
PRG hosts International Standards Field Trips
Two international workshops hosted in South Africa by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) incorporated visits to sites where research is being conducted by UKZN’s Pollution Research Group (PRG).
The two workshops involved the drafting of International Workshop Agreements (IWA) on Community-Scale Resource-Oriented Sanitation Systems, comprising innovative off the grid sanitation technologies and systems.
The first workshop was the opener of three to construct the standard further. The second IWA featured a standard still in the breaking ground stage.
The meeting was held against the backdrop of the world facing the sanitation challenge of an estimated 2.5 billion people lacking access to safe, clean toilets. One solution is to reinvent the toilet, requiring an international performance standard applicable to individual and community sanitation systems that are self-contained, meet defined discharge requirements, and aim for sustainability. This will advance the development of high quality and durable products and protect consumers and users.
This standardisation features participants from more than 30 countries who met in Durban as part of the draft committee stage in developing a standard for non-sewered sanitation devices. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) supported the workshops. The South Africa team supporting the SABS is from the Water Research Commission and UKZN.
The IWA is the first step toward developing an international standard containing commonly accepted criteria the systems will be measured against. This standard would enhance efforts to manufacture, market and deploy the technology.
The PRG is involved thanks to its research on sustainable sanitation solutions. The field visits included several sites where the PRG is involved.
The first tour included a stop in Umlazi to see the emptying of a Ventilated Improved Pit latrine (VIP) by the municipality. VIPs are no longer being built in favour of Urine Diversion (UD) systems. Sludge is turned into fertiliser with a Latrine Dehydration and Pasteurisation System (LaDePa), which delegates viewed at the Tongaat Wastewater Treatment Works.
eThekwini Municipality staff informed visitors of the extent of their jurisdiction and services, including the Community Ablution Blocks (CAB) installed in informal settlements as temporary facilities. Visitors viewed a CAB in Parkington Road.
Delegates on both tours visited the Isipingo Wastewater Treatment Plant - the site for the Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSF) processing plant commissioned by Biocycle. BSF larvae consume organic waste and manures, and can be processed in a number of ways, including for animal feed or biofuels.
Both groups visited the Newlands-Mashu Research Site which features a whole system from treatment to re-use, using no electricity. The site includes work by scientists from a range of disciplines. The second group visited the PRG’s recently refurbished laboratory on the Howard College campus.
Mr Lerato Magalo of SABS said the intention was to create ISO standards for systems that ensure human health and environmental outcomes, and encourage trade between countries represented. Once drafted, the standard will be open to public review, comments will be examined, and the standard will be reviewed every five years once the technology is in use.
Words and photograph: Christine Cuénod