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The development of the water reuse sector within the European Union (EU) varies considerably. In 2020, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Cyprus had the most comprehensive regulations for the reuse of reclaimed water for agriculture. The approval of a common regulation by the EU Parliament and the Council in May 2020 (which came into effect in June 2023) elicits the question of how each country will comply with it. This review compares (i) national regulations to the 2020 European Regulation, (ii) existing projects with respect to their performance in terms of water quality and (iii) raises a debate about the role of the EU Regulation in fostering water reuse at the EU level. The European Regulation will probably strengthen consumer confidence as common minimum requirements are now required. However, the issues related to micropollutants, disinfection by-products or possible changes in the water quality downstream of the compliance point are not fully considered by the EU Regulation. Moreover, other techno-economic obstacles to be overcome include the distance between the production of treated water and agricultural needs, the low economic competitiveness of reclaimed water and the implementation of the multi-barrier approach. HIGHLIGHTS The EU Regulation harmonises standards and procedures for water reuse: some countries need to adapt their regulations and current projects.; It is not necessarily a driver for the development of this practice.; The main challenges are associated with the economic competitiveness of reclaimed wastewater, risk management planning, the sharing of responsibilities and the implementation of the multi-barrier approach.;

In the M'zab valley, dry toilets represent an ancestral dry sanitation system, serving as a source of fertilizer thanks to human excrement valorization. However, in the 20th century, local populations began to shun these systems. The objective of this article is to illustrate the importance of dry toilets on agricultural and environmental scales in ancient M'Zab, and the renewal of these systems in response to sanitation problems in the oasis after their decline. The hypothesis put forward is that dry toilets can act as a complementary system to conventional sanitation systems. Data were collected through interviews with the local population. Our results show that the use of dry toilets, and the resulting use of human excrement as fertilizer, has gone through three phases. First, a phase of strong recycling dynamics, followed by a second phase of decline in dry toilet use which is linked to the discovery of the Albian aquifer and flush toilet adoption. The third phase is characterized by dry toilet reuse in response to oasis degradation caused by sanitation and environmental problems. Some oasesians have taken the initiative to revert to dry toilets to ensure oasis system sustainability and to revive the practice of recycling human waste. HIGHLIGHTS Reintroduction of dry toilets in the oases.; Reuse of human excrements for agricultural purposes.; Reduce the discharge of wastewater.; Protection of oases from degradation.; Alternative system of sanitation.;