Smelly latrines make way for clean toilets
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-11-19 00:38

Xiu Xiaoliang expressed satisfaction with the cleanliness of his newly built toilet.

"I have been longing day and night to have a clean toilet like urban citizens," said Xiu, 37, a farmer in Yuhuan County,, East China's Zhejiang Province.

Like Xiu, most rural householders in Yuhuan joined a "Toilet Renovation Project," launched in 2002 by the local government to turn rural toilets from smelly cesspools to clean restrooms.

The move has already paid off.

More than two-thirds of rural residents said farewell to their stinky latrines and have had flush toilets installed in their homes, according to official statistics.

The county has allocated 200 million yuan (US$24 million) for the toilet construction project to transform latrine pits which were once a common sight in rural areas.

"In order to improve rural people's living environment, we have started to transform their traditional farming methods and lifestyles," said Gao Lingyun, director of the Toilet Construction Office of the Yuhuan Health Bureau.

Most of China's toilets in rural areas are squat-style pits with no running water, toilet paper, or hand washing and drainage facilities.

As rural areas lack sanitation infrastructure, smelly and filthy cesspools have become the main source of intestinal infectious diseases, said Gao.

Farmers only need to spend about 200 yuan (US$24) to own a new toilet, as the cost of constructing the drains and waste disposal systems is paid by the local government, according to Gao.

"The great achievement of the project is the changes in rural people's traditional ideas about their living environment," said Gao.

At the beginning, most farmers were reluctant to have new toilets since they had been used to shabby toilets for so many years.

But once they have one, they realized they are able to enjoy a better quality of life, according to Gao.

And about 550 public toilets have been built in Yuhuan to resolve the sanitary problems of migrant workers who usually live in makeshift accommodations lacking toilet facilities.

Efforts have also been made on a water conservation project to ensure the supply of clean water for rural people, Gao added.

Moreover, methane tanks were built in some villages in Zhejiang Province as storage pits for human and pig excrement.

This methane is used for lighting and cooking, while liquid methane can be used for irrigation, Gao says.

Official statistics indicate up to 31.34 million villagers in Zhejiang Province now have access to tap water, accounting for 85.45 per cent of the total rural population, 73.58 per cent of which have toilets at home or can use public toilets nearby.

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