RECLAIM – a serious sanitation game

Poor sanitation and mismanagement of fertilizing nutrients have major negative impacts on the lives of millions of people around the world, including disease and pollution of our waterways. However, with proper management, we can reduce disease and recover valuable fertilizing products, water and energy. Safe management of sanitation waste can thus protect health and the environment, as well as increase food security. We have designed a game that captures the decision-making challenges in the sanitation service chain and inspires players to build more sustainable systems in a collaborative manner.

The game shares knowledge about resource recovery from sanitation and supports attitude change and cooperation between players. The game has been tested with decision-makers and university students in Uganda and Sweden. Participants have found the game both fun and useful for discussing challenges in sanitation planning.