Standards Development

Scope

(Please see ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Annex C, Clause C.4.3)

This document specifies general safety and performance requirements for design and testing as well as sustainability considerations for non-sewered sanitation systems (NSSS). A NSSS, for the purposes of this document, is a prefabricated integrated treatment unit, comprising frontend (toilet facility) and backend (treatment facility) components that

a) collects, conveys, and fully treats the specific input within the system, to allow for safe reuse or disposal of the generated solid, liquid, and gaseous output, and

b) is not connected to a networked sewer or networked drainage systems.

This document is applicable to sanitation systems that are either manufactured as one package, or manufactured as a set of prefabricated elements designed to be assembled in one location without further fabrication or modification that influences the system function. The plane or surface (e.g. flooring, concrete pad) upon which a fully assembled NSSS is situated is beyond the scope of this document.

This document is not applicable to sanitation systems constructed in situ. This document also covers NSSS backend components that are designed to be integrated with one or more specified frontends.

Although this document is primarily applicable to the development of sanitation systems that are not connected to water and electricity networks, it can also be applied to systems that can utilize water mains and/or electricity. This document defines the basic treatable input as primarily human excreta and gives options for extending the range of input substances. Requirements for the quality of the outputs from the sanitation system are given for solid and liquid discharges as well as odour, air, and noise emissions.

It contains criteria for the safety, functionality, usability, reliability, and maintainability of the system, as well as its compatibility with environmental protection goals.

This document does not encompass the following aspects:

— guidelines for selection, installation, operation and maintenance, and management of sanitation systems;

— transportation of treated output outside of the sanitation system (e.g. manual transport, transportation by truck or trunk pipes) for further processing, reuse, or disposal;

— treatment processes taking place at another location separate from that of the frontend and backend components;

— reuse and disposal of sanitation system output.

Purpose

(Please see ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Annex C and additional guidance on justification statements in the brochure Guidance on New Work)

Revision is needed to ISO 30500:2018, which was developed by the now disbanded ISO/PC 305 Non-sewered sanitation systems. The former leadership to ISO/PC 305 is proposing that the PC be reinstated to undertake the revision. The revision is proposed based on areas identified during testing of systems following publication. An initial list of areas identified for consideration include: definitions needed to determine usage solid and liquid microbial testing methods, discussion on the possibility of alternatives to raw faeces and urine as input material, difficulties faced and updates to testing requirements based on experience from executing the standard and modification to the emissions thresholds.

Please see Annex A for more specific details.