infrahub.africa

Background

In Kumasi, it is estimated that only about 40% of the population has access to an in-house flushing toilet. The remainder use a combination of pay-per-use public toilets, pit latrines, “flying toilets” or open defecation, which pose numerous health threats to residents and impair quality of life. To address this, the Clean Team toilet was designed as a partnership between the non-profit organisation Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), Unilever and IDEO.org.

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Approach

The installation of in-home flushing toilets is made very challenging by lack of piped water access, lack of space, terrain, topography, tenure challenges and high installation costs. Clean Team provides a portable urine-diverting toilet with a removable cartridge and sawdust as cover material for solid waste. Twice a week, Clean Team collects and replaces the used solid waste cartridges with clean ones. The portable toilets are quick and easy to install, and flexible enough to allow tenants and those not living on the ground floor to access sanitation services. The monthly fee of approximately 52 GH cedis for a household of 5 people is paid in advance via a mobile money payment system.

Environmental Impact

Containing and removing human waste for further treatment allows for it to be better managed. Alternatives like open defecation and pit latrines pose health risks as pathogens can contaminate water sources, and diseases can be spread by flies and other disease carrying vectors. Clean Team Ghana partners with Safisana to make fertiliser from fecal waste.