4.11 Example from Kushtia, Bangladesh

The Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) is a privately owned facility located in Kushtia, Bangladesh. It has been in operation since 2012 and can treat up to 9 cubic meters of waste per day. The facility uses unplanted drying beds for dewatering, a coco peat filter to treat liquid effluent, and co-composting to further treat dried sludge, along with organic waste. This natural system was chosen for its low cost and simple design.

The received sludge is discharged via screen into primary collection chambers to settle and further directed into drying beds with three brick rows to distribute it uniformly. The effluent is separated from the solid part using a filter material made of bricks, sand, stones, and pipes.

The liquid effluent is collected in two tanks and filtered through a vertical system using coconut coir. The filtered water is then discharged into a pond, which is used for farming or released into a nearby canal. The solid sludge is composted along with organic waste to produce fertiliser, which is sold for agricultural use.

At the Kushtia FSTP, mixed sludge and organic solid waste are piled in heaps and left to compost for 45 to 50 days. The compost is sold for agricultural use at the local market and in other districts, such as Dinajpur, Bogura, Chittagong, Dhaka, and Jashore, and the facility has been profitable since 2018.

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