Across the world, there have been great technological and lifestyle advancements; however, in spite of this great progress, approximately 40 % of the world’s population is still deprived of proper sanitation facilities.

The Indian Government has been working hard to build proper sanitation infrastructure to give India an ODF status.

But, to sustain the sanitation infrastructure, it is important to adopt proper practices for effective faecal sludge management and build awareness among the masses to maintain sanitation and hygiene for good health.

The right sanitation measures, when combined with good hygiene, lead to improved health conditions, facilitating social and economic development.

To achieve this, best practices in faecal sludge management will need to be adopted for effectively maintaining the sanitation infrastructure.

In India, studies indicate that nearly 67% of urban toilets are not connected to a sewer system.

This would mean that most of the fecal matter is treated in septic tanks, biodigesters, bio-toilets, or leach pits, among other methods.

Improper septic tank treatment allows disease-causing pathogens to spread, negatively impacting the community’s health.

Faecal sludge management is further complicated in septic tanks, as households often use modern chemical-based cleaning products that impact faecal degradation performance and can lead to septic tank failures.

In most cases of septic tank failure, the methods adopted for septic tank cleaning are to resort to pumping out the sludge from septic tanks or use manual scavengers.

Manual scavenging was banned over 25 years ago, but is still practiced across the country.

Recently, the TATA Trust, with their recent initiative, Mission Garima, has brought to light the working conditions of sanitation workers engaged in manual scavenging.

It is shameful that even 25 years after our Nation banned manual scavenging, every 5 days, a manual scavenger dies cleaning our sewage systems.

These deaths are especially senseless since there are safe and innovative biotechnology solutions for septic tank treatment.

Efficient measures for septic tank cleaning and faecal sludge management, with the availability of good sanitation infrastructure, will help create a sustainable environment.

To support this, we at Organica Biotech offer products that provide appropriate solutions to all issues related to septic tank treatment, maintaining bio-toilets, and more.

The different products available are:

• Bioclean® Septic: This septic tank treatment product is a robust formulation of bacteria that degrades faecal matter and minimizes sludge. This simple-to-use product effectively aids in septic tank cleaning and is a solution to all your problems.
• Bioclean® Septic Plus: This is a 5X power advanced septic tank cleaner that effectively degrades food & faecal matter.

Apart from septic tank treatment products, we at Organica Biotech also offer complete solutions through our Bioclean Biotoilet + Biodigester, which are portable and available in different sizes.

In order to maintain these bio-toilets effectively, the use of Bioclean BD is recommended.

• Bioclean® BD: This product is specially designed for degrading faecal matter in bio-toilets and biodigesters.

Also read:

• How Does a Biodigester Septic Tank Work: All You Need to Know
• How Additives Help In Maintaining Good Septic Tank Health

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), less than 50% of urban sewerage systems work efficiently in India.

Poor sanitation facilities combined with a lack of faecal sludge and septage management are the major causes of water pollution in India.

It has caused havoc in the form of diseases like diarrhoea, agricultural contamination, and environmental degradation.

While sewerage systems with underground pipelines, pumping stations, and treatment facilities are available in large cities, they have yet to reach more than 7,000 small towns in India.

All these towns without proper sewerage networks rely on septic tanks for treating faecal matter.

Thus, faecal sludge containing human excreta, solid waste, and water remains in the septic tank or pit latrines, and poor maintenance leads to malfunction.

The overflow issues, along with unsafe removal and inadequate disposal, have plagued places with unhygienic open spaces.

It often leads to groundwater pollution, resulting in public health crises and environmental impacts.

Thus, the general objective of proper faecal sludge and septage management is to protect public health and the environment from the disturbance and effects of faecal material.

More specifically, the process ensures the separation of solid and liquid matter, proper treatment, and safe disposal.

There are several methods employed to undertake faecal sludge and septage management in cities across India.

Manual Scavenging

Manual scavenging remains prevalent despite the ban on the practice.

The manual scavengers step into the tank or pit to remove and empty the solidified sludge.

This can lead to multiple health risks for the individual.

Also, it can cause public health hazards as sludge is emptied near residences, lanes, and surface drains.

According to the Manual Scavenging Act, waste emptying should be done using mechanical means only.

Despite such regulations in place, accidents and deaths due to manual scavenging in Indian cities occur frequently.

Treatment of Sludge Using Suctioning

Withdrawal of sludge using suction machines or pumps, and its transportation and disposal, is another method.

Desludging is done through suction-based vacuum trucks of varying capacities in India.

However, given the increasing population and the amount of waste generated in cities, it presents various challenges.

It is only used when septic tank failure occurs, or when soak pits are full or overflowing.

Mechanical emptying using vacuum trucks is difficult in settlements where the streets are narrow and inaccessible, as large trucks cannot reach them.

Best practices are usually not followed in the transportation and disposal process.

Indiscriminate disposal of sludge occurs due to the long distance between the septic tank location and the designated disposal site.

Traffic further aggravates the problem.

Children are at a greater risk of coming into contact with unsafely disposed of waste on lanes and grounds.

It is an expensive process that most people living in India cannot afford.

Treatment Of Sludge Onsite

In-situ treatment is also employed, where sludge is treated on-site using various mechanisms.

The onsite treatment enables the treatment of sludge within the premises where it is generated.

Generally, septic tank systems, dispersion trenches, and soak pit systems are the conventional methods used.

There is no transportation cost involved.

Besides, it is an easy and hassle-free way to handle faecal sludge and manage septage.

But there are challenges in the onsite treatment of faecal sludge.

Due to the increasing population, the extensive amount of waste generated exceeds the capacity of septic tanks and other similar systems.

Therefore, innovative solutions must be employed to overcome this challenge.

There are septic additives or biological treatment options that can boost the performance of the sludge treatment process at the source where sludge is created.

The advanced formulation, consisting of a microbial community, can be easily added to the septic tank or pit latrines at the location.

The microbes degrade the organic sludge waste.

Organica Biotech is one of the leading companies with an excellent range of solutions for septic tank problems.

Bioclean Septic and Bioclean Septic Plus are special microbial solutions for septic tank treatment that are capable of degrading organic waste.

It minimizes the sludge buildup and prevents choke-ups.

The septic tank cleaner helps in avoiding frequent pump-outs.

Furthermore, it can put an end to manual scavenging as well.

Using Bioclean Septic and Bioclean Septic Plus can help in achieving faecal sludge and septage treatment objectives.

According to an estimate, 1.1 billion people all across the globe practice open defecation.

India accounts for about 59% of the 1.1 billion people.

One of the primary reasons for the poor sanitation situation is the lack of access to toilets.

Approximately 40% of the world’s population lacks access to safe toilets.

As a result, human waste is left untreated in the open land areas, which can spread diseases like cholera and diarrhoea.

The monsoon season exacerbates the problem by washing waste down the drain, which then reaches nearby water resources.

The consumption and use of polluted water causes innumerable diseases and even deaths.

Moreover, it affects the aesthetics of the place and also threatens the environment.

This is a highly alarming situation that requires urgent attention.

Rural areas are most severely affected due to a lack of sanitation facilities, sewage treatment plants, and other basic infrastructure.

People often avoid building toilets due to poor economic conditions.

The government of India has initiated the Swachh Bharat Mission, aimed at building toilets and addressing the sanitation problem in India.

Cement toilets and Pit latrines are productive; however, they are not feasible and sustainable in the long run.

It has been observed that such solutions are expensive, require large spaces, emanate foul odours, and may also lead to cockroach and mosquito infestations.

Additionally, there is a risk of groundwater pollution.

Therefore, cost-effective and innovative solutions must be implemented.

Bio toilets can be a game-changer, and they can transform the sanitation landscape in a big way.

Bio Toilets

Bio toilets can be understood as toilets that use biological methods to degrade the waste or human excreta without the use of water.

The process includes the use of powerful microbes that break down and degrade human waste aggressively.

A digester tank is used for this purpose, and the microbes used are anaerobic.

The by-products released are methane (which can be used as an energy source) and water.

The treated waste is thereafter disposed of.

Some of the features of bio toilets include no electricity, water conservation, elimination of bad odours, no bug infestations, no system clogging issues, and minimal maintenance requirements.

Additionally, it is easy to use, cost-effective, safe, and hygienic.

In rural areas, bio-toilets are the most suitable replacement for traditional toilets, as water scarcity and the lack of electricity are prevalent issues in many parts of India.

Bio toilets can be installed in schools, public spaces, trains, temporary living structures such as construction sites, and other locations, as they are also economical.

Organica Biotech’s Bioclean Bio toilet products and solutions can help address the open defecation crisis in India and worldwide.

The award-winning solutions have won appreciation and recognition in the Swachhathon Awards organized by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India.

It has also been recommended by the Mashelkar Committee as one of the only sustainable solutions to meet sanitation goals in India.

• Bioclean – Biodigester+Bio-toilet – The powerful microbes accelerate faecal and septage decomposition and are highly effective.
• Bioclean Biodigester – It is mobile, flexible, easy to transport, and requires a one-time installation. The three-part compartmentalization helps to degrade the waste completely before it exits the biodigester.
• Bioclean Bio-toilets – Made of Unplasticized Poly Vinyl Chloride (UPVC), they are easy to install, durable, and require no maintenance. It provides excellent insulation from sound, heat, cold, rust, and rain, and therefore has a shelf-life of up to 20 years.
• Bioclean BD – It is highly capable of degrading waste in septic tanks, Biodigester tanks, soak pits, pit latrines, twin pit latrines, and mobile toilet vans under any condition. It curbs foul odour and combats pathogens.

The technology is a result of over thirty-five years of research. Over the years, we have accumulated 3000+ selected strains of bacteria.

Each of the products developed may contain up to 76 different strains of bacteria.

Biodiversity gives our product unique effectiveness in different conditions.

The microbial cultures in the bio-digester tank can effectively resolve the problem of treating human faeces.

This would ultimately reduce the contamination of water bodies and the resulting diseases.

Bioclean Bio Toilet is a safe and eco-friendly solution for treating human waste, which can help address the poor sanitation situation in India and around the world.

Also read:

• Bio-toilets Transforming the Indian Sanitation
• BioToilet – For Open Defecation Free India
• Benefits of Waterless Bio-Toilet – A Sustainable Sanitation Solution

Just beneath the surface of Mumbai’s Maximum City veneer lies a festering, overloaded sanitation system.

A fact we are reminded of every year when the monsoons roll along.

While the southwest monsoon itself is a force to contend with, in Mumbai, its effects are exacerbated by the sheer lack of effective and well-managed sanitation in the city.

Closely linked to issues of mismanaged and largely non-existent sanitation are ill-health, rapidly spreading dangerous infectious diseases, and a spike in killer diseases like dengue and diarrhoea.

Water is a haven for a wide variety of viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens.

When stagnant, it poses a unique challenge and threat, and even when flowing (through a badly planned system), it is known to be an unsafe space that is susceptible to becoming a breeding ground for disease and contamination.

The fact of the matter is that the rapid and uncontrolled growth in our metros not only requires an equally rapid growth in public health and sanitation management but also consideration of the impact our sanitation and waste have on the environment around us.

With the onset of the monsoon, there is a significant spike in the emergence of waterborne diseases, including respiratory disorders, infections, leptospirosis, typhoid, jaundice, and hepatitis.

In an ideal world, the notion that prevention is better than a cure would spur us to make improvements year after year, so that we do not find ourselves in a quandary every monsoon.

However, the harsh reality in a city like this, which bears the brunt of the coastal monsoon – averaging 2,200 mm – is that we are woefully underprepared in terms of sanitation.

At the country level, the Swachh Bharat Mission has been committed to ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for all since 2014.

Although over 12 million toilets have been constructed in rural areas, several unaddressed loopholes in the system remain.

Take cities like Mumbai, for example, where 42% of its 12 million people live in slums, where access to toilets and safe sanitation routinely becomes a matter of life and death.

On April 28 this year, two residents of the Saisadan Chawl in Bhandup drowned in a toilet mishap in the toilet block.

A compromised septic tank that was filled beyond its capacity caved, dragging the two individuals down with it and requiring a seven-hour rescue operation before their bodies were retrieved.

According to this report by the Observer Research Foundation, “Nearly 50 lakh residents of the city’s notified slums (slums which existed before the 1995/2000 cut-off date of the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme and therefore eligible for free housing under the scheme) are served by 750-odd community toilet blocks constructed under the World Bank-initiated Slum Sanitation Programme (SSP). These toilets have 26,379 seats, which approximately means one toilet seat to be shared by 190 users, as against the MCGM-accepted WHO norms of one toilet per 50 people. This overwhelming load is reduced by those who use the nearly 30,000-odd free-to-use MHADA toilets, those who can afford to daily use the other pay-and-use facilities, and those who defecate in the open.”

Yes, you read that right. One toilet per 190 citizens. So, is it really a wonder that mishaps like these occur with such regularity?

But that is not all.

The infrastructural inadequacies are only the tip of the iceberg, dragging along the incredible weight of a monstrous disease threat year after year.

Clogged drains, over-polluted waterways, and a mismanaged solid waste disposal system have caused diseases like diarrhoea to claim over 100,000 childrens living in India every year.

20% of the 500,000+ children under five years who lose their lives annually due to severe dehydration caused by diarrhoea are from India.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) place a renewed focus on achieving universal access to safe water and basic sanitation by 2030.

Our current reality is that one in every two Indians still lacks access to adequate sanitation facilities.

Open defecation continues to persist, even in urban areas like Mumbai, due to the sheer load on a system that is cowering under the weight of a burgeoning population.

Our sanitation solutions address the challenges plaguing urban areas in India today and provide solutions for key issues, such as enabling toilets in the smallest spaces and ensuring the shortest possible time for the complete decomposition of toilet waste.

Additionally, they can be applied to existing defunct toilets or installed in areas where none previously existed.

By combining the best of modern biotechnology with scientific solutions that naturally exist in nature, we’ve reevaluated septic tank management and bio-toilets with a keen eye to make them relevant and beneficial to our current reality and context.

The United Nations estimates that by 2050, a quarter of the world’s population could potentially be affected by chronic or recurring shortages of water, while millions will continue to die due to diseases linked with inadequate and unsafe water.

Since 1990, approximately 2.5 billion people have gained access to improved sources of drinking water. Yet, 663 million people remain without.

But perhaps, if we look at the crux of the issue – sanitation – we can slow this disaster in the making.

And maybe even halt it completely?

In India, millions of people do not have access to toilets.

The lack of sanitation infrastructure in rural areas has forced a large population to follow open defecation practices.

This, in turn, has opened up the possibilities of health hazards, causing dangerous diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, and dysentery, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year.

Moreover, human waste in open grounds has led to soil and water contamination and environmental pollution, especially during the monsoon season.

Besides the issues of toilet access and open defecation, different regions in India suffer from water scarcity.

This is another reason people residing in rural areas avoid building or using toilets, compromising the well-being and health of people.

In recent years, special focus has also been given to developing toilets or sanitation facilities that are sustainable and reduce water and energy requirements.

It is in keeping with Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG-7, focused on ensuring environmental sustainability by the United Nations.

Also, the government of India, with its Swachh Bharat Mission, is supporting all means to make India clean and defecation-free in the future.

Thus, there is an urgent need for innovative sanitation solutions that should be able to solve the human waste disposal challenge, be affordable, easy to install, easy to operate, and support water conservation and hygiene.

Bio-toilets have emerged as one of the most effective and sustainable sanitation solutions in India.

How Do Bio Toilets Work?

A bio-toilet contains a tank fitted below the commode or inside a pit underneath the ground.

This bio-digester tank is loaded with an anaerobic bacterial population known as psychotropic bacteria.

Known for their survival in extreme temperatures, bacteria act on the human waste received from the toilet and feed on it.

The tank typically has three chambers that allow inoculum bacteria to break down the waste flowing from one chamber to another, gradually and aggressively.

In the last chamber, human waste is converted into by-products such as methane, carbon dioxide, and water.

Methane gas produced can be used for electricity generation, lighting lamps, or firing up gas stoves, whereas the by-products can be utilized as manure for gardening or farming.

As bacteria completely digest waste, desludging is not required.

This helps in avoiding the collection and transportation of waste from one place to another, as waste is treated at the source.

Advantages of Using Bio Toilets

In a country like India, with its diverse terrains and topography, conventional toilets are often unsuitable for use in flood-prone, mountainous, and snow-filled regions.

However, bio-toilets can be easily used at such places as they can be easily installed.

Additionally, it can be used in slum areas, schools, tourist destinations, construction sites, and other facilities.

Other advantages of using bio-toilets include the following:

• Supports water conservation as no water is required
• Safe and Hygienic
• Low Maintenance
• Low Installation Cost
• No Odour
• No Pest Infestation
• Suitable for all climatic conditions
• Economical
• Easy to Operate
• Eco-friendly

Other sanitation solutions, such as pit latrines used in India, need frequent removal of waste.

The transportation and treatment processes consume energy.

Moreover, conventional toilets and connected septic tanks or sewage systems also suffer from odour and leakage issues due to waste overload.

The malfunctioning toilets can also lead to leakage, causing water and environmental pollution.

Bio toilets fix all these issues by providing eco-friendly human waste disposal and help in avoiding manual scavenging or solid waste removal practices.

As you can see, bio-toilets have huge scope for scalability and can be used anywhere and everywhere.

It is a perfect sustainable sanitation solution for India and other countries with poor sanitation.

Organica Biotech is a leading company offering advanced sanitation solutions.

Bioclean Bio-toilet & Bio-digester is an award-winning solution that has garnered appreciation and recognition in the Swachhathon Awards, organized by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India.

It has also been approved by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University (SNDT)  and recommended by the Mashelkar Committee as one of the only sustainable solutions to meet sanitation goals in India.

Bioclean BD is another product from Organica Biotech that facilitates effective waste degradation within a biodigester tank under any climatic condition.

It is also known for curbing foul odours and fighting pathogens.

For more information about Organica Biotech’s bio toilets and their features, please contact us at your convenience.

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