WHAT
Flush toilets contaminate drinking water to transport our waste and we spend energy and resources on cleaning it afterwards. This system makes very little sense in the 21st century and the ecological society we’re trying to build. Especially when 4.2 billion people globally do not have safely managed sanitation services. Toilets have undergone many changes since their appearance five thousand years ago. But how will sanitation evolve from the current flush toilet system?

This research study aims to develop an understanding if ecological sanitation systems have the potential to contribute to a more sustainable waste management system in Norway by safely reusing excreta in agriculture and how it can be integrated in urban areas.

WHY
During the summer of 2022, Luxembourg my country of birth experienced a drought of eight weeks. Due to the drought my household had to switch to municipal water as our rainwater tank quickly emptied which we use for flushing and cleaning cloths. To make my household less dependable on municipal water during extended periods of drought I made a compost toilet. During personal use I got to experience the benefits of this sanitation system.

I quickly realized that Norway could also benefit from an ecologic sanitation as flush toilets account for 40% of household water consumption in Norwegian municipalities. In 2014, Norwegian municipalities spent more than 400 million NOK on electricity for water and sewage. This represented more than one-tenth of the total electricity consumption of the municipalities. Due to the degrading pipeline network, on average, 30 % of the water leaks out before it reaches the consumer. In addition, climate change will increase the risk of damage to pipelines in the future.

Replacing flush toilets with an ecologic sanitation alternative would enable Norwegians to save on their water bill, and all the downstream benefits including not creating polluted water that must be treated. But could a whole city switch to ecological sanitation toilets?

HOW
Through academic articles, online research, and qualitative interviewing I collected information on three types of ecological sanitation: compost toilets, vacuum toilets, and incinerating toilets. In addition, waste treatment, agriculture, water management and political aspects related to the topic of sanitation were explored and visualized in a giga map using the stocks and flows method of Donella Meadows and the processor mapping technique. Throughout the project I collaborated with Petter D. Jenssen, a professor at the department of environmental science and nature management at NMBU who provided me with academic articles and field research. Petter D. Jenssen and interviewees provided feedback during the project to correct content where necessary.

The ZIP analysis and the 12 leverage points from Donella Meadows helped to identify intervention areas in the map and rank them based on what hierarchy the interventions would influence the system. Finally, the interventions were illustrated to showcase the solution.