A latrine is a

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting p ...

or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

system. For example, it can be a communal

trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

in the earth in a camp to be used as

emergency sanitation Emergency sanitation is the management and technical processes required to provide sanitation in emergency situations. Emergency sanitation is required during Humanitarian aid, humanitarian relief operations for refugees, people affected by natur ...

, a hole in the ground (

pit latrine A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human waste in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user ...

), or more advanced designs, including pour-flush systems. The term "latrine" is still commonly used military parlance, and less so in civilian usage except in

situations. Nowadays, the word "toilet" is more commonly used than "latrine", except when referring to simple systems like "pit latrines" or "trench latrines". The use of latrines was a major advancement in

over more basic practices such as

open defecation Open defecation is the human practice of defecating outside ("in the open") rather than into a toilet. People may choose fields, bushes, forests, ditches, streets, canals, or other open spaces for defecation. They do so either because they do ...

, and helped control the spread of many

waterborne diseases Waterborne diseases are conditions (meaning adverse effects on human health, such as death, disability, illness or disorders) caused by pathogenic micro-organisms that are transmitted by water. These diseases can be spread while bathing, washing ...

. However, unsafe defecation in unimproved latrines still remained a widespread problem by the end of 2020, with more than 3 billion people affected (46 % of the global population). Eradication of this public health threat is one of the United Nations' 17 goals for sustainable development.

Terminology

The word "latrine" is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, meaning bath. Today it is commonly used in the term "

". It has the connotation of something being less advanced and less hygienic than a standard

. It is typically used to describe communal facilities, such as the shallow-trench latrines used in

situations, e.g. after earthquakes, floods or other

natural disaster A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

Types

Many forms of latrine technology have been used, from very simple to more complex. The more sophisticated the system, the more likely that the term "toilet" is used instead of "latrine".

Pit latrine

is a simple and inexpensive toilet, minimally defined as a hole (pit) in the ground. More sophisticated pit latrines may include a floor plate, or ventilation to reduce odor and fly and mosquito breeding (called ventilated improved pit latrine or "VIP latrine"). Many military units, if intended for extended use, place basic shelters and seating over the pits. A pit is typically sited well away from any water sources to minimize possible contamination. After prolonged use, a pit is typically buried. Other types of pit latrines may include the Reed Odourless Earth Closet, the arborloo or treebog (very simple types of

composting toilet A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried out b ...

), or the twin pit pour-flush pit latrine, popularized by

Sulabh International Sulabh International is an India-based social service organization that works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education. The organization counts 50 ...

. The shelter that covers such a pit latrine is known in some

varieties of English Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, and other aspects of grammar. For the classification of varieties of English in pronunciation only, see regional accents of English. Overview Dialects ...

as an

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

Trench latrine

In a location without longer term sanitation infrastructure, such as for emergency sanitation, a trench latrine is a workable solution. It typically consists of a pit or a trench in the ground, deep and long.

Slit-trench latrine

A slit-trench latrine consists of a relatively shallow trench which is narrow enough to stand with one leg on either side (see

defecation postures Humans mostly use one of two types of defecation postures to defecate: squatting and sitting. People use the squatting postures when using squat toilets or when defecating in the open in the absence of toilets. The sitting posture on the other ...

). This type of latrine is used either by squatting, with the users' legs straddling the pit, or by various arrangements for sitting or leaning against a support structure. Such support may be simply a log, plank, branch or similar arrangement placed at right angles to the long axis of the pit. This type of latrine is not commonly found in developing countries, but can be used for emergency sanitation.

Shallow-trench latrine

The shallow-trench latrine is similar to the slit-trench latrine but is wider ( wide) than the latter. It is also shallow, with a depth of about . This type of latrine is often used in the initial phases of emergencies and is a simple improvement on open defecation fields. A rule of thumb in emergency sanitation provision is to allow of land per person per day. This means per 10,000 people per day, or nearly two hectares per week. Men's and women's areas should always be separated.

Aqua privy

An aqua privy is essentially a small

septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...

located directly below a

dry toilet A dry toilet (or non-flush toilet, no flush toilet or toilet without a flush) is a toilet which, unlike a flush toilet, does not use flush water. Dry toilets do not use water to move excreta along or block odors. They do not produce sewage, and a ...

squatting pan or bowl which has a drop pipe extending below the liquid level in the tank to form a simple water seal to minimise odors.

Most basic

* Campers refer to a

cathole A cathole or cat hole or sometimes pighole is a pit for human feces. Catholes are frequently used for the purpose of disposing of bowel movements or waste water (such as the water from cleaning the kitchen dishes) by hikers and others engaging ...

– a one-use, shallow scrape. *

Bucket A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical Cylinder (geometry), cylinder or Truncation (geometry), truncated Cone (geometry), cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom that is attached to a semicircular carrying handle (grip), handle ...

References

{{Toilets Toilets Appropriate technology Sanitation