Untreated sewage contaminates water, affecting both environment and human life, says Rohini Nilekani, Founder-Chairperson, Arghyam. She argues for a new paradigm of ecological sanitation which is both financially sound and environmentally sustainable.
It is supposedly the 100th anniversary of the modern lavatory, though there is some dispute about when the modern flush toilet as we now know it was invented and by whom. Nevertheless, for the billions around the world who take their daily convenience for granted and for the remaining billions who have no access to modern sanitation, it is a good opportunity to sit and think about the future of human waste, of which millions of tonnes is generated every day.
Is the flush toilet a good thing for us all, knowing that it uses a lot of water to carry very little waste, to a place mercifully out of sight and out of mind? Depending on where you are reading this, your answer might well be different. Read more