Dunker_LC.pdf (930.88 kB)
Download filePrejudices and attitudes toward reuse of nutrients from urine diversion toilets in South Africa
conference contribution
posted on 2018-02-12, 15:09 authored by Louiza C. Duncker, Gertrude MatsebeMore than 60 000 urine diversion toilets have been built in South Africa in the last decade, but the use of
human excreta for food production is not generally being promoted. This paper discusses the study conducted
by The Council For Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), investigating users’ perceptions and
attitudes towards urine diversion sanitation (UDS) in South Africa for the past seven years. The research
method focused on semi-structured household interviews while validating and cross-checking the responses
with physical observation and small focus group discussions. The main findings of this research were that
people were aware of the fertiliser value of human faeces but not of human urine and that only some users
were willing to use only human faeces in their gardens. In South Africa, many communities rely on subsistence
agriculture, often in poor soils. Therefore, it is important to change people’s views and attitudes (how
they think about and act) towards human excreta in order to achieve ecological sanitation solutions for
food production.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Research Unit
- Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)