Ever Thought of Investing in a Public Eco-Toilet

1. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Public Eco-Toilets
JAN2013

2. 1 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Ever Thought of Investing
in a Public Eco-Toilet
Toilet
<<<<Eco-TAvailable Here
200/= - 500/=
Fertiliser
From Waste
Service
Charge
200

3. 2BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Everybody has to ease
themselves daily and most
people prefer to do this in a
private and clean environment
Many government-owned and managed
toilets are unpleasant and used only as a last
resort.
Eco toilets are clean, attractive and profitable.
They are designed to capture the waste in a
form that it can be used for farming.
To make it happen you need to find a good
site, invest in building, hire capable and
committed staff and charge customers a fee
for using the toilet.
Additional income may emerge from the sale of treated
human waste for use in farming or from the production of
bio-gas, but this leaflet does not include such additional
income as there is insufficient experience of the biological/
biochemical value of the Humanure. In future human waste
is likely to become more valuable as the prices rise for fossil
fuels and inorganic fertilisers made from these fossil fuels.
THE BUSINESS
MODEL

4. 3 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
THE FACILITY
Where to build it?
You need to build your toilet in a place where
there are large numbers of people passing by
and stopping, perhaps waiting for a bus or a
taxi or shopping in a market.
Where there are small shops, hawkers and fast
food stands could also be a good place.
Avoid rocky land. Digging pits will be
difficult and increase construction costs.
Land is expensive so see if you can get a cheap long lease
from government. After all you are providing a public health
benefit!

5. 4BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Designing the building
How you design the building depends on local
requirements and with the type of system
(e.g. straight drop, pour flush etc.).
However, you will need to use a clever design
for the pedestal or squat hole that separate
urine and faeces. The urine is piped off into a
tank outside of the building.
From there it can be sold as a fertiliser.
The faeces drop straight down into the pit
below. Ash and sawdust are added at regular
intervals to produce a nice dry product. You
will need between 8 – 12 cubicles, with urinals
on the Male side and a washbasin on each
side.
Don’t forget to look after the needs of the disabled, elderly,
women and children (e.g. ramps, handrails and a toilet with
adequate space for a wheelchair).
You will need to keep the toilet open for at least 12-15 hours/
day – to meet people’s needs and earn enough income. In
some places, e.g. at a bus station that services long distance
buses; you may need to keep it open for 24 hours.

6. 5 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
The Market
The first thing to do is market
research:
Assess the number of people
in that area and number of
potential customers that the
public toilet would have. This
kind of planning will help to give
a better idea of the revenues to
expect and the viability of the
location.
It is important to brand the
toilet appropriately to reflect the
positive ecological impact and
cleanliness of the facilities.

7. 6BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Prices and Pricing
The pricing will certainly be
dependent on existing market
conditions and should take into
account what similar businesses
are charging.
However, it is important to note
that people would be willing to
pay slightly more if your toilet
is clean and attractive, thus
giving you a better competitive
advantage.
On average, charges would range from UGX 200 - 500

8. 7 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Physical Inputs
The urine and faeces are
deposited safely in the pit or a
drum.
Excreta
Did you know that it takes
around 375 users to fill one
100kg bag with human waste.
Urine
Because of the clever design,
urine is collected separately
from the excreta. On average,
each user will produce around
0.5 litres of urine each visit.
Additives
The additives may include a
blend of soil, sawdust and ash.
Whichever additive is used it should be applied regularly in
order to neutralise the odour and begin the production of a
manageable and potentially useable product.

9. 8BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Hygiene
Hygiene is important for
everyone. That means providing
toilet paper for people going in
and soap at the washbasins for
people as they come out.
Paper towels are better
than cloth ones and can be
composted and you will need
to regularly disinfect the floors,
walls, taps and door handles.

10. 9 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Water and Power
You will need a water supply to
keep the place clean - around 3
to 5 litres of water per customer.
You can cut your costs by
collecting rainwater from
the roof during the rainy
season.
During the dry season you
will need either piped water
or a large storage tank that
can be topped up by water
tankers.
Take into consideration that the toilets
will need lighting particularly in the early
morning and late evening.

11. 10BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Disposal and Conversion Of Pit
Extract
The sludge in your pit is no longer “waste” to
be got rid of but has value.
More work needs to be done to calculate
the cash value of the manure and urine but
farmers will want to buy it.
You will have to empty the pits when they
are full. Because of the ash and sawdust the
product is relatively easy to handle – you will
need a couple of people with a long-handled
spade, a wheelbarrow and some 100 kg
woven polypropylene sacks).
After 6 months in the manure bank it is ready for sale.

12. 11 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Staffing, Skills and Management
You don’t need any particular technical skills
to run a public toilet.
Most important is the commitment and
loyalty of the staff operating the toilet.
At any one time you will need two people to
operate the toilet: a money collector and a
cleaner.
If operating 14 to 16 hours a day you will need
two shifts.
If you have cheerful and committed staff this is likely to
increase the flow of customers.
The money collector deals directly with the customers and the
cleaners make the toilet a pleasant experience.

13. 12BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Legislation and
Regulation
Wherever we live we have to
follow the rules so you will
need to check out those that
affect the private ownership
of public toilets, the disposal
of excreta and other
environmental issues.
You can find that information
from Kampala City Council
Authority - Department of
Sanitation
If you are lucky there might be some grants, subsidies or bank
guarantees available.

14. 13 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Efficiency Indicators
You will have to rely heavily
on the honesty of the money
collectors. However, there are
some indicators that can tell
you if things ads going wrong,
for example checking recorded
users against pit extract volumes
and toilet paper usage.
It takes around 375 people to fill
one 100kg bag of pit extract.
One toilet roll will serve about
25 people.
If you are using more toilet paper, soap or water than justified
by the cash income then you can investigate the reason.

15. 14BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Financial
Characteristics of the
Business
Interested?
If so then you will want to know
what it costs and what return
you can expect.
Costs will vary according to the
size and location, so here we
give some indicative figures
for income and expenditure
based on a typical public toilet
with four male and four female
cubicles, one disabled toilet
for each gender, and four male
urinals.

16. 15 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Indicative Capital Costs
Item Assumption Cost
Building Us$500/M2 X Us$20,800
Fittings (Toilets,
Washbasins, Urinals,
Lights)
$200/Cubicle X 8 Us$ 1,600
Humanure Bank
12% Capital Cost Of
Building Us$20800 X
12%
Us$ 2,496
Total (Excluding Land) Us$24,896

17. 16BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Operating Costs
The main operating cost will include:
• Staff salaries: Money Collectors, Cleaners,
Security Staff, Bookkeeper
• Consumables: Toilet Paper, Towels, Soap,
Disinfectant, Fly Spray, Collection Bags,
Incense, Sawdust, Ash.
• Transport of the pit extract
• Humanure Compost Bags
• Utilities
Staff costs are likely to be approximately
50% of the operating costs. As an example,
an 8-cubicle toilet in Rwanda has first year
operating costs of US$17,500.
The total cost of establishment will be in the region of
US$30,000, based on indicative capital costs plus working
capital.
$30,000
Staff Salaries Consumables
Transport Compost Bags
Utilities

18. 17 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
Income
You will earn your money from the fees paid
by your customers. This will vary in different
countries and is generally between UGX 200
to 500.
Your actual income depends upon the
opening hours and the number of users per
cubicle per hour.
As an example, an 8-cubicle toilet operating 16
hours/day with an average 4.5 users/cubicle/
hour paying UGX 300 generates UGX 170,000
per day.
A toilet operating every day on this basis
would generate about 67 million sales
annually.
You may be able to add value to the toilet. You could sell
advertising space on the external and internal walls; sell
hygiene products (e.g. soap, disinfectant, sanitary towels,
condoms etc.); or promote public health messages on behalf
of the government or NGOs for a small fee.

19. 18BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY | Public Eco-Toilets
How viable is the
business?
Once the business is established,
a well-managed business in a
good location should be able
to generate net profit before
interest and tax of around 25%
of sales revenue.
Your operating costs are not
likely to change very much
so what will determine your
profitability is the number of
customers and how much you
charge them.
As with any other business, the cost of borrowed money will
strongly affect profitability. In a well-managed business,
payback period should be between 2.5 to 3 years.

20. 1 Cooper Road Kisementi
Tel: +256 (0) 414 236 303
+256 (0) 312 514 327
sanitation@captivaafrica.com