Desludging of difficult sludge with easy equipment designs: results of field-testing in Blantyre, Malawi

The purpose of this paper is to document the findings of recent field trials of equipment used for desludging and transportation of sludge, including in emergency settings. During a 9 month testing period in 2013 and 2014, innovative desluding equipment was used to remove over 430 m3 of “difficult faecal sludge” from over 200 household and institutional toilets – mainly unlined and lined pit latrines and a few septic tanks. After some major modifications to the equipment, the field team found that effective and efficient emptying of pit latrines under a wide range of conditions and with difficult sludge is possible, practical, and cost effective for humanitarian agencies and local governments.