Pit latrines in the context of "Gastroenteritis"

Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) is a participatory approach used primarily in developing countries to improve sanitation and hygiene practices within communities. CLTS aims to achieve behavior change with a "trigger" that leads to spontaneous and long-term abandonment of open defecation practices, thereby improving community sanitation and overall health. The term "triggering" is central to the CLTS process. It refers to methods of igniting community interest in ending open defecation, usually by building simple toilets such as pit latrines. The effect of CLTS is two-fold: actions that increase self-respect and pride in one's community and actions that promote shame and disgust about one's open defecation behaviors. CLTS takes an approach to rural sanitation that works without hardware subsidies by facilitating communities to acknowledge the problem of open defecation, taking collective action to become "open defecation free," and improve sanitation.

The concept was developed around 2000 by Kamal Kar for rural areas in Bangladesh. CLTS became an established approach around 2011. Local governments may reward communities by certifying them with "open defecation free" (ODF) status. The original concept of CLTS purposefully did not include subsidies for toilet installations, as they might hinder the process.

Emergency sanitation is the management and technical processes required to provide sanitation in emergency situations. Emergency sanitation is required during humanitarian relief operations for refugees, people affected by natural disasters and internally displaced persons. There are three phases of emergency response: Immediate, short term and long term. In the immediate phase, the focus is on managing open defecation, and toilet technologies might include very basic latrines, pit latrines, bucket toilets, container-based toilets, chemical toilets. The short term phase might also involve technologies such as urine-diverting dry toilets, septic tanks, decentralized wastewater systems. Providing handwashing facilities and management of fecal sludge are also part of emergency sanitation.

The immediate sanitation phase focuses on the provision of proper waste management resources. The main course of action during this stage is reducing open defecation. It is implemented as a course of initial action in emergency situations and it lasts from one to three months. Toilets provided might include very basic Latrines, pit latrines, Bucket toilets, container-based toilets or Chemical toilets.

An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a house or main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used to denote the toilet itself, not just the structure.

Outhouses were in use in cities of developed countries (e.g. Australia) well into the second half of the twentieth century. They are still common in rural areas and also in cities of developing countries. Outhouses that are covering pit latrines in densely populated areas can cause groundwater pollution.