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Human-powered Emptying and Transport of pits and tanks can mean one of three refers to several things:
* using buckets and shovels;
* using a portable, manually operated pump (e.g. MAPET: Manual Pit Emptying Technology).
* using a pushcart or tricycle to transport containers and oil drums containing urine and excreta.
===Pumps===
Some sanitation technologies can only be emptied manually, for example, the [[Fossa Alterna]] or [[Dehydration Vaults]]. These technologies must be emptied with a shovel because the material is solid and cannot be removed with a vacuum or a pump. When sludge is viscous or watery it should be emptied with a hand-pump, a MAPET or a vacuum truck, and not with buckets because of the high risk of collapsing pits, toxic fumes, and exposure to the unsanitized sludge. The type of emptying that can, and should be employed, is very specific to the technology that needs emptying.
A MAPET consists of a hand pump connected to a vacuum tank mounted on a pushcart. A hose is connected to the tank and is used to suck sludge from a pit. When the hand pump is turned, air is sucked out of the vacuum tank and sludge is sucked up into the tank. Depending on the consistency of the sludge, the MAPET can pump up to a height of 3m.
==Cartage systems==
[[Image:Cartage_systems.png|thumb|right|150px|[[Cartage system |Cartage system]], motorized tricycle in India (for credits, click the picture)]]
Tricycles and push carts can be used to transport containers and oil drums containing urine or excreta. Push carts and tricycles (pedal or motorised) can access small streets. Tricycles can speed up the collection operation and increase the radius of the collection in urban areas, transporting the containers to transfer stations or to community treatment facilities. From transfer stations, urine and excreta can be loaded onto trucks or tractors, which can haul a larger volume over a long distance. Tricycles can collect door to door, although urine can also be collected in larger containers serving a number of houses.
{{procontable | pro=
- Potential for local job and income generation.<br>- Can access small streets <br>- Not dependent on large, cost-intensive infrastructure. <br> - Gulper can be built and repaired with locally available materials. <br> - Low to moderate capital; variable operating costs depending on discharge point (sludge transport over 0.5km is impractical). <br> - Provides service to unsewered areas/communities. <br> - Easy to clean and reusable. | con=- Spills may happen. <br> - Time consuming: can take several hours/days depending on the size of the pit. <br> - MAPET requires some specialized repair (welding). <br>-Highly depending on willingness to pay for regular removal of excreta. <br>- Cartage systems are only appropriate for small haul distances and small volumes.
}}
==Adequacy==
Hand-pumps are appropriate for areas that are either not served by vacuum trucks, where vacuumtruck emptying is too costly, or where narrow streets and poor roads may limit the ability of a vacuum truck to access the site. The hand-pump is a significant improvement over the bucket method and could prove to be a sustainable business opportunity in some regions. The MAPET is also well suited to dense, urban and informal settlements, although in both cases, the distance to a suitable sludge discharge point is a limiting factor. These technologies are more feasible when there is a [[Transfer Station (Underground Holding Tank)|Transfer Station]] or [[Sewer Discharge Station]] nearby. One government-run emptying programme implemented a manual emptying scheme with great success by providing employment to community members with adequate protection and an appropriate wage. Pushcarts and tricycles are especially appropriate in flat urban areas, with access roads. Pushcarts and tricycles are not appropriate for collecting large volumes (> 300 litre, > 300 kg) or for longer distances.
==Health Aspects/Acceptance==