1.1 KiB
Sanitation When Plumbing Fails
More people die after a disaster from sanitation failures than from the event itself. This is the least glamorous preparation and close to the most important.
The twin-bucket system
Use two buckets: one for liquid waste, one for solid. Separating them is the whole trick — mixed waste is what produces the smell and the pathogen load.
Line the solid bucket with a heavy bag and cover each use with a scoop of an absorbent carbon material: sawdust, peat moss, coconut coir, or shredded paper. Seal and remove the bag when it is roughly two-thirds full.
Siting a latrine
If you must dig, place a latrine at least 200 feet (60 meters) from any water source, and downhill from it. Dig it at least 6 inches deep, cover after each use, and do not site it anywhere water pools after rain.
Handwashing
A tippy-tap — a jug on a string with a foot lever — uses a fraction of the water of pouring and is the single highest-value sanitation build. Soap and running water beat hand sanitizer against the organisms that matter here.