Ever saw an advertisement for a bar of soap claiming to get rid of all microbes on your skin or an oral rinse that would do the same in your mouth? Is this possible or even desirable?
A two-day conference on ‘Ecological Hygiene and Sanitation’, hosted by EcoPro in Auroville recently, attempted to develop an understanding of ecological hygiene, tracing the history of hygiene standards and how surgical hygiene as a marketing gimmick has been allowed to pervade everyday lives.
In essence, while acknowledging the importance of surgical hygiene, and its importance in well-defined situations, experts at the meet debated its advocacy for everyday life.
For instance, the invention of the flush toilet in some countries ended open defecation, but introduced the need for underground sewerage and sewage treatment. The flip side was that while the technology could have been good in the short term, it remains to be seen more as non-sustainable innovation in human history, as pointed out by Lucas Dengel of EcoPro.
During the session, the discussion centred on conflicting challenges posed by sanitation, comparing the ubiquitous flush toilet system with urine-diverting dry toilets in their appropriateness and their ecological footprint.
Also taken up was the toxic effects of modern sanitation systems on soil and water ecosystems and eutrophication of water bodies.
EcoSan (toilet) users shared their experiences in using a dry toilet and reusing human fecal compost and urine for jasmine farming.
Neema Joseph from JIPMER dwelt on the current sanitation scenario in India, while Abhinav Vinayakh of EcoPro spoke on the effects of socio-cultural norms on sanitation and discuss potential ways forward.
Among the recommendations were the revision of the curriculum of public hygiene to integrate new findings of microbiology and ecology and educating administrators and staff involved in sanitation for a wider understanding and for site-specific choices in the implementation of these programmes. A similar workshop on a national level was also recommended.
Connecting research, teaching, policy and action programmes, campaigns to effect behaviour change and revision of hygiene concepts based on fresh scientific research, for instance, with regard to the human microbiome, i.e. the microbiological “flora” in a healthy body were among the priorities identified.
Experts said strategies in sanitation that were based on fresh scientific insights would simplify technology and prove more sustainable, not only improving public hygiene but also save water and make better use of biomass, nutrients and energy.
The audience included participants from JIPMER, IIT Madras, NGOs, and schools.