The number of people living in informal settlements in Cape Town is expected to increase, with estimations that 53% of all new households over the next 20 years will be informal.
The demand for improved sanitation will continue to grow in the city, providing opportunities for container-based sanitation (CBS) solution providers, to help meet this demand.
The City of Cape Town’s (CCT) Water and Sanitation (W&S) Directorate prioritises the installation of full-flush toilets. Where this is not possible, they provide a range of non-sewered sanitation options including chemical toilets, as well as two CBS options: portable flush toilets (PFTs) and container toilets.
The CCT appoints service providers to supply, deliver and service these toilets, via contracts valued at an estimated R120 million per year (for PFT and container toilets) and ~R115 million per year (for chemical toilets).
As CBS is a relatively new approach to sanitation, GreenCape undertook community focus group sessions to better understand the experience of using the PFTs and container toilets, and how it can be improved. In general, the communities appreciate and accept both options, when full-flush toilets are not available. The PFTs, which are provided to individual households, are considered to be safe alternatives to using shared toilets, especially at night, and are transportable and easy to use, including for disabled people.
There are, however, a number of opportunities to improve on the design and servicing of these CBS solutions, that were raised in the focus group sessions.
At present the excreta from the PFTs and container toilets is taken to a centralised wastewater treatment works, however in future there may be opportunities for solution providers to beneficiate the excreta into valuable products.
To access the full brief, click here.