A review of wastewater handling in the Arctic with special reference to pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and microbial pollution

Bucket toilets are common in remote settlements but are also used in towns. In settlements having inadequate sanitary facilities the risk of contracting diseases, such as hepatitis A, is unacceptably high. Conventional centralized wastewater collection systems and treatment plants are a challenge to build in the Arctic and expensive to operate. Thus alternative methods are needed. Possible solutions are improved dry or low flush toilets with collection of toilet waste at the household level and subsequent centralized treatment by dry composting or anaerobic digestion. Both treatment methods facilitate co-treatment of wastewater along with other organic waste fractions and provide a by-product that is environmentally safe and easy to handle. Combining the above with decentralized greywater treatment will reduce the costs for expensive infrastructure.