Amy Kryston | Sanitation as a Basic Human Right

The Sustainable Carolina Podcast

Six million people living in the United States do not have access to safely managed sanitation. But Amy Kryston is cautiously optimistic that this public health problem can be solved in our lifetimes.
In 2022, Amy began a deep dive into this staggering statistic. Through the UNC Institute for the Environment's Environmental Justice Graduate Research Award, she wrote a systematic review on the social barriers to adequate wastewater treatment.
Her work was published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health in 2024. She hopes the review can be a jumping off point for policymakers, municipalities and governments working to address this public health problem.

Launched in fall 2020, Sustainable Carolina is the University’s comprehensive initiative to advance and amplify all sustainability activities, including reducing the University’s environmental footprint through three goals: net zero water usage, zero waste to landfills and net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Led by Chief Sustainability Officer Michael Piehler, Sustainable Carolina will advance these goals through collaborative partnerships across operations, academics, and research.