The term "ecosan" was first used in 1995 and the first project started in 1996 in Ethiopia, by an NGO called Sudea. A trio, Dr Torsten Modig, Umeå University, Almaz Terrefe, teamleader, and Gunder Edström, hygiene expert, chose an area in a dense urban area as a starting point. They used urine diverting dry toilets (UDDTs) coupled with reuse activities.
In the ecosan concept, human excreta and wastewater is regarded as a potential resource – which is why it has also been called "resource oriented sanitation". The term "productive sanitation" has also been in use since about 2006.