Developing business models for fecal sludge management in Maputo

Download Developing business models for fecal sludge management in Maputo

Only 9% of households in Maputo are connected to a sewerage system, whilst 41% rely on pit latrines and 49% use septic tanks and pour-flush toilets. Although almost 90% of Maputo residents have access to a hygienic excreta disposal facility as defined by the World Health Organization/ The United Nations Children’s Fund (WHO/UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Program, this ignores the fact that most of them are not emptied hygienically, with obvious and extremely negative implications for public health and the environment. An analysis of fecal waste flows in Maputo shows that only 3% of the total fecal waste produced actually passes through the treatment plant, whilst more than 50%  contaminates backyards, the drainage system and Maputo  Bay. It is also clear that the biggest problem area is with onsite systems, with much fecal waste being unsafely dumped by local burial or in ditches and unoccupied ground, and even that which is safely removed being partly dumped into the environment or inadequately treated.