Sanitation: The latrine bag

Over the last decennia millions of latrines have been built to improve the sanitation of people in developing countries. The human waste is captured in specially dug pits. The liquids of this human waste seep into the groundwater table. Unfortunately, these liquids contain large amounts of nitrates and harmful bacteria capable of severely polluting the groundwater table. Consequently, the groundwater in wells situated on the same compound as the pits cannot be consumed due to harmful bacteria and nitrate levels reaching toxic levels.

The solution

Our Dutch Latrine Bag (DLB) offers a simple and effective solution to this pollution problem. The DLB is a large, strong, plastic bag which is placed into the pit latrine to prevent human waste from polluting the groundwater table. In effect, the DLB closes the sanitation cycle and the human waste can be used for agricultural and biogas applications.

Benefits

• Prevents pollution of the groundwater table;
• Simplifies and saves money on latrine construction;
• Enables the use of human waste for the production of compost;
• Saves significantly on the purchase of fertilizer.

Technology

The DLB is made of strong plastic material, is easy to install and has a service life of at least 10 years. The DLB can withstand the automatic extraction of human waste by suction. A standard DLB measures 1 metre in diameter and ranges up to 1.8 metres deep into the ground. Other sizes are available upon request.