ROBERT ERASMUS | Pit latrines menace needs new ideas to eradicate them in SA

In SA, the use of pit latrines remains a prevalent human rights issue, infringing on every person’s right to life, dignity, and health, as well as their right to access water and adequate basic sanitation. Despite their unavoidable application in certain contexts, pit latrines pose numerous risks to life, health and safety, particularly in schools and informal settlements.

As far back as 2019, the department of water and sanitation (DWS) launched a campaign called Khusela, which means “to protect in isiXhosa, to abolish pit latrines by 2030. Given the extensive challenges related to sanitation infrastructure, eradicating pit latrines is going to take time, particularly in rural areas. Nonetheless, this human rights issue must be squarely addressed.  

From a sanitation perspective, there are 380 schools in SA with no running water while 3,392 schools still use pit latrines, which affects 34,489 teachers and 1,042,698 learners. It is estimated that there are still four million pit latrines in use by communities throughout the country, of which only two million are ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, while the remainder are ordinary pits with or without covers.

VIPs are latrines with a ventilation pipe that allows air to circulate through the pit, which helps to reduce odours and the breeding of flies. These latrines are also typically constructed with a more substantial exterior structure than ordinary pit latrines.  

Apart from dangers of falling in, pit latrines contribute to the spread of disease, posing major health hazards to users and nearby residents, as inadequate waste management and poor sanitation practices contaminate the groundwater and soil. This can lead to outbreak of waterborne diseases like cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery.

For affected communities, the lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation has a significant impact on health and wellbeing. The lack of access to safe and hygienic sanitation facilities can lead to health problems, which can make it difficult for people to work and earn a living. The correlation between adequate sanitation and poverty is a complex issue, with several contributing factors. As such, it is important to address these factors to improve sanitation and ultimately reduce poverty. 

Pit latrines are estimated to last seven to 10 years, but these latrines often require maintenance in just two to three years due to the significant amount of additional waste they receive. Decisions must then be made to either close the latrine and dig a new hole or seek servicing, a challenging task that involves treating the solid waste to create a more liquid environment before using a honey sucker or vacuum tanker to extract and dispose of the waste in a treatment plant.

This highlights the urgent need for practical solutions when addressing the challenges posed by pit latrines. To illustrate the practicalities, consider the sheer number of pit latrines – four million, with two million being VIPs and two million standards. Replacing all of these with waterborne sanitation is simply unfeasible in the short term, as this would require an additional one billion litres of water daily for flushing alone.

A safer alternative to pit latrines has been developed and ready for implementation in communities. It is a cost-effective, dry sanitation unit that addresses health and safety shortfalls, installation difficulties and servicing problems with pit latrines while ensuring that environmental and underground water contamination cannot occur. The main structure consists of concrete and the door is made of injection moulding plastic, with a ventilation pipe to limit odours.

The waste containment unit has a 1,500-litre bladder with a 3 to 5-year guaranteed life cycle, which can be removed without disabling the unit. The units are mobile, and no pit must be dug, which reduces installation costs and limits the abandonment of land. The unit itself is shaped in an ellipse to maximise space utilisation and waste containment, using a rotating bowl to dispose of waste, which prevents contact with faecal matter. The unit is sealed to prevent insects from entering or exiting the system and uses environmentally friendly products to treat waste.  

The need to eliminate pit latrines is clear, given the multitude of risks they pose to the health, safety, and environment of communities.

Erasmus is MD of Sanitech