University of Leeds/Civil Eng. masthead

Pit Emptying




Emptying Pit Latrines (WEDC Technical Brief) 

Improving servicing of on-site sanitation – A neglected issue for the UN Year of Sanitation (Water21, 2008)

Pit Emptying Systems (Practical Action, 2007)

Vacutug (New Scientist, 2000)

The Mark II Vacutug Manual (UN Habitat, 2002)

Removing human waste: the Vacutug solution (Habitat Debate, 2003)

Vacutug (UN Habitat, 2006)

A small pit emptying machine: an appropriate solution for a Nairobi slum (Schriftenr Ver Wasser Boden Lufthyg, 2000) (PubMed abstract only)

Vacutug − Kenya (TVE, 2000)    Return of the Vacutugs − Bangladesh (TVE, 2003)

The challenge of servicing on-site sanitation in dense urban areas: Experiences from a pilot project in Dhaka (Waterlines, 2008)

Vacutug photos:  1   2

Watch this video and you’ll see why it was necessary to develop the Vacutug!
Kibera Kenya − Understanding Small Scale Service Providers (World Bank)

Faecal sludge in Accra, Ghana: problems of urban provision (WST, 2009)

The market for mechanical pit-emptying in Dakar & the realities of engaging entrepreneurs (BPD, 2009)

Socio-economic profile of domestic faecal sludge emptying companies (SANDEC News #10, 2009 – pp. 8−9)

Reuse of pit contents
Global Atlas of Excreta, Wastewater Sludge, and Biosolids Management: Moving Forward the Sustainable and Welcome Uses of a Global Resource (UN-Habitat, 2008)

Material removed from latrine pits

Materials removed from latrine pits in southern Africa