Manual pit emptying technology

Slovak term: Slovenský termín

1. A low-cost, decentralised emptying technology for waste systems using appropriate technologies (WHO et al. 2003).

Acronym: MAPET.

Explanation

The Manual pit emptying technology uses manually operated equipment to empty the latrine pit. Its main components are a piston handpump and a 200-litre vacuum tank, both mounted on pushcarts, and connected by a 2-cm hosepipe. A 10-cm hosepipe is used to drain the sludge from the pit. When the handpump wheel is rotated air is sucked out of the vacuum tank, which sucks sludge from the pit through the hosepipe and into the tank. The effective pumping head is 3 m, depending on the viscosity of the sludge. The sludge is usually buried in a hole close to the pit, or taken to a nearby disposal point (e.g. a disposal field, or sludge transfer station). The equipment is small and hand-operated, and is therefore particularly suitable for high-density settlements with narrow streets, where conventional vacuum tankers have no access. The maximum width of the MAPET, for example, is 0.8 m. Motor-driven vacuum tankers built on small tractors are available, and they use the same principle as the MAPET (WHO et al. 2003).

References

• WHO and IRC (2003) Linking technology choice with operation and maintenance in the context of community water supply and sanitation: A reference document for planners and project staff

Links

• WHO — The Health and Environment Lexicon