KSA 9: Business Development and Innovation.
Thrust 3: Business Development .
Programme 13: SASTEP.
Title : Coordination for the – SANS 30500 Testing and Certification (Mark scheme) Pilot.
ToR ID : 1009885
Contact Person: Mr Akin Akinsete akina@wrc.org.za
Closing Date : 10 December 2021
Brief description of ToR
Off-grid and non-sewer sanitation systems offer South Africa the opportunity to expand access to the marginalized and poorly served with improved and sustainable sanitation services. This approach will assist with addressing the current sanitation backlogs and meet the target for the Sustainable Developmental Goal 6 (SDG 6) – “ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. The current sanitation provision paradigm is either a hole in the ground (i.e., the use of pit latrines and its other variants), limited use of decentralized sanitation systems which do not always meet regulatory standards, or a flushing toilet connected to a sewer reticulation system. While these solutions have merits and can meet the challenges of adequate sanitation if deployed and maintained properly. Additional factors such as quality of products, quality of performance, appropriate design, and operations and maintenance often results in poor technology deployment.
The Water Research Commission (WRC) has championed non-sewered sanitation research, development, and innovation for over 20 years and in 2014 partnered with the Department of Science and Technology and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to focus efforts that brings about sanitation transformation in South Africa and Africa, a concept termed SANiTI (Sanitation Transformation Initiative). This concept is enabled through the national programme called SASTEP (South African Sanitation Technology Enterprise Programme) based at the Water Research Commission. One of the critical elements of SANiTI was to use a standards-based approach to move the sector towards more innovative sanitation technologies that embrace water and resource efficient toilets, alternate treatment and waste valorisation technologies and circular economy technology adaptations.
Through the WRC and the South African Bureau of Standards partnership, South Africa was well represented on the international panel that supported the creation of the ISO 30500 standard which SABS went on to adopt as the national standard in South Africa, the 2nd country in Africa to do so. This marked a critical milestone of co-operative governance (DHSWS, COGTA, and dti), smart partnerships (WRC and SABS) and potential to enable the growth of a sunrise sanitation industry in South Africa while solving some of the most challenging problems surrounding sanitation provision in the country. Such standards-based practices enhance competitive edge for nascent companies and industrial development and is also instrumental in facilitation of international trade. The next key step will be to build a certification (mark) scheme inclusive of testing, laboratory readiness and a certification mark. This projects seeks to coordinate a national platform to develop a cost efficient and functional certification / accreditation process for SANS 30500 that will enable innovators and manufacturers develop quality products in accordance with the standard.
