Our Method: Why “Poop Belongs in the Loop"

Over 4 billion people worldwide don’t have access to a proper toilet. Half of the disease burden in Africa is caused by the lack of sanitation.

GiveLove Canada helps communities manage their own sanitation needs by teaching local organizations how to build compost toilets. Compost toilets function like a regular toilet except we use sawdust instead of water as a “dry” flush. They are easy to build and manage using local materials. These small container-based toilets can be easily adapted for almost any setting. Compost sanitation provides communities with numerous benefits: from improving public health, providing a dignified and clean toilet experience, and safety for girls and women, to protecting water resources from waste pollution. These measures foster a sense of pride and local action.

How our system works:


1. The toilet material is collected and composted on a regular basis.
2. Proper handwashing is always promoted by providing or building affordable handwashing stations.
3. The containers are collected and transferred to the compost site/area where the material is emptied into a compost bin. The bins can be made from wire mesh, pallets, or bricks.
4. Compost managers cover the toilet material with dry grass. This prevents odors and aids in the composting process.
5. Micro-organisms start to generate in the compost pile, heating the compost to very high temperatures. The hot temperatures and microbes safely reduce pathogens and convert the material into high-value compost. This process is called thermophilic composting, or Hot Composting.
6. The compost managers wash all of the containers with soapy water and dry them in the sun.
7. After the composting is finished, the containers are returned to the household, school, or public toilets.
8. When the compost pile is full to capacity, it is closed and monitored for 12-months. After the entire compost process is complete, the compost is safe to use for growing trees, and crops such as coffee, bananas, tomatoes, and maize.
9. Compost can also be manufactured into pellets by local entrepreneurs.