Portable Sanitation Association International

Association Insight October 18 2017

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W EEKLY EDITION OCT 18, 2017 The Younger Generation Fights For Global Sanitation ...continued A youth competition that provides solutions for sustainable development goals honors a portable sanitation proposal as a top 5 finalist In this proposal, the group highlights how most of those at the "base of the pyramid" – or those of the lowest economic status in the Philippines – practice open defecation in fields, bushes, and seashores, which leads to numerous health a nd environmental risks. Environmentally, open defecation has had a direct impact on Lake Laguna, the largest body of freshwater in the Philippines. This lake is often referred to as "the world's largest septic tank" due to the high levels of domestic waste that make their way into the body of water from nearby communities. Health risks reached a peak in 2008 when the Laguna province faced an outbreak of typhoid fever due to the lack of proper sanitation. The proposal states how "an estimated 50,000 househol ds throughout the province still have no access to proper sanitation – the same number of families who openly defecate." To help eliminate this practice, Team SAVE has proposed that households should receive a portable toilet bundled with their water servi ce connection. Their idea would require a partnership between water supply companies and the sanitation services providers and would be piloted in the Laguna province. As Laguna Water is a water supply company itself, the employees who submitted the idea were able to highlight the precise systems they would use to make this proposal a reality. To specifically target base of the pyramid (BOP) households, the water supply company would bundle a water service connection with a portable toilet for certain cus tomers who fit the appropriate household income criteria. "The toilets [would] have a collection system to ensure proper disposal and treatment of household waste in a wastewater treatment facility" (as shown in Figure 1 on the right). The proposal also highlights the importance of testing the system, using the Laguna province as a pilot. They would select 20 households as trial participants, using one portable restroom operator for one month, and a second portable restroom operator for the following mont h. They would use consumer feedback to evaluate " customer experience, cost - to - serve (capital expenditure and operational expense), and technology reliability." This pilot launch would "stress - test the utility business model, including validation of the eco nomics of the project." If successful, the next step would be for the water supply company (in this case Laguna Water) to partner with the local government. See the business model outline in Figure 2 on the right. PAGE 10 CONTINUE D ON PAGE 11

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