Fecal Sludge Management

The storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe reuse or disposal of fecal sludge, the waste that accumulates in onsite sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks that are not connected to a sewer network, commonly abbreviated FSM. Because roughly a third of the world's population relies on onsite sanitation, and fewer than 10 percent of urban areas in low income countries are served by conventional sewers, fecal sludge management is central to protecting public health across most of the world, particularly since most fecal sludge in developing regions currently reaches the environment without being treated at all. The management chain runs from collection, whether on a fixed schedule or on demand, through transport by vacuum truck or, in some settings, motorcycle, to treatment at either centralized or smaller decentralized facilities, where the process can recover resources such as biogas, compost and water suitable for irrigation. These services are typically delivered through some combination of government agencies, public utilities and private contractors, and both their coverage and their reliability vary widely from place to place.