Toilet technology flipbook

Do you know the ins and outs of designing low-cost toilets?  What sort of pit should you construct?  What latrine slab do you need?  And what about the structure that houses the latrine?

Find out about the advantages and disadvantages of a range of latrine technologies, and which ones can be used together, by selecting different options on our interactive low cost toilet technology flipbook.

You need Adobe Flash installed to view the flipbook.

This resource was based on a publication called Low-cost toilet options,which was put together by Social Marketing for Urban Sanitation, aresearch project funded by the British Government's Department forInternational Development, to help house owners in low-income urbancommunities choose an appropriate low-cost toilet. The drawings wereproduced by the Water Engineering Development Centre (WEDC).

When a correct combination of elements is chosen, the items will go green and a total cost will appear in the bottom right hand corner. Please note that the components of the raised Ecological sanitation (Eco-san) toilet cannot be mixed and matched as other parts can. The structure, slab and vault must all be specifically Eco-san parts.

Lower cost composting latrine options can be achieved by using two pits. Having two pits allows the second pit to be used once the first has been filled. After a certain amount of time (usually about 1-2 years) the original pit can be opened up and the waste can be removed and used as fertilizer.

These technologies are common in all the countries where WaterAid works, but there are many more options, many of them cheaper. Look out for future updates, as we will be updating the flipbook to reflect more of these.

Please note that while WaterAid supports communities to gain access to the most appropriate technology for them, it does not fund all of the costs involved. The household is expected to provide much of the material and labor required to build the toilet.

Download the full publication Low-cost toilet options
(PDF 1.3MB)

When the catalogue was compiled, the exchange rate for Tanzanian Shillings (Tsh) was:

Tsh 1105 = $1 (USD)
Tsh 2000 = £1 (British Pound)