This will, like Elisabeth said, add a very unpleasant maintenance moment, which the longer it is left alone the worse it will get ... who will be sent in to repair ?

Dear Charles,

I really like how you've thought "out of the box" to come up with a different method to eliminate trash in pit latrines.
For the benefit of others, this is the sketch which you have proposed:



I see however two fundamental problems with this concept:

1. The mesh that is meant to catch trash will most likely also catch feces and become rather filthy and smelly soon.
2. The reason why users throw trash in pit latrines is because the pit is deep and does not need to be emptied for years (they hope) or perhaps even never if the full pit is abandoned. With your method, they would suddenly have to emtpy out that trash collection basket. In that case, they might as well put their trash into a normal trash bin which they seem not to do. So what incentive should they have to use your system instead of dumping it into a deep pit ( = out of sight, out of mind)?

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Elisabeth,

Thanks for the update. I have gone through the attached thread.

My designed is aimed at eliminating the entry of trash into the pit latrines by placing a PVC mesh between the drop hole and the sludge pit. I hope the design can work best with the traditional pit latrine. My target is peri-urban settings where there is usually limited access to water.

For details, see a design attached

Charles Chirwa

Dear Charles,

Welcome to the forum! That's a very good idea to first see what others have already come up with to solve the issue of trash accumulation in pit latrines (to make pit emptying easier).

I have moved your thread into this sub-category here and also modified the title of the thread to make it more self-explanatory. If you look around in this sub-category, you will see a few other threads where people have talked about this issue in the past (some people call it "fishing for trash"), see e.g. here:

forum.susana.org/forum/categories/99-fae...pit-latrines-at-wedc

forum.susana.org/forum/categories/99-fae...sa-now-field-testing

forum.susana.org/forum/categories/99-fae...-example-from-malawi

forum.susana.org/forum/categories/99-fae...ilar-tanks-new-video

If any of those threads are interesting for you, you could also ask people more about their work in those threads.

Or if your idea is quite different, please share it.

I think in general there are always two aspects to consider:

1. How can we stop people from putting trash into their pit latrines in the first place (two options: offer alternative solid waste disposal options; or move to pour flush latrine - this seems to be a route taken in South Africa...)
2. If the trash is already in the pit, then how can it be taken out, either together with the rest of the fecal sludge (i.e. pumped) or separately, i.e. "fished out" (depends on the size of the trash, I guess).

Regards,
Elisabeth

My name is Charles Chirwa, a Masters student with Mzuzu university Malawi.

I am currently working on a project relating to feacal sludge charactristics. In the course of my research, the issue of trash (non-degradable materials) remains the major challenge. From the same research work, I am thinking of a better design which can help eliminate the issue. Currently, I have two possible designs which am hoping can help elimitate the issue of trash accumulation in pit-latrines.

To avoid pledgerism, I first want to find out from group members if there is anyone working on the same. I am ready to share the designs after hearing from the group.

Charles Chirwa
Mzuzu University, Malawi.