New developments on vermifiltration as a bio-ecological wastewater treatment technology: Mechanism, application, performance, modelling, optimization, and sustainability.

The review discusses the advancements in vermifiltration research over the last decade, focusing on pollution removal mechanisms, system performance, the fate of filter components, and by-products. Vermifiltration has demonstrated remarkable capabilities, particularly in treating highly contaminated wastewater with Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) levels exceeding 92,000 mg/L and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels over 25,000 mg/L, achieving removal rates of approximately 89% and 91%, respectively. Importantly, vermifiltration maintains its effectiveness even with fluctuating organic loads at the inlet, thanks to optimization of parameters like Hydraulic Loading Rate, biodegradable organic strength, earthworm density and active layer depth.

Factors influencing community-led total sanitation (CLTS) implementation abandonment before achieving open defecation-free (ODF) status: case study of the Central-Western region of Burkina Faso.

Access to sanitation has become an important element for improving the health of populations in developing countries. In Burkina Faso, 12% of the population in rural areas has access to latrine and 65% practice open defecation (OD). In a bid to eliminate this unsanitary practice and enhance sanitation access in rural areas, the government embraced community-led total sanitation (CLTS) as a national strategy in 2014.

Sustainability of facilities built under the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) implementation: Moving from basic to safe facilities on the sanitation ladder.

In the context of monitoring progress towards SDG target 6.2, a household is counted to have access to sanitation if it uses at least basic sanitation services. Several approaches have been employed to help rural communities to climb up the sanitation ladder such as Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS), whose primary target is to end open defecation through behavior change.

Review of the slippage factors from open defecation-free (ODF) status towards open defecation (OD) after the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach implementation.

Open-defecation (OD) is one of the most widespread sanitation practices in low-income countries. This practice often causes diarrheal diseases and 760,000 deaths per year. To eradicate OD, several approaches have been developed, including Community-Led-Total Sanitation (CLTS) which is a participatory and community approach.