This is based on projects organized in China and Brazil from 1991-1998 by Hamburger Umweltinstitut e.V. (HUI), a non-profit international scientific institute based in Germany.

Sites were constructed and operated in cooperation with O Instituto Ambiental (OIA), a Brazilian NGO, with analysis and optimization financed by the European Commission and other institutions.

Aquasol International Ltd. in co-operation with Prof. G.L. Chan provided consulting expertise.

Data is also taken from; a project constructed by Prof. Eneas Salati and the municipality of Ubatuba, SP, Brazil, another project done independently by Sabesp, the Sao Paulo state agency for water & sewage, and a compost toilet project installed by La Trobe & Associates in Sertao do Carangola RJ, Brazil.

Seven sites are referenced, of which four were scientifically analyzed.

This guide also draws from experience by the authors who visited or participated in other projects:

Dry compost toilet technology in South Africa.

Zero emissions wastewater recycling in China for apartment buildings.

Industrial-scale biodigester technology in China.

Livestock waste recycling constructed by Prof. G.L. Chan in Fiji, Mauritius and Namibia.

The authors also edited documents related to a European Commission-funded system of low-maintenance-digester technology (DESWATS), coordinated by BORDA, based in Bremen Germany.

Photo - The legacy of poor water management worldwide - erosion and band-aid solutions, such as these sand-bags ineffectively protecting a road. These demonstrate that conventional methods haven't worked. New approaches such as wastewater recycling are required.