Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) is an organization that has been working on ecological sanitation in Haiti since 2006 and, in 2009, developed the nation's first waste treatment site to treat human faeces using thermophilic co-composting. Since the earthquake in 2010, SOIL has developed a composting design that eliminates pathogens and creates a re-usable nutrient-rich compost. This paper provides an overview of SOIL's thermophilic composting model in a low-resource setting, highlighting the mechanisms of effective pathogen elimination in the system. SOIL's model creates a composting environment in static bins that reaches and maintains temperatures of over 65 °C for more than 1 month. Temperatures are monitored regularly and have been revealed not to be homogeneous throughout the piles. A 2012 collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed rapid pathogen die-off rates within the compost piles, reducing E. coli levels to below detection levels within 14 weeks and rendering Ascaris ova not viable within 8 weeks. In order to increase the efficiency of the process and ensure that this compost is pathogen-free, SOIL will continue to refine the composting design, including piloting a new turning scheme, and identifying a procedure for regular pathogen testing.
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Research Article|
July 02 2013
Thermophilic co-composting of human wastes in Haiti
N. Preneta;
N. Preneta
1Carrefour Rue Chavannes et Rue A. Martial, Port au Prince, Haiti
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S. Kramer;
2Impasse Cala #24, Rue Jean Baptiste, Port au Prince, Haiti
E-mail: skramer@oursoil.org
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B. Magloire;
B. Magloire
39 Rue Charlemagne Peralte, Delmas 41, Port au Prince, Haiti
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J. M. Noel
J. M. Noel
4Delmas 33 Prolonge, Petit Place Cazeau, 2eme Cite #D-20
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Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development (2013) 3 (4): 649–654.
Article history
Received:
November 12 2012
Accepted:
April 16 2013
Citation
N. Preneta, S. Kramer, B. Magloire, J. M. Noel; Thermophilic co-composting of human wastes in Haiti. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 1 December 2013; 3 (4): 649–654. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2013.145
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