By Daigo Ishiyama, Leader – Innovation, at SATO (part of LIXIL)
At this year’s World Water Week in Stockholm, we were proud to unveil our latest innovation in the field of sanitation—the SATO Pit liner, which is now available worldwide. Designed to transform how pit latrines are constructed, it offers a simple yet highly effective solution that can be deployed in a variety of settings.
The SATO Pit liner addresses a critical need in sanitation infrastructure. At its core, a pit latrine is a toilet that stores human waste in an underground pit. However, in communities that lack proper sanitation infrastructure, pits are often built without proper lining. Over time, and particularly in areas with loose soil and heavy rainfalls, pits can degrade and collapse. This not only creates a dangerous hazard for its users in the local community but fixing the problem is labour and time-intensive and makes the toilet unusable in the meantime.
Traditional solutions to this problem often involve lining the pit with bricks and mortar. But this can be expensive and labour-intensive, and given that bricks are challenging to transport in bulk, it is only feasible for communities with access to locally fired bricks. Cement rings are often used to line the pits, but these too are bulky, heavy, and prone to breakage during transport. For rural communities, especially those in mountainous areas and hard to reach locations, those who build toilets often have to go without.
Recognising these challenges, the SATO Pit liner was developed to offer a more accessible and efficient alternative. We created the solution to be easy to install without the need for skilled labour. The innovative design features interlocking sections that allow users to assemble the liner quickly and securely, with everything supplied in one manageable box for easy transportation to the site. This approach reduces installation time and ensures that the product can be deployed even in areas where skilled labour or materials like bricks are not readily available.
The SATO Pit liner offers several advantages over traditional pit lining methods. Its perforations are designed to promote optimal drying of the pit contents, reducing odours and speeding up the process of decay, as well as preventing excess soil or pests from entering the pit.
Affordability is also key for communities without access to safe and effective sanitation. While the cost of traditional brick-lined pits or cement rings can vary widely depending on the availability of materials and labour, the SATO Pit liner is designed to be cost-competitive, especially in areas where bricks or cement are scarce or expensive. By providing a lighter, more compact solution, the SATO Pit liner helps to ensure that safe sanitation is within reach for communities in even the most challenging locations.
The impact of the SATO Pit liner has the potential to improve access to safe sanitation for countless people, including in humanitarian settings. Whether in response to a natural disaster or used in a refugee camp or rural village, the SATO Pit liner can be quickly installed, providing a vastly improved sanitation experience for local people.
World Water Week was the perfect venue to officially showcase the features of the SATO Pit liner. It represents not just a technical innovation but a commitment to improving lives by providing safe, reliable, and affordable sanitation solutions. The SATO Pit liner has been in development since 2019, and our team has worked tirelessly through multiple prototypes and field trials to ensure it is effective and durable over the long term.
The SATO Pit liner is, therefore, more than just a product; it is a step forward in the global effort to improve sanitation. It has the potential to change lives, particularly in the most vulnerable communities. We can’t wait to see the positive impact it will have and look forward to continuing our innovative research and development to bring safe and effective sanitation solutions to communities all over the world.
