Fecal Waste Research Articles

Characterization of anti-microbial peptides and proteins from maggots of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae fly species (Diptera)

Removal of infected wounds using maggots has been known for centuries. Early research has shown that the maggot exosecretion, whole body, and fecal waste products of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae species contain a variety of alkaline peptides capable of inhibiting bacterial growth. Since the wide application of antibiotics such as penicillin, a number of bacterial infections have become insensitive to antibiotic treatment. In many of these instances, maggot therapy has been successfully applied for the treatment of chronic wounds. To identify and compare the expression patterns of anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) from some dipteran species, transcriptome analyses were conducted for the maggots of 11 Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae species. Species of the subfamily Calliphorinae showed relatively higher expression levels of AMPs and anti-microbial proteins compared with those of Luciliinae and Sarcophagidae species. Furthermore, among all of the dipteran species examined, Lucilia illustris exhibited the highest transcription levels of AMPs. Cecropin A2 and defensin, whose expression levels were the highest among the anti-microbial peptides, were synthesized to test their biological activity. The synthesized peptides showed anti-microbial activities without hemolytic activities. In particular, cecropin A2 of L. illustris exhibited the highest anti-microbial activity against all of the bacteria and fungi examined, thereby possessing the potential to be developed as a new alternative to antibiotics. This comparative transcriptomic study may provide new insights into anti-microbial compositions of some dipteran species.

A watershed study assessing effects of commercial hog operations on microbial water quality in North Carolina, USA

Commercial Hog Operations (CHOs) produce large amounts of fecal waste, which is often treated in lagoons and sprayed onto fields as fertilizer. The effects of these systems on proximal water quality compared to ambient conditions have not been well-studied, and are particularly important for understanding the dissemination of fecal bacteria and antimicrobial resistance. A longitudinal, case-control watershed study was designed to study effects of CHOs on microbial water quality among watersheds with similar soil, land use, human population, and area. We compared watersheds with (n = 13) and without (n = 9) CHOs over one year measuring fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), microbial source tracking (MST) fecal markers, and antimicrobial resistance in isolated Escherichia coli. E. coli concentrations were higher (p < 0.001) at sites downstream of CHOs (1284 CFU/100 mL, n = 103) compared to background sites (687 CFU/100 mL, n = 74). The human MST marker HF183 was detected at similarly low concentrations (PR = 1.3 (0.91, 1.8), p = 0.30). However, the swine MST marker pig-2-bac was found at more sites downstream of CHOs (PR = 3.5 (0.98, 12), p = 0.035) and at a significantly higher (p = 0.003) mean concentration at sites downstream of CHOs (283 copies/mL) compared to background sites (0.76 copies/mL). The presence of any antimicrobial resistance was observed more often for E. coli isolated downstream from CHOs (19%, n = 556) than background sites (6%, n = 356), with tetracycline resistance observed most often. Nine isolates from four sites downstream of CHOs and one isolate from a background site were confirmed β-lactamase-producing E. coli. Overall, these results show that fecal microbes and antimicrobial resistance from CHOs may be transported off-site, however more research is needed to characterize timing and conditions of off-site transport. Mitigation strategies such as optimizeation of waste treatment, buffers, and antibiotic stewardship could help reduce the contributions of microbial contaminants to surface water.

Commentary: After the flush: What is the best fecal waste management system for Addis Ababa?

• Management of faecal waste. • diversity of system in this case. • Involvement of local authorities. • Possibility of using this waste management system in education.

Sanitation potpourri: Criteria for planning mix of sanitation systems for citywide inclusive sanitation

Sanitation is a universal need and thus requires universal access. Despite having the world’s largest sanitation campaign, only 37% of urban India has access to safely managed sanitation systems. Due to the heterogeneity of Indian cities, a mix of different sanitation systems is required to meet the demands of these rapidly urbanising cities. The Manila principles on Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) propose a mix of technologies as a key pillar in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals on urban sanitation. However, there is a lack of understanding on the criteria to consider when planning the technological options for CWIS. The mega-city of Chennai is chosen as a case study, and mixed methods including a Faecal Waste Flow diagram (SFD), Social Network Analysis (SNA) and interviews are applied. This study then presents a set of 14 contextually relevant criteria for the implementation of sewered and non-sewered technologies in the city. The SFD shows that 35% of Chennai’s faecal waste remains unsafely managed while using SNA identified that the water and sanitation utility, the municipal corporation and the slum clearance board are the best placed stakeholders in the city to create a change in the sanitation situation. Furthermore, 17 drivers and barriers for the implementation of non-sewered technologies are identified. The criteria catalogue was also theoretically tested for an example ward in Chennai. The findings of the study show that a catalogue of physical, technical, institutional and financial criteria is useful for planning a mix of technologies with the CWIS approach.

Assessment of the psychological dimension to open defecation in Ogun State

The possibility of faecal exposure increasing risk for COVID-19 infection makes imperative the need to interrogate current sanitation practices, as emerging studies indicate the possibility that the oral-faecal pathway could serve as an alternative to the respiratory and contact transmissions. This would help provide an analytical premise for planned improvement and greater precaution in ensuring human waste is safely contained, emptied, transported, and disposed or treated. This study adopts the RANT model (Risk, Attitude, Norm, and Toilet Management factors) in order to expatiate on the psychological determinants of open defecation by households who currently have toilets and either share them or use them separately. This is with a view to proffering suggestions on the sustainable measures for faecal waste management within Ogun state, Nigeria. Using a four-level multi-stage approach, questionnaires were administered to a total of 330 households within Ogun State, Nigeria. In the logistic modelling of the psychological factors explaining why households still defecate in the open, an indicator of the risk factor was more significant in the tendency of households, where toilets are shared, to still defecate in the open. Moreover, an indicator of the norm factor would explain why households who do not share toilets still defecate in the open. The study recommends the need to mainstream, and implement effectively, initiatives such as planning and landscaping of open spaces, bus terminals with adequate toilets, installations of signpost warning against open defecation, comprehensive water schemes in cities’ master plans of Ogun state, as a sustainable means of discouraging open defecation, and reducing the risk factors for COVID-19 infection and exposure to other infectious diseases.

Resilient Housing Provision for Coastal Settlements in Ondo State, Nigeria

The advent of sustainability in housing and shelter is being identified as an important discuss for the coastal settlement. This is no further from the fact that this region is being confronted with series of issues bordering around flooding, prevailing wind action, loss of homes, properties and in extreme cases, ‘life(s)’. Moreover, this area has to deal with difficulty in proper disposal of waste among many other problems. The Ilaje community, standing as a perfect study area for this research, evidently reveals the importance of a sustainable, ecofriendly and resilient shelter as a necessity for coastline settlements. The outcome of this study proffers applicable solutions to tackling coastal settlement issues including flooding, loss of life and properties, proper faecal waste management while ensuring that uninterrupted electrical power supply is available for household electronic gadgets like radios, televisions, charging of phones and torchlights. Achieving these solutions and ensuring the longevity of the approach will necessitate the training of residents within the coastal settlement, skilled in technical works within the building industry on the construction method for future maintenance and if need be, in erecting newer shelters. Furthermore, there is need for collaboration between the private and public sector in providing the financial assistance needed to foster the acceptance and implementation of the solutions propounded in this research.

Whole-system analysis reveals high greenhouse-gas emissions from citywide sanitation in Kampala, Uganda

Global estimates of emissions of greenhouse gasses do not take into account the complex service chain in rapidly growing cities in low- and middle-income countries. This paper presents an end-to-end analysis to estimate emissions from all stages of the sanitation-service chain, using Kampala in Uganda as an example. We show that emissions associated with long periods of storage of faecal waste in sealed anaerobic tanks (49%), discharge from tanks and pits direct to open drains (4%), illegal dumping of faecal waste (2%), leakage from sewers (6%), wastewater bypassing treatment (7%) and uncollected methane emissions at treatment plants (31%), are contributing to high levels of greenhouse-gas emissions. Sanitation in Kampala produces 189 kt CO2 e per year, which may represent more than half of the total city-level emissions. Significant further empirical and modelling work is required to update estimates of greenhouse-gas emissions from sanitation systems globally.

A lab-scale study on the influence of the compost-dewatering process on moisture removal and pathogen inactivation in pre-sanitized fecal sludge

Abstract In many developing cities, fecal sludge management has become a serious environmental issue. As the increasing urban settlement results in the generation of fecal matter that causes environmental problems, recovering and recycling fecal waste for soil amendment could be beneficial. In this study, pre-sanitized fecal sludge (FS) was collected from the ongoing FS treatment process at the University of Science and Technology Beijing and subjected to a compost-dewatering process to mitigate pathogen and moisture content (MC). Biochar and dry leaves were added to reactors 1, 2, and 3 (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1) at 10% to facilitate the degradation process. The result shows that the final MC from the 45-day experiment has values of 35.1, 37.3, 38.9, and 65% in reactors 1, 2, 3, and the control, respectively. The indicator organism (fecal coliform) was completely mitigated in reactors 1 and 2. However, fecal coliform was merely reduced from 7.2 to 5.7 log10 CFU/100 mL in reactor 3 and remained available in the control reactor. This phenomenon of pathogen inactivation and MC removal from FS was attributed to the concentration of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the pre-sanitized FS. The addition of LAB to the treatment process enhanced the acidification process and resulted in pathogen inactivation. Biochar and dry leaves also played an important role in mitigating moisture and enhancing the fast composting process. Given the hygienic condition of the compost, it is suitable for soil amendment in agriculture.

A qualitative study on resource barriers facing scaled container-based sanitation service chains

Abstract Container-based sanitation (CBS) is an increasingly recognised form of off-grid sanitation provision appropriate for impoverished urban environments. To ensure a safely managed and sustainable service, a managing organisation must implement a service chain that performs robustly and cost-effectively, even with an expanding customer base. These ‘CBS operators’ adopt varying approaches to achieve this objective. Following research including interviews with representatives from six current CBS operators, this paper presents a generalised diagrammatic model of a CBS service chain and discusses the three broad thematic challenges currently faced by these organisations. Supplying cover material is a universal problem with hidden challenges when taking advantage of freely available resources. There is no universally applicable approach for the efficient collection of faecal waste despite the high labour costs of waste collection. The best strategy depends on the CBS operator's overall expansion strategy and the location of fixed features within the served community. Although CBS is technically well-suited to being turned into new products within the circular economy, in practice, this requires a diverse range of skills from CBS operators and is hampered by slow growth in other organic waste recovery services and unhelpful regulation.

Vermistabilization of fecal sludge with organic enriched substrates for compost production using two earthworm species (Eisenia foetida and Eudrilus eugeniae)

AbstractDeveloping countries are facing high generation of fecal sludge without adequate systems for proper treatment, leading to detrimental effects on the environment from its disposal. An emerging and innovative option in curbing this problem is the use of epigeic earthworm species to stabilize the waste into vermicompost, a value‐added resource. Substrate enrichment techniques can be applied to promote the sustainability and effectiveness of the vermicomposting process. This study was therefore carried out to determine the potential of two epigeic earthworm species (Eisenia foetida and Eudrilus eugeniae) to transform and stabilize fecal sludge into vermicompost using organic enriched substrates. Enriched substrates were prepared with 160 g of coconut coir, 120 g of fecal matter (65–70% dry matter) and 80 g of organic black soil. Three treatments of the vermibed substrates were prepared which were labelled T1, T2 and T3, with T1 containing Eisenia foetida, T2 containing Eudrilus eugeniae and T3, the control treatment, containing no earthworm. Treatments were triplicated and about 3‐week‐old 20 clitellated, E. fetida (live weight ∼255–275 mg) were introduced into the vermibeds for vermicomposting over a duration of 12 weeks. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (Ntot), available phosphorus (Pavail), exchangeable calcium (Caexch), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), and aluminium (Al) changes in the setups at the beginning and end of the vermicomposting period were evaluated. Eisenia foetida demonstrated a higher Corg mineralization (67.59%) compared to Eudrilus eugeniae, which attained 67.22%. Eisenia foetida also showed 5% more mortality than Eudrilus eugeniae. The study revealed that the two epigeic earthworm species for the vermicomposting of fecal waste in the enriched substrates played significant role in stabilizing the waste into vermicompost that was rich in nutrients, with lower levels of metals, higher levels of microbial biomass and higher levels of enzyme concentration.

Regulatory theater in the pork industry: how the capitalist state harms workers, farmers, and unions.

The United States pork sector generates billions of pounds of food and billions of dollars of sales and tax revenue per year. This industry has also generated hundreds of workers’ deaths from covid infections, thousands of workers’ injuries from hazardous working conditions, economic and environmental depletion of communities near production sites, and the massive decline of small hog farming operations – not to mention over a billion tons of fecal waste per year. Although pork companies, like most firms in the food industry, portray state regulation as a burden for commercial interests, we identify how the pork industry enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the state to create favorable conditions for three interrelated processes: 1) monopoly and monopsony power; 2) hyper-efficient but injurious working conditions; 3) union busting. Using structural contradictions theory, we explain the failure to protect workers, farmers, and communities as a feature of the fundamental contradiction between protection and accumulation within the capitalist state. We argue that the solution to pork industry harms is not more regulation but the outright replacement of currently existing capitalism.

Improving management of manually emptied pit latrine waste in Nairobi’s urban informal settlements

Sanergy has offered reliable, non-sewered sanitation services in Nairobi, Kenya through the implementation of container-based, urine-diverting dry toilets. However, there remains a large volume of untreated faecal waste in urban informal settlements due to poorly managed pit latrines. With limited space in the settlements to bury old pits and dig new ones, management of faecal sludge requires manual pit emptying and safe discharge. Sanergy piloted the Mtaa Fresh project in the settlement of Mukuru Kwa Njenga, establishing a waste transfer station where manual pit emptiers could safely and reliably dispose of pit latrine contents. The most important factors in the successful implementation of this station were, first, the relationship established between Sanergy and the pit emptiers and, second, Sanergy’s commitment to iterating as new insights emerged. The relationship with the emptiers impacted the location, design, and adoption of the site, and aided in the formalization of a pit emptiers’ community-based organization. The commitment to iterating enabled Sanergy to respond to learnings gained from the emptiers. Additional factors that ensured the success of Mtaa Fresh included the implementation of full-time staff, security when the site is closed, support from local authorities, and an expansion to improve management of faecal sludge and trash. Improvements trialled during the expansion aim to minimize operation and maintenance costs, but sustainability will still rely on government support and external funding.

Nutrient fertilization by dogs in peri‐urban ecosystems

Abstract (Semi‐)natural ecosystems provide many important benefits to nature and people, but are often located near populated and urbanized areas across the globe. During recreational activities, many people bring dogs into peri‐urban forests and nature, but their nutrient inputs per unit space and time via dog faeces and urine into ecosystems remain scarcely quantified. Here, we estimate net fertilization rates of dogs in peri‐urban ecosystems, with a focus on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) because of their evident effects on plant biodiversity. We used 487 direct‐count censuses over 1.5 years to collect accurate dog abundance data per hectare per year in four sites in peri‐urban forests and nature reserves in Belgium. Based on estimated dog densities and a systematic literature search of nutrient concentrations in urine and faeces, we calculate N and P fertilization rates from urine and faeces deposits, also propagating uncertainty and variability in these estimates. We find that canine N and P fertilization rates on average amount to 11 kg N (more or less equally from urine and faeces) and 5 kg P (predominantly from faeces) per hectare per year, respectively. These estimated amounts are substantial when compared to atmospheric inputs of N and extractable amounts via traditional nature management (e.g. mowing and hay removal). Our estimated dog N and P fertilization rates in peri‐urban forests and nature are substantial. Such levels of nutrient inputs may considerably influence biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and co‐determine restoration outcomes. Our results underpin the need for managers and policy makers to more often (i) consider currently neglected nutrient inputs by dogs in management plans and restoration goals, (ii) communicate to dog walkers the role of their dog as ‘fertilizer’ and highlight the necessity to remove at least canine solid faecal waste, (iii) in sensitive oligotrophic ecosystems with species adapted to nutrient‐poor soils, establish nearby off‐leash dog parks, enforce the use of short leashes and/or apply dog bans such that high dog abundances can be avoided.

Monitoring the Viral Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Still Waterbodies Using a Lanthanide-Doped Carbon Nanoparticle-Based Sensor Array.

The latest epidemic of extremely infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created a significant public health concern. Despite substantial efforts to contain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within a specific location, shortcomings in the surveillance of predominantly asymptomatic infections constrain attempts to identify the epidemiological spread of the virus. Continuous surveillance of wastewater streams, including sewage, offers opportunities to track the spread of SARS-CoV-2, which is believed to be found in fecal waste. To demonstrate the feasibility of SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater systems, we herein present a novel facilely constructed fluorescence sensing array based on a panel of three different lanthanide-doped carbon nanoparticles (LnCNPs). The differential fluorescence response pattern due to the counterion–ligand interactions allowed us to employ powerful pattern recognition to effectively detect SARS-CoV-2 and differentiate it from other viruses or bacteria. The sensor results were benchmarked to the gold standard RT-qPCR, and the sensor showed excellent sensitivity (1.5 copies/μL) and a short sample-to-results time of 15 min. This differential response of the sensor array was also explained from the differential mode of binding of the LnCNPs with the surface proteins of the studied bacteria and viruses. Therefore, the developed sensor array provides a cost-effective, community diagnostic tool that could be potentially used as a novel epidemiologic surveillance approach to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Effects of ungulate density and sociality on landscape heterogeneity: a mechanistic modeling approach

Animals can be important vectors of nutrient transfer within and across landscapes, with important implications for ecosystem productivity and composition. While it is presumed large ungulates are agents of nutrient dispersal via movement and activity, research analyzing their net effects on landscapes remains scarce. We present an individual‐based model that investigates how caribou affect the distribution of nutrients on a landscape through consumption only, as well through the cumulative effects of consumption and nutrient deposition (i.e. fecal waste and carcass deposition). We explored these dynamics in simulations that altered the context of environments, either initially containing heterogeneous or homogeneous nutrient distributions, animal densities and sociality of caribou behavior. In the consumption‐only simulations, caribou density and sociality created different patterns of heterogeneity at both the landscape and local scale depending on the initial landscape conditions. In these simulations, caribou populations crashed at high densities because the lack of animal deposition resulted in low resources across the landscape. This was not the case when considering the cumulative effects of consumption and deposition, indicating the return of nutrients from animals may be important for population stability. Additionally, in simulations considering the cumulative effects of caribou, increasing caribou density increased landscape heterogeneity irrespective of the initial condition (i.e. heterogeneous and homogeneous landscapes), and maintained or increased local heterogeneity in heterogeneous and homogenous landscape, respectively. Importantly, in all simulations the net impact of caribou at the individual patch level was extremely variable, suggesting that animal inputs are highly varied throughout the landscape. Our results indicate the movement of large ungulates such as caribou can increase the heterogeneity of available nutrients within a landscape and provide an important feedback for population stability. Thus, the loss of large ungulates from natural ecosystems via anthropogenic activity is likely to result in less heterogeneous natural landscapes.

Absence of virological and epidemiological evidence that SARS-CoV-2 poses COVID-19 risks from environmental fecal waste, wastewater and water exposures.

This review considers evidence for infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presence and COVID-19 infection and illness resulting from exposure to environmental fecal wastes and waters. There is no documented evidence that (1) infectious, replication-capable SARS-CoV-2 is present in environmental fecal wastes, wastewater or water, and (2) well-documented epidemiological evidence of COVID-19 infection, illness or death has never been reported for these exposure media. COVID-19 is transmitted mainly by direct personal contact and respiratory secretions as airborne droplets and aerosols, and less so by respiratory-secreted fomites via contact (touch) exposures. While SARS-CoV-2 often infects the gastrointestinal tract of infected people, its presence as infectious, replication-capable virus in environmental fecal wastes and waters has never been documented. There is only rare and unquantified evidence of infectious, replication-capable SARS-CoV-2 in recently shed feces of COVID-19 hospital patients. The human infectivity dose-response relationship of SARS-CoV-2 is unknown, thereby making it impossible to estimate evidence-based quantitative health effects assessments by quantitative microbial risk assessment methods requiring both known exposure assessment and health effects assessment data. The World Health Organization, Water Environment Federation, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others do not consider environmental fecal wastes and waters as sources of exposure to infectious SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 infection and illness.

Time and motion assessment of pit-emptying operations in Kigali, Rwanda

Abstract To ensure sanitation for all by 2030, fecal sludge collection services in low-income urban areas with no sewer connections need improvement. One of the major issues is the gap between low-income households' willingness to pay and the cost of emptying services in low-income areas. One way of lowering the cost of these services is through process optimization. In this regard, we conducted a time and motion study to better understand the bottlenecks associated with the collection of fecal waste from different types of on-site sanitation facilities. Our results show that emptying pit latrines, which make up 53% of the market for emptying services in Kigali, takes twice as long as emptying septic tanks. 33% of households that requested the service were located in an informal settlement with no access to road and could only be served by a semi-mechanized method which required use of barrels, and a portable pump. In general, interventions related to minimizing trash disposal in pits and septic tanks can go a long way in making the emptying process more time- and cost-efficient. Additionally, developing effective and efficient pumping technologies that are suitable for use in inaccessible areas should be prioritized.

Hydrothermal carbonization as an alternative sanitation technology: process optimization and development of low-cost reactor

Background: The provision of safe sanitation services is essential for human well-being and environmental integrity, but it is often lacking in less developed communities with insufficient financial and technical resources. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has been suggested as an alternative sanitation technology, producing value-added products from faecal waste. We evaluated the HTC technology for raw human waste treatment in terms of resource recovery. In addition, we constructed and tested a low-cost HTC reactor for its technical feasibility. Methods: Raw human faeces were hydrothermally treated in a mild severity range (≤ 200 °C and ≤ 1 hr). The total energy recovery was analysed from the energy input, higher heating value (HHV) of hydrochar and biomethane potential of process water. The nutrient contents were recovered through struvite precipitation employing process water and acid leachate from hydrochar ash. A bench-scale low-cost reactor (BLR) was developed using widely available materials and tested for human faeces treatment. Results: The hydrochar had HHVs (23.2 - 25.2 MJ/kg) comparable to bituminous coal. The calorific value of hydrochar accounted for more than 90% of the total energy recovery. Around 78% of phosphorus in feedstock was retained in hydrochar ash, while 15% was in process water. 72% of the initial phosphorus can be recovered as struvite when deficient Mg and NH4 are supplemented. The experiments with BLR showed stable operation for faecal waste treatment with an energy efficiency comparable to a commercial reactor system. Conclusions: This research presents a proof of concept for the hydrothermal treatment of faecal waste as an alternative sanitation technology, by providing a quantitative evaluation of the resource recovery of energy and nutrients. The experiments with the BLR demonstrate the technical feasibility of the low-cost reactor and support its further development on a larger scale to reach practical implementation.

Biological Indicators for Fecal Pollution Detection and Source Tracking: A Review

Fecal pollution, commonly detected in untreated or less treated sewage, is associated with health risks (e.g., waterborne diseases and antibiotic resistance dissemination), ecological issues (e.g., release of harmful gases in fecal sludge composting, proliferative bacterial/algal growth due to high nutrient loads) and economy losses (e.g., reduced aqua farm harvesting). Therefore, the discharge of untreated domestic sewage to the environment and its agricultural reuse are growing concerns. The goals of fecal pollution detection include fecal waste source tracking and identifying the presence of pathogens, therefore assessing potential health risks. This review summarizes available biological fecal indicators focusing on host specificity, degree of association with fecal pollution, environmental persistence, and quantification methods in fecal pollution assessment. The development of practical tools is a crucial requirement for the implementation of mitigation strategies that may help confine the types of host-specific pathogens and determine the source control point, such as sourcing fecal wastes from point sources and nonpoint sources. Emerging multidisciplinary bacterial enumeration platforms are also discussed, including individual working mechanisms, applications, advantages, and limitations.

Pattern of child faeces management and disposable diaper usage among under-fives in an Urban Slum of Bandung, Indonesia

Abstract Children's faecal waste is a major environmental health issue despite increasing access to sanitation facilities and sanitary products in Indonesia. This cross-sectional study investigated child faecal management practice and disposable diaper usage among under-fives living in an urban slum of Indonesia. Data on household socio-demographics, child characteristics, and child faeces management practices were collected from 184 randomly selected pairs of mothers and children through interviews and observations. Findings revealed children's common defaecation sites as improved toilet, disposable diaper, and reusable diaper at 33.7, 33.2, and 16.3%, respectively. However, hygienic child faeces disposal was at 45%. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that the common use of disposable diapers and bathroom floor as the child's defaecation site increased unhygienic disposal. This prevalence decreased for mothers with higher education and those who had initiated toilet training. Promoting mothers' disposal of child faeces from disposable diapers, preventing child defaecation on the bathroom floor, and initiating toilet training as soon as a child can walk alone are thus potential interventions.