Dear JKMakowka,

Thank you so much for answering my call so quickly, I really appreciate.

Actually, I need to make some clarifications on the situation:

The refugees we want to target are not leaving in camps, but in informal settlements, which are very dispersed.
An informal settlement consists in tents ( between 2 and 5 - knowing that there is between 10 and 15 persons per tent) randomly installed, most of the time close to an agricultural field, where they are employed.

These refugees have an extremely limited access to water ( sometimes only few days in a month). Consequently, toilets - which are supposed to be flushed with water- are not. Most of the time, people use these toilets without water, resulting in an accumulation of excrements inside the latrine. Otherwise, open defecation became a common practise.

This is why, considering these facts, I thought that the best solution would be to provide a system of toilets not conceived to use water, since it is much more cleaner and decreases the risk of diseases.
One of the advantages is that they will be able to save a considerable amount of water and use it for other purpose (mainly washing).

In order not to be overloaded, what is the maximum number of persons that could use the toilet per day?

Dear Neige, thanks for posting this very important question.

First off, have you thought about the acceptability in regards to anal washers, which I assume is the common cleaning behavior in Lebanon/Syria? While not impossible, it adds a further layer of complexity if you mix dry toilets with anal washing behavior... Or are people fine with dry methods using toilet paper (and how is the supply situation regarding toilet paper?).

Personally I don't think UDDTs are the appropriate solution for refugee camps, mainly because:
1. A refugee camp is a difficult setting to change behavior, and people are already stressed a lot and might not want to deal with unfamiliar sanitation systems. And a UDDT that is not used properly will quickly turn into a big nuisance for the users and the maintenance crews.

2. Normally you have high number of users per toilet, but UDDTs need time to dry the feces. Overloaded UDDTs start to smell badly and attract fly breeding. Especially the latter is a big issue in a camp setting.

My suggestion would be to look into low flush pans (maybe SaTo?) with a container based storage of feces that is emptied on a bi-weekly basis or so. These need to be either fly proof, or be pre-filled with these blue "chemical-toilet" liquids (but note that these make treatment and disposal more complicated). In addition it makes a lot of sense to install urinals for men and collect and dispose the urine separately.

Dear Colleagues,

I am working with an NGO in Lebanon, where the situation for refugees is dramatic.

At the beginning of the crisis, basic emergency toilets have been distributed. These latrines consist in a hole in the ground and a steel shelter. Water is used to flush and drain waste. However, because of the lack of maintenance and the lack of water, there is most of the time an accumulation of excrements in the toilets.
Moreover, toilets are very close to tents (between 2 and 4 meters), causing a health danger especially when it rains - it is furthermore important to stress that tents are not equipped of trench to evacuate water and avoid floods. Another danger is that the settlements are bordering the cultivated fields, which is damaging agricultural soils, causing pollution and field contamination.

We believe that dry toilets – particularly Urine-diverting Dry Toilet -are the best solution to respond to this situation. I am looking for any advices.

Considering that the infrastructure of the distributed toilets could be reused (Shelter + ceramic slabs) would anyone have an approximate idea of the cost to make a dry toilet?

What are the materials needed for the construction of a dry toilets?

Thank you in advance for any help you could provide.