‘Recognise small-scale sanitation as a viable alternative’

Study reveals findings about small-scale Sewage Treatment Plants

Waste in news on May 14

A round-up of what's new in waste and sanitation 

More than 50% rural households across 5 states are still without toilets

The low performance of these 5 states can prevent India from achieving 100 % toilet coverage by October 2019

6,980 villages in 698 districts will be surveyed under Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018

The survey will be conducted from August 1-31, and top performing states and districts are expected to be awarded on October 2

Can we save Ganga?

The Ganga is getting political attention. What does it take to clean the river? Down To Earth team travels to the most polluted stretch of the …

Swachh Bharat Mission’s progress “very lethargic”: Parliamentary report

Rs 14,088 crore unspent under Swachh Bharat Gramin between April 2017 and May 2018

DMF should look beyond infrastructure

Sanctions under a non-profit trust for the develpoment of mining disrtricts needs to ensure adequate resources to improve the quality of and …

"Swachh Bharat Mission echoes sterilisation campaign of 70s"

A new book exposes the lacunae in the way India manages its waste and recommends changes in practices and attitudes toward waste. Robin Jeffrey …

Will Africa meet its sanitation target?

African countries, although serious about safe and total sanitation, are likely to miss Sustainable Development Goals by 2030

East Africa 77 years behind schedule for achieving universal access to sanitation

At current rate of progress, universal access to safely-managed sanitation, aim of the Sustainable Development Goals won’t be achieved …

Sub-Saharan Africans spend 60 hours a year finding a private place to defecate

The state of sanitation is deteriorating in Sub-Saharan Africa, with countries switching from open defecation to unsafe toilets

This is what Africa can learn from India's sanitation story

Despite the limitations of the Indian model of sanitation, Africa can draw inspiration from its many positive aspects

Rural poor yet to see benefits of improving sanitation in Tanzania

Open defecation has reduced from 20% in 2012 to 5% in 2017 but benefits have largely gone to the rich

Manual scavenging: Non-existent for govt, yet people die 30-ft under ground

The recent deaths of five manual scavengers again raises the question of how far will India let this problem go

In hurry to build 40 toilets a minute, did govt forget about safe sanitation?

CAG reports of Gujarat and Uttarakhand, which are ODF status holders, say many toilets only exist on paper and several are defunct

World will not achieve universal sanitation coverage by 2030: WHO

On the launch of its first global guidelines on sanitation and health, the WHO called for increased investment to reach the goal of toilet for all

Govt must get its hands dirty to rescue manual scavengers

Swachh Bharat Mission will end up perpetuating manual scavenging if the authorities fail to implement right toilet technology and manage the huge …

Upward development trend responsible for rising emission levels

Energy-efficient and sustainable urbanisation can address public health and climate change challenges simultaneously

India’s sanitation economy to double by 2021

It would be worth $62 billion in three years and the credit would go to Swachh Bharat Mission, say speakers at 18th World Toilet Summit

Govt notifies groundwater rules, fails to address major concerns

There’s neither a limit on reusing water extracted by industries, nor is there any clause making them recharge groundwater sources

Building toilets won’t make India open defecation free: World Bank study

The research analysed attitudes of people in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, all of whom had toilets in their houses. Almost half were unwilling …

10 good news we got in 2018

As this year nears its end, here’s a look at stories by Down To Earth that brought some relief to an otherwise climate change-ravaged period

Focus on community sanitary complexes: Standing Committee to govt

In its latest report on the status of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), the Standing Committee on Rural Development said that community …

Despite toilets in place, a quarter of rural population stuck to open defecation

New study on changes in open defecation in rural North India says pace of toilet construction increased under Swachh Bharat Mission, but there …

Reservation in toilets?