Defuse the ‘sludge bomb’

Professor Elizabeth Tilley is the co-author of the research in the Journal of Environmental Management ‚Sludge bomb: The impending emptying and treatment crisis in Blantyre, Malawi’.

This report was the initial spark for Toilets for All to contact Elizabeth to find ways how to help start to diffuse the problem. She was very enthusiastic and supported Toilets for All to find the right partners (the local NGO Waste Advisors Malawi and the local Latrine Emptying Association) and projects in Blantyre, Malawi.

Given the focus of Toilets for All on sanitation for schools, the goal was to find a project in this field. Our local partners surveyed different schools and the situation of their latrines across Blantyre. In the end, 8 different schools and one hospital were selected as the ‚sludge bomb’ was close.  The work was distributed to 7 members of local Latrine Emptying Association which emptied a total of 18 m3 of sludge and disposed of them in the official treatment center. This intervention improved the situation of the students and teachers in all these schools substantially, gave some business to the local organizations while at the same time improving the environment.

Discussions have started how to continue the work on sanitation in the schools of Blantyre.