Bauchi State plans to establish a faecal sludge treatment plant to effectively manage and convert solid waste into useful energy for domestic use.
The revelation was made by Alhaji Bala Zailani, the Director of Sanitation and Hygiene at the State Agency for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RUWASSA), during a recently concluded validation workshop for toilet design organized by WaterAid in partnership with stakeholders.
Zailani explained that the newly designed and adopted user-centred public toilets would generate enough solid waste to support the proposed fecal sludge treatment plant, expected to commence operations next year with support from UNICEF.
He stated, “The plant will serve several purposes, such as generating energy in the form of gas for domestic use and fertilizer for agricultural purposes, especially now that modern fertilizer is beyond the reach of the common man.”
Zailani advised Toilet Business Operators (TBOs) present at the workshop to seize this opportunity by investing in the renovation and upgrading of existing dilapidated toilets and undertaking the construction of newly adopted ones to enhance their economic well-being.
He highlighted, “In the past, you had to pay to evacuate solid waste from your toilets, but once this plant comes on board, the outfits will buy it from you, and certainly, this will boost your income.”
In his contribution, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabo Umar, the Bauchi State Chairman of Toilet Business Operators (TBOs), mentioned that the gas produced from the plant would reduce his members’ overhead costs as they would no longer solely rely on electricity.
Kabo, who appealed to the state government for financial assistance to improve their business, also urged more people, especially women, to invest in toilet business to help the government achieve the goal of ending open defecation across Bauchi State.
. TheWitness
