About us
Sanitation First was started as Wherever the Need in the United Kingdom in 1997. In India, it is registered as Wherever the Need India Services (popularly known as WTN) a not-for-profit Sec 8 company, providing sustainable non-sewered sanitation solutions over the last eleven years through individual, community, school and urban and semi-urban slum projects.
Our Vision
- A world where everyone has access to clean, safe and sustainable sanitation
- To facilitate effective recovery of resources and recycle them to enrich the soil
- To provide innovative yet economic technologies for sanitation, waste management & MHM
- To ensure safety, privacy and dignity for women and girls in resource constrained settings.
Our Mission
- To promote sustainable non-sewered sanitation for better health, hygiene and savings
- To save scarce water resources for drinking
- To prevent untreated waste from entering the environment or polluting water sources
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
GroFam users per day
GroEdu users per day
GroSan users per day
Total users per day
Total uses per day
Tonnes of compost per year
Why Non-sewered sanitation?
Sanitation First firmly believe in promoting environmentally sustainable sanitation, that not only saves scarce water resources for drinking, but also enables either safe and efficient disposal of waste or facilitates full recovery of resources.
The Swachh Bharat Mission, India’s flagship programme for making the country Open Defecation Free by October 2019, has put an additional 8.7 crore toilets for use of the public as of October 2018. This means the nation must manage the solid and liquid waste of this additional volume in a quick, cost effective, inclusive and sustainable manner.
EcoSan, Dewats or container-based sanitation systems are easy to install, low-tech, cost effective and environmentally friendly. While in flush toilets, an individual uses almost 15 litres in a day, these toilets do not require more than three litres in all in a day. Additionally, there is zero risk of any untreated waste entering the environment or polluting water sources.
The huge expenditure that the Government must incur in providing underground drainage, sewage treatment plants, and regular maintenance of public toilets can greatly be saved in the case of non-sewered sanitation. Moreover, the resources recovered are easily and safely converted into compost and liquid fertilizer which not only bring the operating costs to zero but also ensure that the waste is effectively recycled to go back and enrich the soil. Further, the huge investment that the Government makes on production of chemical fertilisers can greatly be reduced through resource recovery.
Partnerships and Affiliations
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Our Work
Sanitation First works in villages, schools and urban slums, providing the poorest of the poor communities’ appropriate sanitation for their needs.
