Shared and Public Toilets

Abstract

This document provides background and guidance on how to design and implement shared, communal and public sanitation facilities, with a focus on operation and management models that support long-term service provision. The document draws on good experiences from across the globe and reflects lessons learned from design and implementation experiences – both positive and negative – in a range of countries. The document provides guidance for service providers (whether private or public-sector entities) as well as service authorities (i.e., those who regulate/oversee the service providers) and also has a section detailing shared and public sanitation from the user perspective, including consideration of special needs of some user groups, including people with disabilities, women, the elderly, etc. The document includes a number of decision trees that help designers and implementers understand key tasks to be undertaken and/or decisions to be made at different steps during the design and implementation process. In addition to the main body of the document, there are a series of annexes, which include resources to further support the design and implementation of facilities. A thorough literature review was undertaken for this work and the full list of literature reviewed is included in one of the appendixes.