Urban ecological sanitation: possible lessons from Erdos, China

This case study examines the China–Sweden Erdos Eco-Town Project, an effort to implement full-scale dry sanitation systems with urine diversion in an arid urban area of northern China. While the project provided valuable learning regarding the technical and social challenges of upscaling eco-toilets, it was ultimately overshadowed by rapid economic growth and compromised by poor construction quality and a lack of dedicated ownership.

• The China–Sweden Erdos Eco-Town Project served as a first-of-its-kind full-scale test of alternative sanitation using eco-toilets in an arid urban environment, involving 832 apartments and approximately 3,000 inhabitants.
• Rapid economic development and urbanisation in Dongsheng removed the initial drivers for the project—poverty and extreme water shortage—as a 100-kilometre pipeline from the Yellow River increased freshwater supply and property values rose significantly.
• The project suffered from significant technical failures due to poor workmanship, lack of building inspection, and non-compliance with blueprints, resulting in leaky or incorrectly sized pipes that were not discovered until 2008.
• Environmental and behavioral factors contributed to system failures: frozen ventilation pipes occurred because pipe insulation in attics and roofs was not required by Chinese building codes, and some residents blocked ventilation by using toilets for solid waste.
• Despite technical issues, no health effects were reported by residents or workers, and a later test of Separett AB toilets showed that integrated evacuation fans could eliminate odours even when external vent pipes were improperly constructed.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). Urban ecological sanitation: possible lessons from Erdos, China. https://www.sei.org/features/urban-ecological-sanitation-possible-lessons-erdos-china/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Urban ecological sanitation: possible lessons from Erdos, China. 2013. https://www.sei.org/features/urban-ecological-sanitation-possible-lessons-erdos-china/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Urban ecological sanitation: possible lessons from Erdos, China |date=6 January 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/features/urban-ecological-sanitation-possible-lessons-erdos-china/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2013urban, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Urban ecological sanitation: possible lessons from Erdos, China}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/features/urban-ecological-sanitation-possible-lessons-erdos-china/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }