Bucket list

This guide by WWF South Africa provides practical advice on alternative dry sanitation solutions for residents in drought-affected areas, specifically focusing on preparations for 'Day Zero' in Cape Town. It discusses the risks of using sea water for flushing, the differences between urine and faeces management, and various dry toilet options including bucket systems, commercial composting toilets, and pit latrines.

• Flushing toilets with sea water in metropolitan areas is prohibited because high salinity levels can kill the microbes in waste water treatment plants and septic systems, rendering them inoperable. An exception is made for suburbs on the Atlantic seaboard—Green Point, Sea Point, Camps Bay, and Hout Bay—which discharge sewage via pipeline, though sea water may still damage this infrastructure.
• The City of Cape Town intends to keep sewer systems functional after Day Zero by flushing them at appropriate points, although the document warns that treatment plants or pipes could still fail under extreme conditions.
• Dry sanitation options are recommended to reduce water use and prepare for Day Zero. The simplest method is a dry compost toilet consisting of a bucket in a box with a seat and organic cover material like sawdust or decomposed compost. For optimal decomposition, urine should be diverted from faeces, as one person produces approximately 1 to 1.5 litres of urine daily.
• Other sanitation alternatives include pit latrines, which are common in rural areas but risky in urban settings due to potential groundwater contamination; commercial self-contained composting toilets, some of which are used at CapeNature rest camps and Signal Hill in Cape Town; and chemical toilets.

APA

Verster, B., Buckley, C., Martin, D., Holden, R., & Botha, M. (n.d.). Bucket list. WWF South Africa. https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?24141/wednesday-water-file-04

Chicago

Verster, Bernelle, Chris Buckley, Dave Martin, Richard Holden, and Mark Botha. Bucket list. WWF South Africa, n.d. https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?24141/wednesday-water-file-04.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Verster |first1=Bernelle |last2=Buckley |first2=Chris |last3=Martin |first3=Dave |last4=Holden |first4=Richard |last5=Botha |first5=Mark |title=Bucket list |publisher=WWF South Africa |url=https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?24141/wednesday-water-file-04 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{versterndbucket, author = {Verster, Bernelle and Buckley, Chris and Martin, Dave and Holden, Richard and Botha, Mark}, title = {{Bucket list}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, url = {https://www.wwf.org.za:443/bucket_list/?24141/wednesday-water-file-04}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }