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Concept
Human waste
Summary
Human waste (or human excreta) refers to the waste products of the human digestive system, menses, and human metabolism including urine and faeces. As part of a sanitation system that is in place, human waste is collected, transported, treated and disposed of or reused by one method or another, depending on the type of toilet being used, ability by the users to pay for services and other factors. Faecal sludge management is used to deal with fecal matter collected in on-site sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks.
The sanitation systems in place differ vastly around the world, with many people in developing countries having to resort to open defecation where human waste is deposited in the environment, for lack of other options. Improvements in "water, sanitation and hygiene" (WASH) around the world is a key public health issue within international development and is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal 6.
People in developed countries tend to use flush toilets where the human waste is mixed with water and transported to sewage treatment plants.
Children's excreta can be disposed of in diapers and mixed with municipal solid waste. Diapers are also sometimes dumped directly into the environment, leading to public health risks.
The term "human waste" is used in the general media to mean several things, such as sewage, sewage sludge, blackwater - in fact anything that may contain some human faeces. In the stricter sense of the term, human waste is in fact human excreta, i.e. urine and faeces, with or without water being mixed in. For example, dry toilets collect human waste without the addition of water.
Human waste is considered a biowaste, as it is a vector for both viral and bacterial diseases. It can be a serious health hazard if it gets into sources of drinking water. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that nearly 2.2 million people die annually from diseases caused by contaminated water, such as cholera or dysentery.
Official source
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