The National Park System (NPS) of the United States (US) may be an advantageous application of Sol-Char type technology and also presents a unique opportunity to explore more sustainable sanitation systems here in the US. With more than 278 million visitors to parks each year, approximately 64 million kilograms of human waste must be handled or processed annually. Currently this occurs through various means ranging from sophisticated onsite wastewater treatment plants to lama’s that pack out waste from the backcountry. To date, very little research has been conducted on the efficacy of such services. The majority of academic research on sanitation in national or state parks occurred during the 1970’s and 1980’s and focused primarily on wilderness or backcountry sanitation (e.g. sanitation in the absence of a toilet facility). No academic research was found that considered sanitation services in the front country of state and national parks. An understanding of the types of front country sanitation services in use, their cost, or their functionality within the park system is limited. Research concerning the long term environmental outlook of sanitation provision in parks (both front- and back-country) is also lacking. Therefore, this research focused on:
- Reviewing existing literature and information concerning the current state of sanitation in parks with regard to type, cost, and function.
- Identifying the key challenges associated with providing park sanitation services based on the literature as well as discussions with park employees and relevant professionals
- Suggesting potential improvements to the park sanitation value chain (capture, storage, transport, treatment, disposal/reuse) based on a multi-criteria analysis of sustainability and the beneficial reuse of collected human waste
