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Sanitation Sustainability Index: A Pilot Approach to Develop a Community-Based Indicator for Evaluating Sustainability of Sanitation Systems

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  • Shervin Hashemi

    (Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea)

Abstract

Evaluating the sustainability of sanitation systems is essential in achieving the sixth sustainable development goal. However, there are only limited number of available evaluation indexes, which are utilized to macroscopically determine a community’s sanitation coverage. Consequently, an index is required, which can evaluate different sanitation options for a specific community. In this paper, the sanitation sustainability index (SSI) is suggested as an indicator for evaluating the sustainability of sanitation systems. The SSI has sub-indexes that consider the technical, social, and economic aspects of the sanitation system, and all the variables are dimensionless and heavily dependent on the current state of the community where the sanitation system is going to be implemented. The applicability of the SSI was demonstrated by evaluating the implementation of two onsite sanitation systems, including one septic tank system and one resource-oriented sanitation (ROS) system in South Korea. A sensitivity analysis defined the variables that have significant impact, and the statistical distribution of the SSI for both systems was forecasted. The results showed that for South Korea, which has a profound history of utilizing human waste as fertilizer, utilizing the resource-oriented sanitation system is more sustainable, although it has a lower social sub-index score compared to the septic tank system.

Suggested Citation

  • Shervin Hashemi, 2020. "Sanitation Sustainability Index: A Pilot Approach to Develop a Community-Based Indicator for Evaluating Sustainability of Sanitation Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:6937-:d:404363
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    1. Martín Alejandro Iribarnegaray & María Laura Gatto D’Andrea & María Soledad Rodriguez-Alvarez & María Eugenia Hernández & Christian Brannstrom & Lucas Seghezzo, 2015. "From Indicators to Policies: Open Sustainability Assessment in the Water and Sanitation Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-21, October.
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    1. Vanesa García-Searcy & Mariana Villada-Canela & María Concepción Arredondo-García & Marisol Anglés-Hernández & María Candelaria Pelayo-Torres & Luis Walter Daesslé, 2022. "Sanitation in Mexico: An Overview of Its Realization as a Human Right," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-38, February.
    2. Mitsunori Odagiri & Ann Thomas & Maraita Listyasari & Freya Mills & Robert E. S. Bain & Zainal Muhammad & Tom Slaymaker & Aldy Mardikanto & Anita Gultom & Asri Indiyani & Hasnani Rangkuti & Juliet Wil, 2021. "Safely Managed On-Site Sanitation: A National Assessment of Sanitation Services and Potential Fecal Exposure in Indonesia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Kelsey Shaw & Christopher Kennedy & Caetano C. Dorea, 2021. "Non-Sewered Sanitation Systems’ Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Balancing Sustainable Development Goal Tradeoffs to End Open Defecation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Ahmed M. N. Masoud & Marika Belotti & Amani Alfarra & Sabrina Sorlini, 2022. "Multi-Criteria Analysis for Evaluating Constructed Wetland as a Sustainable Sanitation Technology, Jordan Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-24, November.
    5. Richard Filčák & Daniel Škobla, 2021. "Sanitation Infrastructure at the Systemic Edge: Segregated Roma Settlements and Multiple Health Risks in Slovakia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, June.
    6. Elyfas Allyjackson Morais Rodrigues & Artur Paiva Coutinho & Júlia Daniele Silva de Souza & Ialy Rayane de Aguiar Costa & Severino Martins dos Santos Neto & Antonio Celso Dantas Antonino, 2022. "Rural Sanitation: Scenarios and Public Policies for the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Chiuhsiang Joe Lin & Remba Yanuar Efranto, 2023. "Do Age and Gender Change the Perception of Workplace Social Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Michaela F. Prescott & Meredith F. Dobbie & Diego Ramirez-Lovering, 2021. "Green Infrastructure for Sanitation in Settlements in the Global South: A Narrative Review of Socio-Technical Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Ian White & Tony Falkland & Taaniela Kula, 2020. "National Versus Local Sustainable Development Plans and Island Priorities in Sanitation: Examples from the Kingdom of Tonga," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    10. Anitha Vidhyadharan, 2023. "Disparities in Drinking Water and Sanitation in the Urban Slums of Kerala, India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, May.
    11. Artwell Kanda & Esper Jacobeth Ncube & Kuku Voyi, 2021. "Adapting Sanitation Needs to a Latrine Design (and Its Upgradable Models): A Mixed Method Study under Lower Middle-Income Rural Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, December.

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