LECTURE NOTE

ON

SANITATION IN BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT

(BDG 415)

PREPARED

BY

MR. OMONIYI, E. 0.

2018.

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Introduction
In its modern concept, environment includes not only water, air and soil but also the social and
economic conditions under which we live. The key to man’s health lies largely in his
environment. In fact, much of man’s ill-health can be traced to adverse environmental factors
such as water, soil and air pollution, poor housing conditions, presence of animal reservoir and
insect vectors of diseases which pose threats to man’s health. Man is responsible for the
pollution of his environment through urbanization, industrialization and other human activities.
Sanitation can be defined in a number of ways. Sanitation is the state of cleanliness of a place,
community or people particularly relating to those aspects of human health including the quality
of life determined by physical, biological, social and psychological factors in the environment.
Sanitation can also be define as an interventions to reduce people’s exposure to diseases by
providing a clean environment in which to live and with measures to break the cycle of disease.
This usually includes hygienic management of human and animal excreta, refuse and
wastewater, the control of disease vectors and the provision of washing facilities for personal and
domestic hygiene. It also involves both behavior’s and facilities which work together to form a
hygienic environment (World Bank, 2002). Sanitation is the proper disposal of human waste that
is feces and urine. It includes keeping the human environment free of harmful substances which
can cause diseases.
Hence, inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is
known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across
communities. The word 'sanitation' also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions through
services such as garbage collection and waste-water disposal. In addition, environmental
sanitation according to World Health Organization is the control of all those factors in man’s
physical environment which exercise or may exercise a harmful effect on his physical
development, health and survival. It could also be seen as the principle and practice of effecting
healthful and hygienic conditions in the environment to promote public health and welfare,
improve quality of life and ensure a sustainable environment (Alabi, 2010).
Waste
The need for adequate treatment and disposal of waste by man, arose as populations moved away
from disperse geographical areas to congregate together in communities. The higher populations
of towns and cities resulted in a concentration of generated waste, such that it became a nuisance
problem. The industrial revolution led to a further move of the population from rural areas to the
cities and a massive expansion of the population living in towns and cities, with a consequent
further increase in the volume of waste arising. The increase in production of domestic waste
was matched by increases in industrial waste from the rapidly increasing new large-scale
manufacturing processes. However, a series of incidents in the late 1960s and early 70s,
highlighted waste as a potential major source of environmental pollution.

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Definitions of Waste
The definition of waste can be very subjective, what represents waste to one person may
represent a valuable resource to another. However, waste must have a strict legal definition to
comply with the Law, because such strict definitions of waste have financial and legal
implications for business, local authorities and Government. Waste can be defined as ‘any
substance or object which the holder discards or intends to discard’. A ‘holder’ means the
producer of the waste or the person who is in possession of it, and ‘producer’ means any person
whose activities produce waste, or any person who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other
operations resulting in a change in the nature or composition of this waste. Waste (or wastes) are
unwanted or unusable materials or any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is
worthless, defective and of no use. It can also be defined as an unwanted as it is clearly
undesirable. It can also be defined as any unwanted solid or liquid material thrown out by the
households, community, institutions or business establishments waste. However, it is an
inevitable and inherent product of social, economic and cultural life, usually generated in
residential areas, Commercial settings and institutions.
Waste management
Waste management are the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to
its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste,
together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process. The promotion of a
sustainable waste management strategy led to the initiation of targets to minimize the production
of waste by the use of newer technologies and processes, to minimize the proportion of waste
and also to encourage re-use and recycling of waste. A large proportion of the waste landfill sites
designed and engineered today have energy recovery as an essential component of the system in
order to derive economic benefit from the disposal of the waste. Accurate information on the
source and composition of wastes enables strategies for waste minimization, re-use and recycling
to be developed. Also help in determine the type, size, design and location of waste treatment
and disposal facilities. The indiscriminate disposal of waste, both liquid and solid, adversely
affects the immediate human environment by degrading the natural phenomena hence, exerting
health risk to exposed population. Health risks may be carried through different vehicles
including flies, dogs, rodent and others that scavenge on the waste. Therefore, safe disposal or
management of solid and liquid waste is an integral component of “Sustainable Sanitation”.
Proper waste management is essential to reduce its ill effects on eco, environmental, human
health and as well helps to achieve:
a Prevent or reduce environmental pollution.
b Keep rural villages, towns and cities very clean and aesthetic.
c Protect human health from various solid and liquid waste related diseases.
d Reuse of non-bio waste through proper recycling techniques. Bio waste can be further
converted into energy fuels like bio-gas.

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 e Solid and Liquid waste management projects generate income opportunities for local
communities. Segregation of waste, transportation, recycling or disposal generates
employment.
Classifying waste is difficult since, in many cases, waste is very heterogeneous and there can be
great variation in composition between In this course, the most practical ways of managing solid
and liquid waste at household and its environment levels are discussed.
Solid waste
Solid wastes are those which arise from human and animal activities that are normally solid and
are usually discarded as useless or unwanted. Solid wastes include domestic, commercial,
industrial (due to construction and demolition), agricultural, institutional and miscellaneous.
Many times domestic and commercial wastes cannot be differentiated and are considered
together as urban wastes. Included in this category are the garbage materials which result from
food preparation both in the homes and restaurants, and also the rubbish which is produced in
residences and commercial establishments. The main compositional categories of solid waste are
paper and cardboard, organic waste such as food and garden (yard) waste, plastics, metals, glass,
textiles and other minor fractions of waste. Solid waste composition vary with seasons of the
year, for example, organic yard waste (garden waste) increase during the growing season, then
the total quantity of solid waste will also increase.
Classifications of solid waste
Solid waste can be classified into two categories by its characteristics. These are:
a Organic solid waste: Wastes that are generally biodegradable and decompose in the
process of which emits offensive and irritating smell when left unattended, e.g. food and
garden waste (vegetable food waste, meat scraps cooked, fried fat etc.).
b Inorganic solid waste: Solid matter that does not decompose at any rate. This category of
waste matter may be combustible depending on the type of the nature of the material they
constitute e.g. plastic, metals, glass etc.
Solid waste management
Solid waste management: A systematic administration of activities that provide for the
collection, source separation, storage, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment and disposal
of solid wastes in a manner that is in accordance with the best principles of public health,
economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics, and other environmental considerations, and
that also is responsive to public attitudes. There are six functional elements in the activities
associated with the management of solid wastes from the point of generation to final disposal
site. These are:

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 Waste Generation

Storage

Collection

Transfer & transport Processing & Recovery

Disposal

Interrelationship of functional elements comprising of solid waste management

system.
i. Waste generation: those activities in which materials are identified as no longer being of
value and are either thrown away or gathered together for disposal.
ii. On-site handling, storage, and processing: activities associated with the handling,
storage, and processing of solid wastes at or near the point of generation.
iii. Collection: those activities association with the gathering of solid wastes and the hauling
of wastes to the location where the collection vehicle is emptied.
iv. Transfer and transport: Those activities association with the transfer of wastes from the
smaller collection vehicle to the larger transport equipment and the subsequent transport
of the wastes, usually over long distance, to the disposal site.
v. Processing and recovery: Those techniques equipment and facilities used both to
improve the efficiency of the other functional elements and to recover useable materials,
conversion products, or energy from solid wastes.
vi. Disposal: Those activities associated with ultimate disposal of solid wastes
Treatment and Disposal Options for Solid Waste
1. Waste Landfill: Treatment and Disposal Options for the majority of solid waste is
landfilled, followed by waste incineration either with or without energy recovery, with
some recycling and composting. The major advantage associated with landfilling of
wastes is the low cost of landfill compared with other disposal options and the fact that a
wide variety of wastes are suitable for landfill. It should also be remembered that many
other waste treatment and disposal options require the final disposal route for the residues
to be landfill. Extraction of rock materials has produced and continues to produce large
holes in the ground which at some stage require infilling. Mineral extraction plans usually

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 include the restoration of the site after completion of the extraction. Infilling of the
mineral workings by waste is therefore an economical advantage for the site developer.
The collection and utilization of landfill gas as a fuel for energy generation is also an
advantage. The disadvantages with landfill is that old site which are, in some cases, still
under current use or have long been disused, were constructed before the environmental
impacts of leachate and landfill gas were realized. Many of these sites are now sources of
pollution with uncontrolled leakages. Landfill gas in particular can be hazardous since the
largest component, methane, can reach explosive concentrations. This problem is
emphasized when it is realized that many of the older sites were constructed close to
areas of housing, or sometimes housing sites have been built on disused landfill sites.
Therefore, all landfill sites are required to be monitored for landfill gas and the gas from
operational sites must be controlled via proper venting.
2. Waste Incineration: Waste incineration is the second major option for waste treatment
and disposal in many countries throughout the world. However, wastes containing
combustible material may be incinerated or combusted. Incineration is the oxidation of
the combustible material in the waste to produce heat, water vapour, nitrogen, carbon
dioxide and oxygen. Depending on the composition of the waste, other emissions may be
formed including, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, nitrogen
oxides, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic carbon, dioxins and furans, polychlorinated
biphenyls, heavy metals, etc. Therefore, removal of such pollutant emissions from the
flue gases of the incinerator involves extensive, complex and expensive gas clean-up
systems. The reason for stringent legislation in place to control the emissions from waste
incineration. Incineration is a treatment route which can be applied to a wide variety of
wastes. Solid waste incineration has historically been seen in terms of a means of waste
disposal. However, modern incinerators now include a means of energy recovery as an
economic necessity. Incineration of waste has a number of advantages over landfill.
These includes:
i) Incineration can usually be carried out near the point of waste collection. In some
cities, the number of landfill sites close to the point of waste generation are
becoming scarcer, resulting in transport of waste over long distances.
ii) The waste is reduced into a biologically sterile ash product which for solid waste
is approximately 10% of its pre-burnt volume and 33% of its pre-burnt weight.
iii) Incineration produces no methane, unlike landfill. Methane is a ‘greenhouse gas’
and is a significant contributor to global warming.
iv) Waste incineration can be used as a low-cost source of energy to produce steam
for electric power generation, industrial process heating or hot water for district
heating, thereby conserving valuable primary fuel resources.
v) The bottom ash residues can be used for materials recovery or as secondary
aggregates in construction.
vi) Incineration is the best practicable environmental option for many hazardous
wastes such as highly flammable, volatile, toxic and infectious waste.
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 The disadvantages are:
a There are much higher costs and longer pay-back periods, due to the high capital
investment.
b There is sometimes a lack of flexibility in the choice of waste disposal options
once the incineration route is chosen; because of the high capital cost the
incinerator must be tied to long-term waste disposal contracts.
c The incinerator is designed on the basis of a certain calorific value for the waste.
Removal of materials such as paper and plastics for recycling may reduce the
overall calorific value of the waste and consequently may affect incinerator
performance.
d Whilst modern incinerators comply with existing emissions legislation there is
some public concern that the emitted levels may still have an adverse effect on
health
e The incineration process still produces a solid waste residue which requires
management
3. Composting: Composting is the biological degradation of biodegradable organic waste
such as garden and food waste. Composting is a relatively fast biodegradation
process, taking typically about 4–6 weeks to reach a stabilized product.
Composting is practiced on a small scale at the individual household level, and on
a large-scale via composting schemes, where the organic waste collected from parks, household
garden waste collected from civic amenity sites and garden and food waste collected directly
from households is composted at large central facilities. The degraded product is a stabilized
product which is added to soil to improve soil structure or which acts as a fertilizer improving
the nutrient content, or as a much being used to retain moisture in the soil. Composting removes
a large part of the organic biodegradable waste from the waste stream and in this way helps to
reduce the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill. Composting is not final disposal
method but converting waste into a useful product. The composting process is aerobic and
consequently relies on a plentiful supply of oxygen. Regular ventilation is required to maintain
aerobic conditions.
Public Health importance of solid waste
Poor solid waste handling and disposal can lead to environmental pollution, encourage the
breeding of disease-vector insects, animal scavengers and other health hazards associated with
improper solid or liquid waste disposal. These include:
i. It can be best media for the growth of microorganisms
ii. Attraction of arthropods such as common housefly, mosquito, etc.
iii. Attraction of rodents and other animals e.g. rats mice dogs cats
iv. Open dump can contaminate water sources
v. Can contaminate food supply and cause food borne disease
vi. Hospital and pathological wastes are potential disease carrying waste products
vii. It can create nuisance:
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 a Bad odor, smoke, dust
b Aesthetical problem
c Discomfort: sneezing, coughing

Liquid Waste

Liquid waste is all unwanted water including ordinary storm water and water contaminated by
human sources and animals e.g. micro-organisms, oils and grease, hazardous chemicals, etc. It
includes all the water and liquid wastes from households, shops, large and small industries,
hospitals, schools, and mortuaries. Liquid waste has the ability to alter water's chemical
composition. This pollution can cause harm to plants growing in the soil, as well as to animals or
people who consume foods that were created in contaminated soil. The composition of liquid
waste depends on its source. The three main sources are residential, commercial, and industrial
areas. Stormwater is also a source of liquid waste. Liquid waste from domestic sources can be
classified as blackwater, which contains excreta, and greywater, which does not.
Public Health importance of liquid (wastewater or sewage)
The improper disposal of waste water play a role in the contamination of surface water, ground
water, and the soil thereby posing health problems. These phenomena persist in developing
countries and affect almost every one.
In Nigeria, today, all wastes even in large cities like Lagos are drained to the side of roads to
ultimately join small streams or rivers to flow downstream causing water pollution. All the
wastes drained in water ways depends on the winter rains for cleaning.
Although very high wastewater pollution may not be expected in the rural area, there are some
household sewage (liquid, dung, domestic wastewater, etc.) generated from kitchens, toilets,
barns, and other domestic areas. If household, industrial, or commercial wastes are not properly
disposed, then the disease problems caused by pollution will still remain to be persistent in the
environment. The disease commonly transmitted through water such, as Cholera, dysentery and
typhoid are waste related. If waste was safely deposited, or treated and disposed most of the
water borne diseases would have not been a problem
Classifications of liquid waste/sewage

Waste water or sewage that are generated from home or community including toilet, bath,
laundry, lavatory, and kitchen- sink wastes, and surface run off may be classified into four.
These are:
a Sanitary sewage also called domestic sewage contains human wastes and wash water
from homes, public buildings or commercial and industrial establishments. Domestic
sewage/liquid waste here is meant waste from kitchen, barn, bathroom, laundry, etc.,
which do not contain human excreta or sewage
b Industrial sewage is the used water from manufacturing processes, usually carrying a
variety of chemical compounds.

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 c Storm sewage, or storm water, is the surface run off caused by rainfall, it carries
organics, suspended and dissolved solids, and other substances picked up as it travels
over the ground.

Wastewater/sewage composition
Sanitary or domestic wastewater comprises about 99.9% water and only about 0.1% impurities.
In other words, if a 1-liter sample of wastewater is allowed to evaporate, only about 1gram of
solids will remain behind. Actually, sewage can contain so many different substances, both
suspended and dissolved, that it is impractical to attempt to identify each specific substances or
microorganism. The total amount of organic materials is related to the strength of the sewage.
This is measured by the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and the total amount of suspended
solids (TSS). On the average, untreated domestic sanitary sewage has a BOD of about 200 mg/L
and a TSS of about 240 mg/L. Industrial wastewater may have BOD and TSS values much
higher than those for sanitary sewage; its composition is source dependent.
Another group of impurities that is typically of major significance in wastewater is the plant
nutrients. Specifically, these are compounds of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). On the average,
raw sanitary sewage contains about 35 mg/L of N and 10 mg/L of P.
Finally, the amount of pathogens in the wastewater is expected to be proportional to the
concentration of fecal coliform bacteria. The coliform concentration in raw sanitary sewage is
roughly 1 billion per liter.
Liquid waste management
Liquid waste management is the systematic administration of activities that provide for the
proper handling, treatment and disposal of liquid waste/wastewater or sewage.

Factors consider before selecting one particular sewage disposal technique

There is no single individual sewage disposal technique that can be universally applied under all
conditions. However, the selection of a particular method will depend upon the following major
factors:
a The nature of soil formation and stability of the locality
b The availability of adequate land for sewage disposal
c The quantity of sewage to be disposed off
d The degree of sewage treatment to be achieved
e The presence of well water, and whether it is used as the source of the water supply
f The level of the water table of the ground water
g The proximity of the disposal site to surface water sources
h The relative cost of the disposal technology.
Disposal Options for Liquid Waste/Sewage

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There are many sewage disposal methods. Some are very expensive and some need a
sophisticated technology. The following disposal methods are suggested based on the type,
amount and sources of liquid waste found in public building areas and households. These
methods are the simplest and cheapest to dispose sewage in rural communities
1. Disposal by dilution: It is a common practice in some communities to discharge raw
sewage into nearby water bodies such as rivers, streams, etc., so that it is diluted or
reduced in strength by the water. The disadvantages are:
i) Nuisance (creating offensive condition)
ii) Water and soil pollutions (leading to die off aquatic life)
iii) Spread of infectious organisms greatly increases
2. Cesspool: A cesspool is a pit dug in the ground in order to receive waste water/sewages
from kitchen, toilet or barns. It can also be described as an underground chamber or
container used to collect and store foul and waste water from buildings. The size of a
cesspool depends on the assumption of the amount of water used each day per person at
150 litres per head, and the number of days’ storage capacity required before the cesspool
can be drained. A minimum capacity of 18000 litres capacity is recommended for an
average household where the cesspool is drained every 45 days, They emptied by
pumping the contents to a tanker.
Capacity is based on 150 litres per person per day at 45 day emptying cycles, e.g. a four-
person house:
= 4 x 150 x 45 = 27 000 litres (27 m3)
Cesspool can be classified in to two kinds by its removal mechanisms. These are:
a Leaching type of cesspool or absorption pit: The leaching type cesspool,
otherwise known as a seepage pit, soakage pit or absorption pit, is a pit dug in the
ground to receive sewage from kitchen, toilet and allow the liquid to seep, leach
or percolate into the ground. In this type of cesspool:
i. The liquid portion seeps or leaches off into the surrounding soil, while the
solid component (sludge) is retained in the pit.
ii. The side of the pit is constructed with open joints in order to facilitate
seepage of the liquid portion, while the top most part (60-90 cm) is
plastered to make it watertight as shown in diagram below
iii. A concrete slab cover with a man-hole is provide to permit access to the
pit, and an outlet pipe takes the effluent into another pit or serious of pits
iv. A depth of 2 to 3 meters and a diameter of 90 to 120 cm will give a
reasonable capacity, provided the soil is adequately porous, and can let the
liquids.
v. The cesspool should be sited at least 30 meters away from and on a lower
level than water wells or other sources of drinking water.

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 vi. The cesspool should be sited at least 30 meters away from and on a lower
level than water wells or other sources of drinking water.
vii. The height of the ground water table should be at least 1.20 meters below
the bottom of the cesspool.

Leaching type of Cesspool

However, it may not be recommend except in very special circumstances (that is, where
the soil formation is sufficiently porous; where water sources are properly protected).

b Watertight cesspool
i. Similar to leaching type except made water proof in order to receive and
store sewage.
ii. Inside water tight tank sewage undergoes anaerobic decomposition but
should not considered sewage treatment
iii. Problem: periodic emptying and disposal of contents
The disadvantages of cesspool is that, its improper used may create:
a) Fly-breeding

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 b) Objectionable odour
c) Nuisances

3. Septic tank: A septic tank is self-cleansing and will only require annual dislodging. It is
in effect a private sewage disposal plant which is quite common for buildings in rural
areas. The tank is a watertight chamber in which in which the sewage is liquefied by
anaerobic bacterial activity. This type of bacteria lives in the absence of oxygen which is
ensured by a sealed cover and natural occurrence of a surface crust or coating.
Traditionally built tanks are divided into two compartments with an overall length of
three times the breadth. Final processing of sewage is achieved by conveying it through
subsoil drainage pipes or a biological filter. Capacity is determined from the simple
formula:
C = (180 x P) + 2000
Where: C = capacity in litres

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 P = no. of person served
E.g. 10 persons: C = (180 x 10) + 2000 = 3800 litres (3.8 m3)

Treatment of septic tank effluent: liquid effluent from a septic tank is dispersed from a rotating
sprinkler pipe over a filter of broken stone, clinker, coke or polythene shingle. The filter surfaces
become coated with an organic film which assimilates and oxidises the pollutants by aerobic
bacterial activity. This type of bacteria lives in the presence of oxygen, encouraged by ventilation
through under-drains leading to a vertical vent pipe. An alternative process is conveyance and
dispersal of septic tank effluent through a system of subsoil drains or a drainage field. To
succeed, the subsoil must be porous and the pipes laid above the highest water table level.
Alternatively, the primary treated effluent can be naturally processed in constructed wetland
phragmite or reed beds. Whatever method of sewage containment and processing is preferred,
the local water authority will have to be consulted for approval.

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4. The klargester settlement tank: A klargester settlement tank is a simple, reliable and
cost-effective sewage disposal system manufactured from glass reinforced plastics for
location in a site prepared excavation. The tanks are produced in capacities ranging from
2700 to 100000 litres to suit a variety of applications from individual houses to modest
developments including factories and commercial premises. The sewage flows through
three compartments (1, 2, 3) where it is liquefied by anaerobic bacterial activity. In
similarity with traditionally built tanks, sludge settlement at the base of the unit must be
removed annually. This is achieved by pushing away the floating ball to give extraction
tube access into the lowest chamber. Processed sewage may be dispersed by subsoil
irrigation or biological filter.

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Wastewater/sewage treatment: Before discharging wastewater back into the environment and
the natural hydrologic cycle, it is necessary to provide some degree of treatment in order to
protect public health and environmental quality. The basic purposes of sewage treatment are:
i. To destroy pathogenic microorganisms
ii. To remove most suspended and
iii. To remove dissolved biodegradable organic materials.
Sometimes it is also necessary to remove the plant nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus.
Disinfections, usually with chlorine, serves to destroy most pathogens and helps to prevent the
transmission of communicable disease. The removal of organics biological oxygen demand
(BOD) and nutrients helps to protect the quality of aquatic ecosystems.

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Treatment methods
Treatment methods are grouped into three general categories:
a) Primary treatment: Screening, grit removal, and sedimentation (settling)
b) Secondary or biological treatment: biological processes and additional settling.
c) Tertiary or advanced treatment: not all sewage treatment plant requires tertiary
(advanced) treatment.

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