A bucket toilet is a basic form of a dry toilet whereby a bucket (pail) is used to collect excreta. Usually, feces and urine are collected together in the same bucket, leading to odor issues. The bucket may be situated inside a dwelling, or in a nearby small structure (an outhouse).
Where people do not have access to improved sanitation – particularly in low-income urban areas of developing countries – an unimproved bucket toilet may be better than open defecation.[1] They can play a temporary role in emergency sanitation, e.g. after earthquakes.[2] However, the unimproved bucket toilet may carry significant health risks compared to an improved sanitation system.[3] The bucket toilet system, with collection organised by the municipality, used to be widespread in wealthy countries; in Australia it persisted into the second half of the 20th century.
Once the basic bucket toilet has been "improved", it evolves into a number of different systems, which are more correctly referred to as either container-based sanitation systems, composting toilets, or urine-diverting dry toilets.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
wbank2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Sanitation Solutions in Emergency Response Settings". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
sten2011was invoked but never defined (see the help page).