We live in a world where sanitation service and technology inequity is too prevalent – a world where some 3.5 billion inhabitants (2022) still do not have access to safe sanitation. On top of this come the effects of rapid urbanisation and also the impacts of climate change related events – the hurricanes, tornados, floods, droughts, and so on which are now more frequent and represent a new normal that we must deal with. All of this runs counter to the message of this year’s World Toilet Day, of Sanitation for Peace, and its campaign “Toilets: A Place for Peace”.

While recognising the huge contribution that conventional waterborne sanitation has made to public health and the consequent societal benefits, these now come with a significant financial cost and energy requirement. Rapid urbanisation coupled with climate change puts severe stresses on water availability, bringing added pressure on water resources available for flushing and transporting human wastes.

When we launched the Global Faecal Sludge Management agenda 10 years ago, we always saw it as an interim solution while we searched for the Toilet of the Future that could take away the pressure points of managing faecal sludges while providing new aspirational sanitation technology.

Today, we have the opportunity to transition to new Water Efficient Sanitation Solutions (WESS). These are the next generation of climate resilient, off-grid, innovative and novel technological options for sanitation that consider factors like water and energy resources availability, user preferences, variable user population, and can contribute to revenue generation through beneficiation of waste products or by reducing operational and maintenance costs.

Such interventions can potentially contribute to 50% reduction of water use and supply, huge savings on capital associated with sewers and resource-intensive traditional wastewater treatment systems, the reduction or elimination of pollution pathways, etc. The additional benefit offered by WESS is the potential for a new sustainable sanitation circular economy, which offers opportunities for job creation and social upliftment, as well as industrialisation, localisation, and a new services industry.

Three approaches to WESS can help achieve the desired outcome.

One is for rapid adaption and strengthening of existing regulations. This can be done by identifying opportunities to adapt, change or strengthen existing regulations to ensure that efficient water use and, where possible, off-grid services form part of the sanitation solutions being investigated for new greenfield developments.

Another is to entrench water efficient sanitation solutions in regulation by identifying more extensive changes to existing regulations and guidelines or developing new regulations that entrench WESS as part of the sanitation solutions being investigated for all developments (brownfield and greenfield),

In addition, there is a broader opportunity to entrench water efficient sanitation solutions in sectoral regulation by strengthening regulations, guidelines and standards or developing new regulatory documentation.

Progress is being made, but  the national and global community are yet to harness the full potential of WESS. This is evidenced by a South African example – the Water and Industry Master Plan-2022 report by non-profit Trade and Industry Policies (TIPS), which indicates that new sanitation has the potential to generate an estimated 32,871 jobs that could be supported through delivering improved sanitation to about 3.3 million people across the 10 most water-stressed municipal districts at a total cost of around R16 billion (USD 2 Billion). They also suggested that retrofitting smarter and more sustainable technologies in existing private sector infrastructure (households and businesses) has the potential to create 2.4 million short-term contracts, translating to 25,000 new direct long-term jobs.

I believe that we have the opportunity to be more coercive and bring about change. A future world where sanitation continues to be water intensive and water reliant is a risky option under the consequences of climate change. Water will continue to be best served communally, that is via distribution systems, while sanitation can transition to be completely off the grid. This means ending the flush, the conveyance, the wastewater treatment, and closing the pathway of pollution.

On this World Toilet Day, toilet peace will only be realised through the emergence of WESS technologies which are aspirational and affordable. Let us work together to accelerate the WESS technology platforms towards realising this dignified future for all.