Exploiting the co-benefits of ecological sanitation

Gary Haq; Howard Michael Cambridge

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2012.09.002

Exploiting the co-benefits of ecological sanitation

Gary Haq, Howard Michael Cambridge

Stockholm Environment Institute at York

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Closing the nutrient loop by exploiting the co-benefits of nutrient recovery from human excreta has the potential to improve soil fertility, food security and reduce water use. This paper reviews the potential of using human excreta as an agricultural resource. Ecological sanitation (ecosan) is characterised by a ‘sanitise and recycle’ process based on preventing pollution, sanitising urine and faeces and recovering nutrients for food production. Human excreta can result in higher cabbage yields compared to the use of goat manure while urine-fertilised plants produce equal amounts of tomato fruits as mineral fertilised plants. However, a key challenge is how ecosan can be cost-effectively scaled-up in an increasingly urbanised and economic constrained world.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	431–435
Journal	Current opinion in environmental sustainability
Volume	4
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2012.09.002
Publication status	Published - Oct 2012

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10.1016/j.cosust.2012.09.002

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title = "Exploiting the co-benefits of ecological sanitation",

abstract = "Closing the nutrient loop by exploiting the co-benefits of nutrient recovery from human excreta has the potential to improve soil fertility, food security and reduce water use. This paper reviews the potential of using human excreta as an agricultural resource. Ecological sanitation (ecosan) is characterised by a {\textquoteleft}sanitise and recycle{\textquoteright} process based on preventing pollution, sanitising urine and faeces and recovering nutrients for food production. Human excreta can result in higher cabbage yields compared to the use of goat manure while urine-fertilised plants produce equal amounts of tomato fruits as mineral fertilised plants. However, a key challenge is how ecosan can be cost-effectively scaled-up in an increasingly urbanised and economic constrained world.",

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