How safe are the mobile toilets?

Jul 13, 2013

Gone are the days when people would walk several kilometres to find a latrine or nearby bush to ease themselves.

By Andrew Masinde

Gone are the days when people would walk several kilometres to find a latrine or nearby bush to ease themselves.

Today, with technological advancement, there has been development of mobile toilets, often referred to as portable toilets or potties.

These are portable enclosures, which are used as temporary toilets for construction sites or large gatherings because of their durability and convenience.

Mateeka Tumwesigye, the regional marketing executive of Crest Tanks, a company that makes mobile toilets, the facilities are made with mobilet, a highly hygienic substance that is easy to clean.

The slab comprises moulded-in raised footrests that slope inwards into the drop-hole to facilitate urine drainage.

“Given the excellent ventilation, flies, insects and foul odour are eliminated.

“There is a total of eight ventilations on each side to permit air circulation from the outside environment,” he says. “They are reusable and transferable within a day, which stops people from using the bush because of getting the pit full.”

He adds that mobile toilets are light-weight, eliminating chances of the latrines collapsing.

Though more expensive than a standard permanent outdoor latrine, they can be easily cleaned, disinfected, and deodorised regularly.

An average portable toilet is able to hold sewage for 10 people during the course of a 40 hour work week before the hold reaches unsanitary conditions, and they have a lifespan of 20 years, Tumwesigye says.

The downside

Because portable toilets are not conformed to the direction of a plumb line and keep the waste inside, the sewage may stink, especially when not cleaned properly, when over-used or not emptied after an event. .

The senior principal environment health officer, David Ibuyat, says portable toilets must be maintained in a clean and sanitary manner to prevent the spread of disease, the breeding of disease-carrying vectors and offensive odour.

“The waste is supposed to be discharged into storm sewers, deposited on the ground surface, or allowed to flow. You should not drain the sewage into water. Portable toilets must be pumped weekly or more often as necessary.”

The toilets must be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly, including the inner walls, seats and lids, with pumping and chemical additives.

“Unhygienic toilets can be breeding grounds for worms and organisms that can cause kidney failure, constipation and incontinence to the users,” Ibuyat explains.

 

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