Speakers at a workshop yesterday underscored the need for ecological sanitation to ensure healthcare of people and save environment. They also suggested for using Ecosan toilet saying that this new toilet will not only protect public health but also produce organic fertiliser. The workshop titled 'Ecological sanitation: Issue and prospects in Bangladesh' was held at DPHE auditorium in the city. Speaking as special guest State Minister for Environment and Forest Mostafizur Rahman said the government and NGOs will have to encourage people to use this eco-toilet which is environment friendly. "The Ecosan toilet is hygienic and sustainable and through this toilet organic fertiliser can be produced from excreta and urea from urine," said AKM Mozammel Huq, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on land. Bangladesh currently uses around five million tonnes of chemical fertilisers, which can be replaced by brining 25 percent of its population under the coverage of eco-sanitation, said Buet Professor Dr Mujibur Rahman who presented a keynote paper at the workshop. He said the principles of ecological sanitation are to protect environment, conserve precious water and recycles nutrients and organic matter, prevent disease, promotes health and contributes to food security. Mujibur said conventional sewerage and on-site wastewater disposal systems such as pit latrines or septic tanks do not offer a sustainable solution to sanitation problems. Ecosan toilet is the best way of getting organic fertiliser, said Dr Masudul Huq Chowdhury, joint director of BARD, Comilla. "We started the system in 2004 setting up 15 eco-toilets at four villages in Comilla and are now working to set up 100 more toilets in six villages of Comilla,