World Toilet Day: Experts underline need to think about ‘after the flush’

Kolkata: In the backdrop of World Toilet Day, experts have highlighted the need to go beyond ‘the flush and forget’ mindset.
Under Swachh Bharat Mission, India built over 100 million toilets in rural areas and 6.3 million in
cities and was successfully declared open-defecation free in 2019. However, one question that
needs to be asked is- what happens ‘after the flush’?
According to Energy Alternatives India estimates, India’s urban areas produce 120,000 tonnes of faecal sludge daily and that approximately two-thirds of the households with toilets are not connected
to a sewerage system. This means that most of the human waste from toilets goes into the environment, thereby posing a public health hazard.
According to Dr Suresh Kumar Rohilla, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), “60% of human waste is dumped into water bodies and open land contaminating drinking water and food sources. The situation is grave and there is a need for us to give serious thought to the consequences of flushing and forgetting. While we have achieved the ODF status, it is time that we move on to ODF++ which includes safe collection, conveyance, treatment/disposal of all faecal sludge and sewage. The solution is on-site faecal sludge management which includes safe containment of excreta in an onsite sanitation system, regular emptying and transportation of faecal sludge to a faecal sludge treatment plant (FSTP).”
Industry experts have also pointed out that taking care of the waste coming from the toilet is as important, or even more, as having a toilet. The sanitation status that the country has achieved can only be sustained if the faecal waste is managed and treated properly. Decentralized faecal septage treatment plants (FSTPs) are sustainable solutions to address the challenge of safe treatment and disposal of septage. In many parts of the country, on-site sanitation systems and FSTPs have been successfully implemented in Devanahalli (Karnataka) and Leh. The need of the hour is for more and more cities to adopt a decentralised approach to the sanitation chain.
“As part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, people have adopted and welcomed toilets into their homes. But safe sanitation is beyond building toilets. We flush and assume that the waste will be conveyed to a sewage treatment plant through a sewer system. However, many households, even in urban India, lack such solutions. Only 30% of urban households are connected to a centralized sewer system, and the remaining 70% of households use onsite sanitation (OSS) containment systems, such as septic tanks and pit latrines. The faecal sludge accumulated in onsite systems has a high pathogen load and pollution potential and needs mechanized desludging, safe conveyance, and scientific treatment. Safe and scientific management of faecal sludge is essential for improving public health and environmental outcomes. On this world toilet day, let us commit to providing ‘safely managed sanitation’ to all households, especially those living in slum areas.” said Professor Srinivas Chary, Director – Water, Sanitation and Urban Development programme at Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance member.
Effective faecal sludge management (FSM) will ensure both public health and environmental benefits. For this, the experts emphasized that changes will be required at multiple levels including central and state governments, private sector, and citizen consciousness. The government at its end has already taken some steps to create a sustainable sanitation environment.
In 2017, India passed the National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM),
one of the first countries to have done so. The policy highlights government commitment to making
safe and sustainable sanitation for everyone a priority area. More recently, the SBM 2.0 (Urban) guidelines were announced that emphasized, among other things, grey and black water (used water) management in all cities thereby ensuring that no untreated used water is discharged in open to
pollute water bodies.
UNI