5 minute read
Sanitation
Off-grid and non-sewer sanitation systems offer South Africa the opportunity to improve the way in which sanitation services are being delivered. By Akintunde Akinsete*
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At the current rate, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to meet the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DHWS) timeline for achieving Sustainable Developmental Goal 6 – ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Existing sanitation systems are proving inadequate in addressing current sanitation backlogs and it is imperative to explore promising emerging sanitation technologies.
Reinventing the toilet The current sanitation paradigm is either a hole in the ground (pit latrines and their variants) or a flushing toilet connected to a sewer reticulation system. While both solutions have their merits and can meet the challenges of adequate sanitation, they can only do so if they are deployed in the proper context. Innovation in the non-sewered sanitation space received a huge boost when the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) injected US$200 million (R3.4 billion) into the Reinventing the Toilet Challenge. The challenge invigorated innovation around sanitation worldwide, including in South Africa, bringing the best minds to bear in solving the world’s sanitation challenges.
The outcome was a suite of promising solutions with the potential to change how sanitation is currently managed. To encourage buy-in and acceptance by the various sanitation stakeholders and, most importantly, the end-user, there is a need for rigorous field testing and the demonstration of these technologies in a local context.
Innovation in SA The Water Research Commission (WRC), through its South African Sanitation Technology Enterprise Programme (Sastep), with funding from the BMGF and the Department of Science and Innovation – and strong support from the DHWS – has been working with local and international sanitation innovators, entrepreneurs and manufacturers to commercialise innovative and much needed sanitation technologies and solutions in the South African market.
The focus of the programme is to drive the local manufacturing and industrialisation of these technologies so that there are multiple effective technologies available to tackle South Africa’s sanitation deficiencies and backlog.
There are several factors that may hinder the adoption of new technologies, namely policy, regulation, political will, cost, sunken cost (on the solution currently in use), and fear of the new and unknown, to name a few. Implementing agencies are often risk averse and more inclined to deploy familiar solutions, rather than embrace the new and unknown.
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In instances where solution implementers are open to novel technologies and solutions, they are hampered by regulations and internal procurement processes. Technology demonstrations provide a platform for implementers to try new things and to build confidence, know-how and acceptance of new innovative solutions. It is also important to conduct field testing in new locations and contexts different from those for which the technology was originally designed or tested.
Putting the user first Field testing and demonstration plays an important role in general technological development. It provides a vital link between knowledge generation and technological breakthroughs on the one hand, and industrial application and commercial adoption on the other. Furthermore, it offers the technology developer an avenue to observe the interaction of the end-user with the product and gather vital feedback for further development and improvement of the technology.
Factors such as diet, culture and social habits can be a major determinant of performance and user acceptance. For example, a biological sanitation technology developed for a population with a carbohydrate-rich diet will perform differently if the technology is transferred to a region where the population eats a protein-rich diet. Habits such as the use of toilet paper or water for cleaning after
Modular ablution blocks installed in eThekwini Municipality by Bosch Projects
toilet use also affect the performance of sanitation technologies. Some users prefer squatting as opposed to sitting. These subtle differences in toilet use need to be understood and addressed before a mass roll-out of any solution.
Many hard lessons have been learnt in the implementation of sanitation solutions, especially in peri-urban and informal settlement settings in South Africa. Although undertaken with the best of intentions, the backlash from some of these interventions has been severe, with some descending into violent service delivery protests.
Officials and implementers often rush into these communities without understanding their idiosyncratic sanitation needs. Generic ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions are implemented without due consultation and often result in disastrous outcomes. Even if consulted, the community may not be able to articulate its sanitation preference and, even if it could, it might not be affordable for the implementing agency.
Field testing and demonstration enables communities to sample and familiarise themselves with technologies before they are rolled out en masse. It also allows officials to gauge what works and what doesn’t, and modify the system to ensure it meets the needs and requirements of the community. Using a limited number of toilet units for the demonstration will limit the financial exposure of the municipality and ensure that its budget is not wasted, should the technology be rejected. An effective field testing and demonstration process should not be misconstrued with negligent and wilful experimentation on communities. When field testing and demonstration is properly conducted in a systematic and ethical way, with upfront consultation of all stakeholders involved, it results in beneficial outcomes such that if the solution is rejected, the community involved is understanding.
Effective field testing and demonstration processes must be conducted using scientific principles to assess functionality, safety, performance and, most importantly, user acceptance of the technology or solution. When conducted in this manner, field testing and demonstration becomes a critical tool in the service delivery value chain. It provides a means to understand challenges, develop solutions, and engender stakeholder confidence in a technology or solution. It stimulates a consultative approach that helps gain the trust of the community.
When field testing and demonstration is an integral part of the municipal toolbox for service delivery, it becomes a social diplomacy tool that has the potential to help build a social network around sanitation technologies and bring the most important stakeholder – the end-user – into the development of an acceptable and sustainable sanitation solution.
*Akintunde Akinsete is a programme manager: South African Sanitation Technology Demonstration Programme at the Water Research Commission.
