New Eco-San School toilet opened in Armenia

On October 20, 2006, the first Dry-Urine Diverting school toilet in Armenia was put to use in the village of Hayanist.

22.11.2006 |Gero Fedtke

The school toilet in Hayanista before the new ecosan toilet

To fulfil a day-to-day human need such as visiting a toilet poses a huge problem for pupils in most rural schools in the republic of Armenia. The prevalent pit latrines are unpleasant to use because of the flies they attract, the smell they create, and the fact that they are located far from the school building itself for obvious reasons, which poses problems especially in winter, in rain and in the darkness. A solution to this problem has always posed problems: where there is no water supply, flush toilets cannot be built, and even improved latrines can at best alleviate the problems, but not solve them.

AWHHE director Elena Manvelyan and school director Hovhannes Ispiryan (right) opening the toilet.

WECF partner organisation AWHHE has commissioned the construction of a new type of school toilet, that does not use water for flushing. The dry urine diverting toilet is equipped with spezial squatting slabs that divert the urine from the faeces. Using them is simple: all the schoolchildren and teachers have to do is to squat. Urine and faeces are collected separately: the faeces in chambers directly beneath the the toilet seat, whereas the urine is led through a hose into a reservoir. Instead of flushing, the faeces are covered with sawdust that absorbs the moisture and prevents smell as does the removal of the urine. Without any bad odours, there was no hindrance to the new toilet being erected directly adjacent to the school building, which makes it more easy to use by the school children.

A toilet room with squatting slab, sawdust for „flushing“ and a wastebin for used toilet paper.

At the opening ceremony, representatives from Hayjrmugh, the Armenian water and sewerage company, village authorities, UNDP, and interested NGOs were present, as well as newspaper and television journalists. They inspected the toilet building with great interest and were eager to learn more about ist working principles. Being in use for ist first two weeks now, the new sanitary facilities are pleasing their users, who note with great content the absence of the smell they would never get used to.

Outside view of the new toilet.

But the dry urine diverting toilets do even more than just providing nice sanitary facilities. They make human egesta available as valuable fertilizer. Both urine and faeces are rich in Nitrates, Phosphorus and Potassium, important nutrients for plant growth. Pathogenic material from faeces and urine is removed by sanitizing them through dehydration over 1 year, and storing for 6 months, respectively. After these time periods, they will be used by local farmers in agriculture. Whereas in conventional pit latrines, both pathogens and Nitrates contribute to groundwater pollution, the dry urine diverting toilet adverts the pollution and associated health risks.

School kids

School children and teachers were instructed carefully on working principles and the right way to use the toilet. A caretaker will look after the toilet, clean and maintain it regularly – as even an EcoSan toilet, as any toilet, is only as convenient for people as they are conscious in their using it.