In developing countries, lack of low-cost, efficient treatment technologies commonly results in faecal sludge (FS) from domestic on-site sanitation systems (e.g. latrines) being dumped untreated onto the land or into drains and watercourses. This puts public health at risk and harms the environment. Sludge drying beds planted with emergent macrophytes (plants that grow in shallow water but have their stems and leaves above the water surface) are a cost-effective and technically feasible approach for treating sludge. They also produce plants that can be used as feed for livestock and biosolids that can be applied as compost to cropland, increasing agricultural productivity.