Worldwide over the last years, a shift has taken place in the acceptance of faecal sludge management (FSM). It is now considered by many to be a viable solution alongside sewer-based systems in achieving citywide inclusive sanitation, and faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs) are starting to be constructed throughout Asia and Africa. For example, more than 40 FSTPs started operation in India and Bangladesh in the last four years, more than 30 are under construction in Uganda, and more than 400 will be constructed in India the next two years. This scaling up is urgently needed, as every year tons of faecal sludge are discharged directly into the environment. However, there is a lack of adequately functioning FSTPs, and a lack of information on operating FSTPs, upon which to base this scaling up. Inadequate designs will lead to the failure of many future FSTPs. Hence, there is a desperate need to learn from the failures and successes of existing FSTPs, so that future designs and scaling up can be sustainably.
FSM is now at a turning point with rapid scaling-up, but there are still many barriers to success to overcome. At this transition point, it is imperative to learn from existing FSTPs, in order to solve these hurdles for the design and operation of future FSTPs. The scoping study was designed to identify current gaps, evaluate the actual operating condition of existing FSTPs in comparison to design assumption, and to lay the foundation for what next steps should be taken.

Bibliographic information

Klinger, M., Gueye, A., Manandhar Sherpa, A., Strande, L. (2019). Scoping Study: Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants in South-Asia and sub-Saharan Africa Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Dübendorf, Switzerland

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Faecal sludge treatment processesEnglish

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