- The concept behind ecological sanitation (ecosan) is that sanitation problems could be solved more sustainably and efficiently if the resources contained in excreta and wastewater were recovered and used rather than discharged into the water bodies and the surrounding environment.
- The end-of-pipe sanitary systems that are used today are based on the modern misconception that human excreta are simply wastes with no useful purpose and must be disposed of. - Ecological sanitation closes the loop between sanitation and agriculture, GTZ (German government aid organization)
The resources in wastewater are:
- Nutrients, which can be used for agriculture.
- Energy, which can be accessed through biogas or other techniques - see Energy from wastewater.