Disposal/Reuse is the final stage of the FCS. In this stage, the treated human waste is either disposed of safely into the environment or can be reused as farm manure or biofuel. The treated water which is separated from septage can be used for gardening, cooling purposes in industries, etc.

Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is a treatment facility where the human waste collected and carried through underground drainage systems is treated to make it environmentally safe for disposal or reuse.

Figure 14: Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) – Top View
Source: (Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2016)

A Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) is a treatment facility where the septage transported through de-sludging trucks is treated to make it environmentally safe for disposal or reuse.

Figure 13: Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) – Top View Layout
Source: (Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2017)

The fourth stage in FCS is treatment, where the septage transported and discharged by trucks or through decanting facilities undergoes treatment, thereby making it safe for reuse.

Figure 12: Treatment Facility
Source: (Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2016)

Decanting facility is a point where septage from on-site sanitation systems like pit latrines and septic tank is pumped into the underground sewerage systems, to be treated at the centralized treatment plant. These assigned stations for emptying the septage are called decanting stations.

Figure 11: Decanting
Source: (Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2017)

Desludging Vehicle is a vehicle with a suction tanker mounted on the Truck/Tractor etc. The tanker is fitted with a motor which sucks the sludge/septage from the on-site systems. The capacity of the tanker usually varies from 4000 to 8000 liters.

Transport is the third stage of FCS, where the de-sludging trucks carry the desluged septage, and discharge it directly into the sewage or fecal sludge treatment plant., or into decanting facilities of the sewage treatment plants.

Figure 10: Transport of Septage
Source: (Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2017)

Emptying (or) de-sludging is a process, where the septage is emptied from the septic tank by de-sludging operators using suction pipes in situations of septic tank overflowing or cleaning purposes.

Figure 9: Emptying/De-sludging
Source: (Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2017)

Septage management or Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) includes the storage, collection, transport, treatment and safe end-use or disposal of fecal sludge. The sustainable implementation of septage management requires an integrated approach which incorporates technology, management and planning.

Fecal Sludge (FS) (also called septage) is the material that is collected from pit latrines, septic tanks or other onsite sanitation facilities (OSSF) and not transported through a sewer. Fecal Sludge is raw or partially digested, slurry or semisolid in nature.