also frequently occurring in the eco village-oriented. Today the Swedish wastewater flow variations over the year. municipality due to its character of EPA is considering urine diversion as a A large part of the inhabitants live in single summer paradise. Box 8: Tanum municipality - Technical System Design

Toilets Double flushing urines diverting toilets, WM-ekologen and Gustavsberg

Pipes (indoor) The municipality recommends Ø110-piping after the water seal

Pipes (outdoor) Likewise

At least 3 m3 per household is recommended by the municipality. The municipality Tanks encourages households to arrange for joint tank solutions for several households. Urine is collected once a year by entrepreneurs (on contract) or is emptied by the house Emptying/use owner.

Storage – sanitisation Storage in a separate tank for at least 6 months

Households with dry sanitation use the faecal fraction in their own garden after compos- Other wastewater fractions ting. Faecal flush water from water flush urine diverting toilets is treated conventionally 31

Organisation - Local use and coope- arranges for collection of urine and installing urine diverting toilets, paying half ration with farmers reuse on arable land. the investment cost for the households. To meet up with the increasing number • House-owners outside the municipal of urine diverting toilets that followed a wastewater jurisdiction can either Information activities and monitoring ban of water toilets in rural settings the arrange for the emptying and use of Farmers using human urine and represen- municipality started a dialogue with local urine through a municipally contracted tatives from the municipality meet twice farmers. Informal recommendations were farmer or arrange for a private contrac- a year to exchange experiences and to developed which in 2002 were turned to tor/farmer to empty their tanks. In the agree on improvements. In the sanitation a municipal sanitation policy. This policy latter case the fee is stipulated aside of policy there are specific requirements for requires urine diversion and/or dry sanita- the municipal contract. The entrepre- storage and use of urine. There is also tion both for rural settings and within the neurs / farmers reports on their activities general information material available municipal wastewater jurisdiction. There back to the municipality once a year. both for household and entrepreneurs are a number of newly developed areas in • House owners, both within and outside / farmers. Tanum where conventional, tertiary waste- the municipal wastewater jurisdiction, water treatment will be combined with can use urine on their property accor- Lessons learned: Tanum urine diversion. ding to given requirements. However, One of the most interesting things with the municipality must give its approval Tanum is that the municipality has clarified Roles and responsibilities to this for each household. its role and its responsibilities in the sanita- The municipality has declared its responsi- tion question and defined itself as a bility for emptying, storage, and use of Economy central actor in the system. The municipali- urine on arable land and signs agreements Households connecting to the municipal ty of Tanum foresees that different options with farmers or contractors that are appro- urine diversion system within the munici- and strategies may be needed to secure ved for these activities. The sanitation pal wastewater jurisdiction (where the the collection and the use of urine in policy states different ways how this municipality is in charge of tanks etc.) pay agriculture. This gives the system flexibility agricultural/horticultural urine use can be the same connection and user fee as over time and also opens up for individual achieved: households connected to the regular choices for the households. Of course • For houses located within the municipal sewer system. Households having their this is based on a strong political support wastewater jurisdiction, the urine pipes own urine tanks have a reduced connec- and that resources are allocated for com- and tanks are owned by the tion and user fee. Tanum municipality also munication between stakeholders and for municipality and the municipality works with hardware subsidies for those good information. Figure 21: Flemming Arvidsson, Farmer, Grebbestad, in front of the empty urine tanks

„Since we used to have cattle, we already had storage tanks and the machines for spreading urine. There is a summer house area nearby with many urine diverting toilets, which needed collection. It has ended up to around 100 households from which we collect urine, black water or sludge. Today, the urine is diluted with sludge from septic tanks and closed tanks. Therefore the nutrient content is rather low and varies a lot. If there were bigger volumes of urine, we could treat the urine separately and would get a much better fertiliser, with a more exact and stable nutrient content.“

32 Dry urine diversion with reuse of A ventilation pipe 150 mm in diameter is Dry urine diversion with reuse faeces in Norway, private home led through the roof from the chamber. of urine and faeces in a single- Architect Rolf Jacobsen of Gaia Arkitekter Initially, natural ventilation was tested, but family home, Sweden has more than 20 years experience in the flow of air out of the system was not Jan and Karin Eksvärd and their two construction of houses with special atten- enough to avoid smell. A small cable daughters have more than 12 years of tion to ecological building methods. In his heating the ventilation pipe was installed; experience of dry urine diverting toilet private home in Tjöme, southern Norway, it was supposed that this would enable system. The house, situated just north of he has a dry urine diverting toilet system. increased flow of air upwards in the sys- Stockholm has two such toilets, and This toilet system has been in use for tem. Since the smell problem persisted, when they built the house in 1995-1996, 15 years and the owner is very satisfied. a small fan was installed right at the there were very few such alternatives to The toilet model is a porcelain WM-Ekolo- bottom of the ventilation pipe, forcing choose from. There is one toilet on the gen single flush toilet, meaning that the ventilation from the chamber. This was ground floor, another on the second urine is flushed with a small amount of successful, and since then smell has never storey. - We chose the system because it water at need. The flush mechanism is been an issue. was the best from a sustainability point of operated by a button, and the user regu- view. For us the choice was natural says lates the amount of flush water used. Operation and maintenance includes daily Jan, Environmental Manager of the flushing of the urine collection bowl, and Swedish Farmers Organisation. The faeces are collected in a specially built washing once a week. Soft blockages in chamber 1 x 1 x 1,5 m in size. The chamber the pipes for grey water occur, 1 - 2 times The toilet model is a porcelain WM-Ekolo- is built of bricks which have been isolated per year. The blockages are removed with gen single flush toilet, meaning that the with 10 cm mineral wool and plastered. water. A garden hose is attached to the urine is flushed with a small amount of Vacation of the chamber takes place from urine pipe and the system is flushed with water at need. The flush mechanism is the outside of the building through water at high pressure. Since the urine is operated by a button, and the user regu- a hatch. The faeces chamber is emptied not collected, no special care is taken to lates the amount of flush water used. Jan manually once a year. This process takes keep the urine concentrated. and Karin don’t use the flushing mecha- about half an hour, and the secondary nism since a few years since they noticed treatment consists of composting for one Rolf and his family are very satisfied with that there were hard blockages in the year. After this period the compost is used the toilet system. “Some of the guests may urine pipes due to struvite formation. The as fertiliser for bushes and plants in need a bit of extra explanations, some are blockages have decreased since the family the garden. curious, but it is seldom a big issue. With stopped flushing the urine, and one the kids sometimes the big stuff falls in theory is that the magnesium-rich water The urine is piped to the grey water the wrong bowl. Not often, really. Empty- contributed to the struvite formation. The treatment system, a local treatment plant ing of the faeces chamber is a bit rough, toilets are cleaned once a week, and on the plot, meaning that the urine is not but it only takes a half hour every year” indoor smell has not been an issue since reused in agriculture. The pipe leading out initial installation problems were over- of the toilet is 30 mm in diameter. When The municipality has no objections to the come. Both toilets are situated next to a the grey water pipes are accessed, the system of dry urine diversion with local shower, and every second week, Jan takes piping is increased to 75 mm in diameter. reuse of the faeces. the shower mouthpiece and flushes a couple of litres of hot water through the avoiding smell from the urine tanks flow- (650 x 650 x 1200 mm), one for the bot- system in order to minimise blockages. ing back into the house. tom floor toilet and one for the top floor This is an effective method, and no pro- toilet. The collection chambers are situated blems of soft or hard blockages have A three cubic meter polypropylene tank beneath the house, accessed from the been noticed. is buried in the garden for collection of outside, see figure 20. The hatches have urine. The pipes leading from the house, been isolated with Styrofoam and the The house is ventilated, and two of 75 mm diameter, are buried at least 75 cm collection chambers are also isolated. This, the ventilation outlets are from the toilets. below ground in order to minimise risk of together with the fact that the ventilation Fans have been installed that draw freezing in pipes. The urine flows to the draws heated air from the house into the air from the two bathrooms through the tank, which is filled from the bottom. chambers, means that the faeces do not toilet down into the faecal collection There is no pressure equalisation in the freeze. No composting takes place in the chamber and then out through pipes tanks. However, the urine flows with such faecal collection chambers, the faeces are emerging on top of the roof. The fan small amounts that there is little risk of dried and when the chambers are evacua- speed can be regulated, adapting to need back-stopping. ted once every three months, the bins of ventilation in the house. At power cuts, weigh about 15 kg. Twice yearly the dried smell from the faeces chamber can be The urine is used in the garden. However, faeces are taken to a closed faecal com- noticed in the bottom floor toilet, more the amounts generated are larger than post. The faecal matter is composted for 33 seldom on the top floor. what is needed and the family would two years and when it is ready, the com- appreciate a system where the urine could post is used on bushes, flower containers There has been no problem with smell. Once be used for example on farmland nearby. and perennials. in a while, we have flies, and then it is really As is works today, the urine is spread important to evacuate the faecal chamber at summertime on grass, using a home made In general, Jan and Karin are happy with once, otherwise we have them in the whole device with hoses dragging on the lawn. their toilet system. However, Karin points house. But if we do that, it is not really a big out the fact that the system is not well problem, says Jan. There is much less smell now than when known by construction companies. The he was spreading it out with the hose, family has had to make all the plans In the beginning, ash was tested as an says Karin. themselves, and all necessary adaptations additive against flies but it was not effective. such as fitting the pipe for faeces with Another thing is the diversion of urine for The tank is big enough that the urine a plastic flower pot in order to get a women. It is more difficult for women to could be stored for a couple of years if better fit. direct the urine into the urine bowl, so more needed. Initial contacts have been taken urine probably ends up in the faeces bin with the municipality and a farmer nearby This system couldn’t be built without some- when women urinate, says Karin. but no interest has been shown. one experienced and inventive with this type of practical solutions. As it is now, I could The pipe leading urine from the toilet has Faecal matter drops into two separate maintain it myself, including emptying the a diameter of 30 mm. The collection pipes collection chambers faecal bins and spreading the urine. But in the rest of the system are 75 mm dia- when we built it, we couldn’t have done it meter. The urine acts as an odour seal without Jan.

Figure 22: Photographs of WM-Ekologen single flushing toilet. Photos by Rolf Jacobsen

Figure 23: The faecal collection container is accessed from the outside of the house. Photo by Anna Richert Stintzing Large-scale ecosan services in • grey water collection, advanced treat- made for the freezing of urine during cold Dong Sheng, Inner Mongolia, ment and reuse. periods of the year. The storage intervals China. have rather been geared towards adapting Dong Sheng has a population of 400,000 The local government is responsible for to agricultural needs and organisation. The and is located in Inner Mongolia, in the the operations and maintenance of the urine is used in local farms and Yellow River Basin. A new suburb (Hao ecostations within the area, and the greenhouses. Zhao Kui, HZK for short) is currently under collection service will be included in a construction a few km from the city monthly fee paid by each household. A Gebers – urine diverting dry center. In all, the plan is for 2000 house- training program has been set up for a toilets in a 2-storey building holds in 1- and 2-storey houses and 4- and team to instruct households in the use of Gebers housing area is situated by the 5-storey buildings. The first phase will be the ecosan toilet, the dry urinal, and the lake Drevviken about 15 kilometres from completed by 2007. source separation of solid waste. The Stockholm city. In 1998 the house, built in trained ecostation personnel will be 1936, was reconstructed as ecological The efforts in HZK represent an attempt to carrying out collection of fecal material condominium housing with 80 inhabi- apply a sustainable approach to water and and kitchen wastes and carry out the tants of 32 apartments in a 2-storey sanitation systems and services, including composting and eventual packaging for building. Gebers is unique in Sweden due 34 • urine collection, sanitisation and transfer for reuse. Local farmers are trained to its sanitation system; the installation of recycling; for reuse of urine and composted materi- urine diversion with dry collection of • dry fecal collection, sanitisation/com- als. The urine storage capacity in the area faeces in a 2-storey building. posting and recycling; allows for one month storage. Further • kitchen organics collection, composting storage is organized at the final urine use and recycling; site. There have been no considerations

Box 9: Gebers - Technical System Design

Single flushing urine diverting toilets, Wost Man Ecology porcelain model in all apartments. Toilets Urine is flushed with a small amount at need. The piping system for urine has a dimension of Ø 50 mm and both pipes and tanks are made Pipes of polypropylene. No part of the piping system is insulated. The three collecting tanks are located in the basement. The tanks are not insulated, neither are Tanks for urine the pipes but as they are running inside the building, the risk of freezing in pipes is low. Emptying/use Tanks for urine are emptied from outside the house by an entrepreneur 2 - 3 times a year and used in agriculture after a storage period of 6 months.

Faeces are dropped from the toilet in vertical ”Spiro” pipes with a dimension of Ø 200 mm and collected in common plastic bins used for garbage. No dessication materials are added after defecation. Each bin is located in a fire proof metal box. The dry faeces can easily catch fire if someone for example throws a match into the toilet. All pipes are constructed to be completely air- and liquid tight. Each household is responsible for maintenance of their proper faeces bin. If the faeces gets too wet, e.g. by misplaced urine, drying material such as sawdust is added. The plastic bins are emptied by each household, frequency depending on load and user attitudes. Some households empty half full bins every second week, others postpone it until they have to carry out full bins. Intervals vary between every second week and twice a year.

The faeces are composted together with carbon rich material in layers in a compost box with a water tight concrete floor and a lid, in order to minimize the possibility of environmental contamination and exposure. The compost is stored for a few years before being removed and used as soil conditioner. The compost has not been tested regarding sanitisation. Since it is stored for a long time in the storage bins, most harmful bacteria will have died by the time the compost is used. Other wastewater The grey water is conveyed to the municipal wastewater treatment plant for the area. fractions Figure 26: The faeces are composted in a closed bin together with grass and leaves. Photo by Ebba af Petersens

Figure 25: The sanitation system is unique; a urine diversion system with dry collection of feces in a 2-storey building. Photo by Mats Johansson

Figure 24: 35 Gebers, once a convales- cent home, is today a modern apartment house close to lake Drevviken. Photo by Mats Johansson

User aspects bins, a problem that might be the main toilet you can just put the brush down into The user aspects at Gebers have been reason to why some residents in Gebers the water that’s there ... but here it’s some- thoroughly investigated through a re- are discontented with the sanitation what more complicated as … we have the search project carried out by Linköping system. However, the fly breeding is less of shower right next to it so you sort of have to University. The research project revealed a problem today than in the beginning shower on the brush and then put it into both positive and negative attitudes due to the establishment of some simple the toilet and try to clean and after that try among the users in Gebers towards the practices. The one practice being the most to make it (the brush; author’s remark) sanitation system. The low water use is crucial, both in order to prevent flies from clean and shower it … it’s a bit trickier […]. one positive factor and is mentioned by multiplying and for getting rid of the most respondents as one important factor problem once it has occurred is an increa- One respondent underlined that the behind the toilet system selection. One of sed frequency of emptying the bin. One system is comparatively silent, since there the users says: […] my feeling is that every resident says: […] so when you spot small, is no flushing involved. […] I’m really time I use a conventional toilet I’m wasting small, small, small flies … then you know happy that we don’t flush. I’ve lived in something we use as drinking water in this that there’s a hotbed down there and then it apartment buildings and I’ve heard it, that country … it feels completely idiotic to pee a is time to go down and remove the sack and is, in a flat where you can hear every few decilitres and then flush ten litres to get you may have to take it often … […]. Other sound, where I’ve not only heard the rid of it […]. measures to take are to keep the faeces flushing but even the urinating […]. dry by adding ash or lime/ash mixtures or As long as the ventilation works there is no other drying agents. Insect repellents have Some residents, mostly women, are not smell at all in the bathroom, not even right also been used. satisfied with the toilet design from a user after defecation, which is perceived as very point of view and have expressed con- positive. The ventilation is dependent on a Another issue is the cleaning of the toilet. cerns about too much urine ending up in functioning power supply. Thus, if there is Although all toilets need cleaning it seems the fecal drop hole. One respondent says: a power cut there is consequently a bad like the residents in Gebers find the clea- […] the toilet isn’t really designed for girls smell from the toilet. ning of their dry toilet more difficult than […] you easily pee into the drop-hole and with a water closet, due to the need to the urine ends up where it shouldn’t be ... The most important negative aspect on avoid too much water into the fecal bin […] perhaps the urine-bowl should be more the sanitation system in Gebers seems to while still achieving a clean faecal bowl. …arched or extended like a triangle be occasional fly breeding in the fecal One resident says: […] with an ordinary maybe […]. Lessons learned: potential for improvement of especially ney was used to finance the construction. The Gebers experience shows that it is the faecal handling in Gebers. A urine diversion water flushed system possible to have urine diversion dry toilets combined with a fecal separating system in high standard, 2-storey residential Eklandaskolan in called Aquatron is installed. The urine is housing. Retrofitting of buildings from Mölndal – school sanitation collected in tanks for use in agriculture. waterborne sewage to dry sanitation has with urine diversion The faeces are composted and used by worked, even though it is a challenge. Due to a political initiative, a primary the staff in private gardens. Results also show that when motivation is school in Mölndal municipality was in high among the inhabitants, handling and 1999 equipped with urine diverting sanitisation of the fecal fraction can be toilets. The school has 450 students aged solved locally, even though there is still 6 – 15 years. Municipal investment mo-

36 Box 10: Mölndal - Technical System Design

65 Dubletten water double flushed toilets. The urine flows by gravity to tanks with a total size Toilets of about 50 m3. The polypropylene tanks for urine are emptied once a year after required storage of 6 months Emptying/use on site. The municipality is responsible for transport of urine to a farmer for use on farmland.

Faeces are separated from the main part of the flush water by the use of a separator and collected in a separate tank in the basement for composting. Collected faeces is stored in the tank for at least 9 months and then used as fertilizer by Other waste water private persons in the neighbourhood, some of them teachers in the school. Separated flush fractions water from the Aquatron-system is treated locally together with grey water in reed beds. No analyses have been made, but the municipal office for the environment monitors the function and is suitably satisfied.

Daily management of the system is run by a janitor. The janitor uses caustic soda, citric acid, Maintenance boiling water and pipe cleaners once yearly in all toilets to prevent blockages.

Lessons learned: The largest factor for success according ported to the janitor. Proper maintenance Oral information about the system to the to municipal officers in Mölndal is the with regular flushing of pipes with caustic users, in this case students and personnel, janitor of the school, who has taken a soda and citric acid has also been advan- is very important in order to reduce personal responsibility of the operation tageous. The experiences show the amounts of misplaced faeces and paper and maintenance. The students have not importance of committed persons in the etc. From the beginning of the process it been enthusiastic, there were complaints school, as well as support from govern- is also very important to inform and of smell in initial stages, but due to the ment and municipality officers. motivate the operating personnel, espe- work of the janitor and teachers, these cially janitors and cleaners who will run problems have decreased. The smell the system. The need for information and problems were due to blockages of urine clearly defined roles and responsibilities piping, and the strategy from the school cannot be over-stressed in a school or was to immediately take action to clean other public environment. the piping of a toilet when it was re- 7 | Knowledge gaps and identified research needs

Well–planned dry urine diversion systems Suggested applied R&D projects gies, choice of tank, joint measures or with agricultural reuse of urine and • Establishment of new pilot projects single toilets? faeces is not mainstream sanitation in the and evaluation of existing projects. • What are the economical incentives world today. Most people in the world live Monitoring and evaluation of existing for implementation of urine diversion? with dry sanitation, however, the systems dry urine diversion projects is a cost- How to design the economical system are seldom adapted to efficient reuse of efficient way of generating knowledge. with the regard to municipal the nutrients in excreta. There are some Dissemination of results, regardless of if responsibility and financial support/ definite areas where there is a need of they are positive or negative, from interactions. How should the systems systematic research and development existing pilots is vital. The establish- be organized and which are the most (R&D). Some of these, especially related to ment of new pilot projects will also important drivers for the different winter climate aspects, are specified in the contribute to the bank of knowledge. stake holders. following text. • Sanitisation of faecal fraction: research 37 on requested storage in ambient or Research needs alkaline environment in temperate and One of the most discussed questions cold climates (winters with tempera- regarding urine diversion is the fate of tures far below zero). pharmaceutical residues after excretion, • Sanitisation of faecal fraction: research and how this affects choice of collection on the implementation of chemical and treatment of human excreta. Research sanitisation of faeces with urea. This is on fate of pharmaceuticals in waste water an interesting method, but the practi- treatment plants is being undertaken in cal implications need to be studied Germany and Sweden. No known field and developed. studies are taking place on fate of pharma- • Sanitisation of urine: what happens in ceutical residues when urine or sewage the urine when it is frozen and what sludge is applied to the soil. The current are the implications for storage recommendation to use urine as a fertiliser intervals? in agriculture rests on the analysis that the • Pharmaceutical residues: studies of soil soil system is well suited to digest harmful system when urine is used as a fertili- organic substances due to microbial life in ser. Effect on microbial community, the surface layers of soil. This would be an speed of decomposition. Comparisons interesting field of study that can give with sewage sludge, farmyard manure. valuable information on design of reuse • Toilet design: development of risers systems. and squat-plates for local production. Care given to needs of different users: Sanitisation of faeces is another aspect children, disabled, elderly, men, wo- that needs attention. The WHO guidelines men. Toilets of today need develop- on the reuse of human excreta in agricul- ment since many do not divert as ture mention the alkaline treatment by much urine as possible, and are unne- adding ashes or alkaline substances with cessarily difficult to clean. a storage time of 6 month ( > 35 °C ) as • Systems analysis from an economic a possible way to sanitise faeces, or point of view. Comparison of invest- 1,5 - 2 years storage time. The temperature ment and maintenance costs of urine intervals given do not cater for needs in diversion systems and conventional temperate or cold climates, which means sanitation. that knowledge on treatment of faeces in • Systems analysis from an environmen- this region should be developed. Research tal point of view. How do different on more simple and robust treatment activities affect the sustainability of the methods is needed. system, for example fertilisation strate- 8 | Annex

Read more There are a few websites where information on sustainable sanitation is presented. Try the following:

• EcoSanRes, a programmed financed by Swedish International Development Agency, SIDA, hosted by Stockholm Environment Institute, www.ecosanres.org • GTZ, the German International Development Cooperation, www.gtz.de/ecosan • Report from a comprehensive research programme carried out at EAWAG, the Swiss Federal Insti- tute of Aquatic Science and Technology: http://www.eawag.ch/services/publikationen/eanews/news_63/index_EN • WASTE, Dutch NGO/consultancy group with international ecosan activities. www.ecosan.nl • EcoSan Club Austrian NGO with many international ecosan activities. Project information and 38 publications. www.ecosan.at • EcoSanRes discussion group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecosanr • WSSCC Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. Guidance on household-centred environmental sanitation. www.wsscc.org • IWA International Water Association. Specialist group on ecological sanitation. www.iawq.org.uk • WTO World Toilet Organisation. www.worldtoilet.org • Global Dry Toilet Club of Finland is a registered Finnish association founded in 2002 to promote the use of dry toilets. http://www.drytoilet.org

Ecological sanitation related WECF publications: http://www.wecf.eu

• http://www.wecf.eu/cms/publications/2004/eco_san_pub.php Ecological Sanitation and Associated Hygienic Risk, 2004 An overview of existing policymaking guidelines and research

• http://www.wecf.eu/cms/publications/2006/sustain_all.php Case study „Sustainable Development for All“; Reducing effects of polluted drinking water and inadequate sanitation on children´s health in rural Romania (2006)

• http://www.wecf.eu/cms/publications/2006/menstruation.php Ecological sanitation and hygienic considerations for women

• http://www.wecf.eu/cms/publications/2006/ecosan_pitlatrines.php From pit latrine to ecological sanitation Results of a survey on dry urine diverting school toilets and pit latrines in Garla Mare, Romania; Experiences and Acceptances

• http://www.wecf.eu/cms/publications/2006/ecosan_reps.php Dry Urine Diverting Toilets; Principles, Operation and Construction References Litterature

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Eklind, Y. & Kirchmann, H. 2000. ‘Composting and storage of organic household waste with different litter amendments. II. Nitrogen turnover and losses’. Bioresource Technology 74(2): 125-133.

Escher, B., Bramaz, N., Maurer, M., Richter, M, Sutter, D, Von Kaenel, C, Zschoke, M. 2005. Screening test battery for pharmaceuticals in urine and wastewater. Journal of Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2005, vol. 24, no3. 39

Ganrot, Z. 2005. Urine processing for efficient nutrient recovery and reuse in agriculture. PhD thesis, Department of Environmental Science and Conservation, Faculty of Science, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden 2005.

Guerin, T.F.2001. Co-composting of pharmaceutical wastes in soil. Letters in Applied Microbiology 2001, 33, 256-263.

Hammer, M. & Clemens, J. 2007. A Tool to Evaluate the Fertilizer Value and the Environmental Impact of Substrates from Waste Water Treatment. In: Proceedings of IWA Conference on Advanced Sanitati- on, Aachen, March 2007.

Hellström D. 1998. Nutrient management in sewerage systems: Investigations of components and exergy analysis. PhD Thesis. Luleå University of Technology, Department of Environmental Enginee- ring, Division of Sanitary Engineering.

Johansson. M. & Kvarnström, E. Review of Sanitation Regulatory Framework. EcoSanRes report nr 2005-1, www.ecosanres.org

Lienert, J., Bürki, T.; Escher, B.I. 2007. Reducing Micropollutants with Source Control: Substance Flow - Analysis of 212 pharmaceuticals in Feces and Urine. In Proccedings of IWA Conference on Advanced Sanitation, Aachen, March 2007.

Magid, J. 2006. Estrogen in the environment. In: Blackwater systems – Nordic Inventory. Full report in Swedish, Appendix 2 English summary. Report can be accessed at: www.nmr.org

Moe, C. & Izurieta, R. 2004. Longitudinal study of double vault urine diverting toilets and solar toilets in El Salvador. In: Ecosan – Closing the loop. Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Ecological Sanitation, incorporating the 1st IWA specialist group conference on sustainable sanitation, 7th-11th April 2003, Lübeck, Germany. Pp 295-302.

Morgan, P. 2007. Toilets That Make Compost. Low-cost, sanitary toilets that produce valuable compost for crops in an African context. Report published by EcoSanRes, www.ecosanres.org Rodhe L., Richert Stintzing A. & Steineck S., 2004. ‘Ammonia emissions after application of human urine to clay soil for barley growth’. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 68:191-198. Magid, J. 2006. Estrogen in the environment. In: Emilsson et al. Klosettvattensystem Nordisk inventering och förslag till FoU.

Schröder, H.Fr. Baumgarten, S., Charwath, C.; Lange, M.; Beier, S.; Pinnekamp, J. 2007. Evaluation of Advanced Treatment Technologies for the Elimination of Pharmaceutical Compounds. In Proceedings of IWA Conference on Advanced Sanitation, Aachen, March 2007.

SEI, 2005. Sustainable Pathways to Attain the Millennium Development Goals. Assessing the Role of Water, Energy and Sanitation. Report for the UN world summit September 14, 2005 New York, SEI, Stockholm. 40 Stoll, U. & Schönewald, B. 2003. Integrated management of water resources in projects of German financial cooperation. Paper presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Ecological Sanitation, 7-11 April, Lübeck, Germany.

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). 2002. Action Plan on Reuse of Phosphorous from Wastewater Fractions In Swedish, summary in English. Report nr 5214. www.naturvardsverket.se/bokhandeln

Vinnerås, B., Holmqvist, A., Bagge, E., Albihn, A. & Jönsson, H. 2003b. Potential of disinfection of separated faecal matter by urea and PAA for hygienic nutrient recycling. Bioresource Technology 89(2): 155-161.

Vinnerås, B. 1998. Source separated Urine – Sedimentation, Stratification an Collectec Volume and Com- position.. In Swedish, summary in english. MSc Thesis from Dept of agricultural technology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

WHO and UNICEF. 2004. “Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target: A Mid-Term Assessment of Progress.” www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/jmp2004/en/

WHO. 2006. Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater. Volume IV – Ecxreta and Greywater Use in Agriculture. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuweg4/en/index.html N ot e

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