Выгребная яма: простое санитарное сооружение

Toilet that collects human waste in a hole in the ground

<noinclude>Infobox sanitation technology
| name =
| synonym = Pit toilet, household latrine, long drop
| image = Defecating into a pit (schematic). jpg
| image size =
| alt =
| caption = A simple pit latrine with a squatting pan and shelter
| pronounce =
| position = User interface, collection and storage (on site)
| application = Household level
| management = Household, public, shared
| inputs = Feces, urine Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort. When properly built and maintained, pit latrines can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from open defecation. This decreases the transfer of pathogens between feces and food by flies. Pit latrines are a low cost method of separating feces from people. The pit is typically at least deep and across. When the pit fills to within of the top, it should be either emptied or a new pit constructed and the shelter moved or re built at the new location. Fecal sludge management involves emptying pits as well as transporting, treating and using the collected fecal sludge. If this is not carried out properly, water pollution and public health risks can occur. Recurring expenditure costs are between US$1.5 and $4 per person per year for a traditional pit latrine, and up to three times higher for a pour flush pit latrine (without the costs of emptying). As of 2013 pit latrines are used by an estimated 1.77 billion people, mostly in developing countries. About 892 million people (12 percent of the global population) practiced open defecation in 2016, mostly because they have no toilets. Southern Asia and Sub Saharan Africa have the lowest access to toilets. As a result, sanitation coverage in India has increased from just 39% in October 2014 to almost 98% in 2019. It is estimated that 85 million pit latrines have been built due to that campaign as of 2018. Another example from India is the "No Toilet, No Bride" campaign which promotes toilet uptake by encouraging women to refuse to marry men who do not own a toilet.

Depending on the region, the term "pit latrine" may be used to denote a toilet that has a squatting pan with a water seal or siphon (more accurately termed a pour flush pit latrine – very common in South East Asia for example) or simply a hole in the ground without a water seal (also called a simple pit latrine) – the common type in most countries in sub Saharan Africa. Whilst a dry toilet can be with or without urine diversion, a pit latrine is almost always without urine diversion. The key characteristic of a pit latrine is the use of a pit, which infiltrates liquids into the ground and acts as a device for storage and very limited treatment.

The user positions themself over the small drop hole during use. The size of the feces drop hole in the floor or slab should not be larger than to prevent children falling in.

A cat hole is a one time use pit toilet often utilized by campers, hikers and other outdoor recreationalists. Also referred to as the "cat method," it is formed by simply digging a hole in the ground just large enough to hold the feces from one defecation event. After use, the hole is refilled with the soil that was dug out.

thumb|A sanitation worker empties a pit latrine manually near Durban, South Africa. thumb|Bad practice example: Sanitation workers dump fecal sludge from pits into a river at Korogocho slum near Nairobi, Kenya. The requirements for safe pit emptying and fecal sludge management are often forgotten by those building pit latrines, as the pit will only fill up in a few years time. However, in many developing countries safe fecal sludge management practices are lacking and causing public health risks as well as environmental pollution. For the fecal sludge to be pumpable, water usually needs to be added to the pit and the content stirred up, which is messy and smelly. Procedures for safe emptying of fecal sludge from pit latrines is a priority for many developing countries where many new pit latrines have been built in rural areas in recent years, such as in Bangladesh. Fecal sludge that has been removed from pits manually or with vacuum tankers is often dumped into the environment indiscriminately, leading to what has been called "institutionalized open defecation".

The fecal sludge may be transported by road to a sewage treatment facility, or to be composted elsewhere. There are numerous licensed waste hauling companies providing such service in areas where it is needed in developed countries, although in developing countries such services are not well regulated and are often carried out by untrained, unskilled and unprotected informal workers. When managed and treated correctly to achieve a high degree of pathogen kill, fecal sludge from pit latrines could be used as a fertilizer due to its high nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter content. However, it is hard to ensure that this is done in a safe manner. The number of viable helminth eggs is commonly used as an indicator organism to make a statement about the pathogen load in a fecal sludge sample. Helminth eggs are very persistent to most treatment methods and are therefore a good indicator.

A range of commercial products are available which claim to help reduce the volume of feces in the pit and reduce odor and fly problems. They are collectively described as a pit additive and many of them are based on the concept of effective microorganisms. The intention is to add specific strains of microbes to aid the decomposition process – but their effectiveness is disputed and recent research found no effect in scientific test conditions. Wood ash, leaves, soil, compost, or sawdust can be sprinkled on top of the feces to decrease the smell in the case of pit latrines without a water seal.