Waste management in urban slums

The high rate of population growth in developing countries in recent times has created intricate sanitation problems which governments can no longer ignore. The problem is further accentuated by the constant drift of rural dwellers to the few urban centres in search of jobs and other opportuni­ties offered by urbanization. Urbanization and its concomitant housing problems have created the situation where urban slums have become a regular feature of most urban centres. High population density, temporary structures used as living quarters and lack of proper sanitation are conspi­cuous features of these slums. The predominant method of excreta collection known to these slum dwellers is the night soil system. This paper examines some popular methods of excreta collection and puts forward another possible method of excreta management in high density urban slums.