Fecal sludge collection services in informal settlements of Kigali are largely unsafe, resulting in health risks for emptiers and unsafe, often nearby, disposal of untreated waste. Social enterprise start-up Pit Vidura (pitvidura.com) offers an alternative emptying service, which protects both workers and the environment. Working with Pit Vidura, our senior economist, Zachary Burt, and Dr. Rachel Sklar (rsklar.com), studied the current market structure for pit maintenance services, Pit Vidura's costs at different scales, and characterized demand for both single empties and more cost-effective 'group empties.' Using a revealed preferences approach, we found that poor households were willing to pay a significant premium for improved collection services, and that no subsidies were needed to scale up improved emptying to 10% of the total market, but that a cross-subsidy of $2 per month per household would be needed to scale up improved emptying to nearly all households located in informal settlements."
Image Source: Katie Sottilare
