Time and motion assessment of pit-emptying operations in Kigali, Rwanda

To ensure sanitation for all by 2030, fecal sludge collection services in low-income urban areas with no sewer connections need improvement. One of the major issues is the gap between low-income households' willingness to pay and the cost of emptying services in low-income areas. One way of lowering the cost of these services is through process optimization. In this regard, we conducted a time and motion study to better understand the bottlenecks associated with the collection of fecal waste from different types of on-site sanitation facilities. Our results show that emptying pit latrines, which make up 53% of the market for emptying services in Kigali, takes twice as long as emptying septic tanks. 33% of households that requested the service were located in an informal settlement with no access to road and could only be served by a semi-mechanized method which required use of barrels, and a portable pump. In general, interventions related to minimizing trash disposal in pits and septic tanks can go a long way in making the emptying process more time- and cost-efficient. Additionally, developing effective and efficient pumping technologies that are suitable for use in inaccessible areas should be prioritized.