Enabling sanitation services through disruptive technology

How does disruption look in the sanitation sector? Where in the sanitation chain is technology already disrupting? What do we need to scale disruptive technologies that work? These were some questions that the session on “Disruptive Technologies for Universal Safely Managed Sanitation and Hygiene” sought answers for during the Stockholm World Water Week.

Disruptive technology

Disruptive technology in the sanitation sector is not limited to technology with a low price point, serving unserved people, and then using that to change how services are delivered. It goes beyond a market entry strategy and reflects technology that fundamentally results in or demands systemic changes that accelerate sustainable and universal service provision. Therefore, disruptive technologies go hand in hand with disruptive rules and policies and can serve as turning points that transform sanitation service delivery. Examples from the session of emerging and scaling technologies that have the potential to disrupt the sanitation chain include the PuPu pump, real-time monitoring of faecal sludge collection and transportation, the Faecal Sludge Snap App and Waste to Value faecal sludge treatment plants.

Creating a disruptive environment

While technology is important, it is not a silver bullet by itself. The enabling environment i.e. rules, policies, norms and regulations, mandates, markets, partnerships and capacity are crucial for technologies to scale. Changing the enabling environment can create windows of opportunities for innovations to thrive. Similarly, disruptive technologies may foster changes in the enabling environment. Therefore, for disruptive technologies to scale and increase their impact, they require an environment that is flexible and adaptive to change. Such an enabling environment manifests in innovative approaches to achieve universal sanitation service delivery, such as citywide inclusive sanitation (CWIS).

Stakeholders operationalize the enabling environment. Therefore, to achieve scaling, all stakeholders including funders, researchers, politicians, technical practitioners, private sector and targeted users have a role to play. Their capacity to fulfil their respective roles and responsibilities while maintaining productive partnerships is essential for technologies to move beyond the laboratory and achieve scale.

About the session
This was a main session at the Stockholm World Water Week 2023 on Thursday 24th August 2023. It was convened by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Eawag, Freaklabs, Practica and the World Bank Group. Dr. Linda Strande, Mr. Miguel Vargas-Ramirez and Mr. Brian Arbogast organized/conceived of the session and it was it was co-moderated by Dr. George Wainaina (onsite) and Ms. Palesa Mokorosi (online).