Willingness-to-pay for container-based sanitation and implications for targeted subsidy design in urban Haiti

EkoLakay container-based sanitation (CBS) with weekly waste collection and treatment is one of the only household-level safely managed sanitation options in northern Haiti. Despite a low monthly fee of 350 HTG (less than 3 USD), some households still struggle to pay for the service, indicating that targeted subsidies could expand coverage to the poorest and most vulnerable households. To inform targeted subsidy design, we conducted surveys with 603 households in four neighborhoods of Cap Haitien to investigate willingness to pay (WTP) for EkoLakay CBS services and to determine the socio-economic, behavioral, and contextual factors associated with WTP. We used contingent valuation to measure stated WTP and multivariate regression to assess factors associated with WTP. We also conducted focus group discussions with household members and community leaders to further explore the findings. In the overall survey population, 60% reported a willingness to pay 350 HTG per month for EkoLakay service (the current fee), 77% were willing to pay 250 HTG, and 85% were willing to pay 150 HTG. Household wealth, sanitation privacy, and satisfaction with the current sanitation facility were associated with WTP in multivariate regression analysis. However, a household’s current ownership of a private toilet was not associated with WTP. Focus group participants identified several reasons why households that already owned private toilets may be willing to pay for the EkoLakay CBS service. These included pit emptying costs, smell, and pest concerns of pit latrines, the desire for multiple toilets within the home, and the benefits of CBS in flood-prone areas. Our results suggest that an additional subsidy that reduces the price to 150–200 HTG could achieve up to 80% CBS coverage in the study area. These results may inform other basic service providers and government partners to better understand willingness to pay for basic service provision in the region.