Dear seecorp (your real name?),

Thanks for making this detailed posting about your work. This is very interesting. It is certainly a very worthwhile cause to look into what to do with full pits or septic tanks!

Your posting could be the start of an interesting debate. There are many, me included, who are extremely doubtful of the efficacy of any such "enzymatic additives". My opinion is that they don't work.

Recently, the well-known WRC in South Africa did a big study on this as well. They have published their results in the excellent publication "What happens when the pit is full". See here: www.susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=1243

I copy a statement from this publication:

6. Magic Muthis. Can biological additives make the problem go away?

In South Africa there are various outfits that sell biological pit additives. The vendors claim that
adding these to the pit reduces the contents and, by thus reducing the filling up rate, extends the
'life of the pit'. While theoretical evidence for their efficacy is at best scarce, vendors claim that
experience in the field has proven their worth. To test this claim more scientifically, PID (in
conjunction with UKZN and others), conducted two series of tests on around fifteen of the most
common products on the market. They found that there was no evidence these additives have
any effect. Indeed they were often outperformed by controls. Even were the products (which
have largely been developed to deal with animal manure and not human waste) effective, cost
considerations would render them an inappropriate investment. Poor householders, with little
cash to spare, should be warned accordingly. Interestingly, one by-product of the testing is the
suggestion that adding water to pits can actually slow the rate that pits fill.

+++++++++

More details are in the above-named publication.

What do you, or others, say about this?

Regards,
Elisabeth

We are a South African based company, Amka Organico. We manufacture biodegradable products for the treatment of sewage facilities, septic tanks and pit latrines.

We have also taken the initiative to establish NGO's as to allow sustainable long term solutions for South Africa and Africa. Our team met with Mr Jack Sim in Singapore last month and we are now officially affiliated to the World Toilet Organisation. We have SAWASA - South African Water and Sanitation Academy headed by Mr Trevor Mulaudzi and also AWASA - Africa Water and Sanitation Academy. Hopefully within the next few months we will be on our way in empowering communities with skills and education. At present activities are taking place in many schools and hopefully once the academy is up and running, we will have certified plumbing courses, community sanitation awareness education, toilet construction just to name a few.

On the Organico department, we have a network within South Africa in all regions distributing Super Septic. We have been able to create employment. We have been able to educate people with regards to the environment. We have allowed pits to be free from flies and odour. Super Septic also liquefies the sludge which would mean that the normal 4 to 5 year cycle for a pit would increase to many more years as we reducing the levels of the pit all the time.

Many are aware of enzyme based products and we do require documented evidence and we are busy with that.

At present, we have reopened a few full pits and have began dosing them with Super Septic as to prove that we are able to reduce the sludge. Once we have achieved this, I will post the final results in this forum.

A new study shows that infection with hookworm, ringworm, and similar parasites can be dramatically reduced with a sanitation program.

The researchers found even installing simple latrines can cut infection rates in half.We say that if one has a simple latrine that is not treated with harmful chemicals and treated with a product that works in natures way but faster, we will be able to have healthy latrines which in turn allows us to have healthy people within communities.