Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, a non-profit voluntary social organisation founded in 1970 by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, is dedicated to Gandhian ideology of emancipation of scavengers. Sulabh is noted for achieving success in the field of cost-effective sanitation, liberation of scavengers, social transformation of society, prevention of environmental pollution and development of non-conventional sources of energy.

Environmental friendly compost toilets have been implemented in more than 1.2 million houses all over India and have helped liberate over a million scavengers.

Construction and maintenance of public toilets at public places and in slums on ‘pay & use basis’ is a landmark of Sulabh in the field of sanitation. So far it has constructed and is or maintaining over 7500 such public toilets in India and has constructed 200 biogas plants all over the country.

Sulabh Public Toilet Complexes
Provision of Sulabh public toilet complexes at public places and in slums on “pay and use” basis is an important activity of Sulabh in the field of community health and hygiene and environmental sanitation which has constructed public toilet complexes in different parts of the country, where maintenance is provided round the clock.

Biogas from public toilets
Recycling and use of human excreta for biogas generation is an important way to get rid of health hazards from human excreta, besides promoting use of biogas for cooking, lighting and electricity generation. Biogas digesters when attached to public toilet complex recycles human waste into biogas.

SET (Sulabh Biogas Plant Effluent Treatment) System for reuse of effluent
After a series of experiments a simple and convenient technology named SET (Sulabh Biogas Plant Effluent Treatment) was invented to further treat effluent of biogas plant. The treated effluent is colourless, odourless and pathogen free having Biochemical Oxygen Demand less than one miligram per litre and is safe for discharge into any water body without causing pollution.

Sulabh technology reduces Green House Gas effect.
In addition to conserving and reusing water, the system has additional inbuilt advantage of reducing green house gas effect arising out of carbon dioxide and methane production.

Altogether there are 60,000 volunteers working with Sulabh that include technocrats, managers, scientists, engineers, social scientists, doctors, architects, planners and other non-revenue staff. Sulabh takes 30 years maintenance guarantee for the toilet complexes constructed by it.

Sulabh International in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, Nairobi has trained professionals from 14 African countries for their capacity development towards achieving the MDG for sustainable development in water and sanitation.

The Sulabh technologies have received worldwide recognition. Sulabh has recently signed a MoU with Ethiopia to provide its expertise to improve sanitation, health and hygiene. It has trained more than 50,000 people to work in the construction and maintenance of community toilets in India.