City partners with Dutch government to provide toilets for informal settlement
MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 278/ 2009
12 May 2009
Cape Town has been selected by the Dutch Government and its associated companies for the testing of a prototype toilet that is easily installed, uses almost no water, and does not have to be connected to a mains water supply or sewerage system. The facility was funded by a R4 million external grant from the Dutch partners.
The Dutch Minister for Development Co-operation, Bert Koenders and Dr Bulumko Msengana, the City’s Executive Director: Utility Services, City officials, representatives of the Dutch consortium responsible for the project and community leaders today attended the installation of MobiSan dry sanitation technology toilets in the Pooke se Bos informal settlement, Pooke Road in Rylands Estate, Athlone.
The Dutch companies responsible for the concept say that this is the first project of this kind to be piloted in Africa and the City of Cape Town was chosen to partner them in the pilot study. This also forms part of the longstanding cooperative agreement between the City of Cape Town and the Dutch government and its associate companies.
Consultation between the Dutch companies and the City's Water and Sanitation Department began nearly three years ago when it was decided that alternative sanitation optionsfor informal settlements needed to be investigated. The companies are Landustrie Sneek BV, Lettinga Associates Foundation and Vitens-Evides International, and all of them are industry leaders. They formed a consortium and received finance for the project- amounting to R4 million- from the Dutch government’s “Partners Voor Water” programme and the funding agency, EVD.
It was also decided that a suitable location for the project had to be found so that the accompanying research team could obtain the required data. A small scale MobiSan mobile sanitation system utilizing dry sanitation technology was designed and presented at the Sanitation Challenge International Conference in the Netherlands in May 2008. This system was then built to full scale and housed in a shipping container. It consists of a row of 13 toilet closets and 12 separate urinals. It is mobile unit and can be easily moved to informal settlements. Since it is a modular system, various other features can be added depending on the requirements. In this application, a small office for the maintenance staff was added.
Once the first unit was manufactured, the 12 metre container unit was shipped to Cape Town for translocation to the Pooke se Bos informal settlement. The area was found to be ideal for doing further research. The community leaders and local municipal councillors were consulted and, since this settlement was located on private land, the permission of the land owner, Mr. Kantie Patel, was obtained.
The MobiSan system has many advantages over existing sanitation systems and, once testing on this prototype is complete, the intention is to introduce the concept in other parts of the city and South Africa.
It is an independent and self contained system and does not affect the groundwater at all. Urine and faeces are stored separately in the Mobisan. The urine is channelled away and the faeces fall into a ventilated chamber. A handle on the outside of the cabin allows the solid waste to be stirred. This speeds up the drying of the excrement. It is then channelled into a second compartment where this drying process is repeated. The end product is dried, pathogen-free manure that can safely be used to fertilise local vegetable gardens.
The Mobisan project promises to provide a more aesthetic and hygienic option for residents in informal settlements until other accommodation can be provided.
There is a strong community involvement because local residents will be employed to oversee the operation. Two researchers from the Dutch consortium will monitor the project for the next six months, with specific reference to the social impact of the project and how the community interacts with it in order to enhance its acceptability in such communities. Their report will be given to the City's Water and Sanitation Department.
“This exciting project has the potential to improve sanitation problems in our informal settlements and also provide employment and we await the outcome of the trials with great interest,” says Dr Bulumko Msengana, Executive Director: Utility Services.
End
ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
TEL: 021 400 3719
Media enquiries:
Lungile Dhlamini
Director: Water and Sanitation
City of Cape Town
Tel: 021 400 4589 Cell: 084 909 9360
