 Around half of the global population lives in rural areas, and nearly 51% of the people living in rural areas practice inadequate and unsafe management of wastewater. Rural wastewater treatment mainly consists of a partial treatment via a septic tank. However, the majority of the wastewater is directly discharged to nearby lands and water bodies. This discharge leads to serious health issues, economic losses, and degradation of land and water bodies. In order to improve this situation, there exist several treatment options which can be integrated into a single system to provide an efficient yet cost-effective treatment of wastewater. Integrated decentralized wastewater systems, which treat and dispose small volumes of wastewater from single households or dwellings, can improve water quality and also convert this wastewater into a source of vital nutrients to be used by plants, leading to landscape restoration and conservation. Decentralized treatment options range from simple and passive treatments, including systems such as septic tanks, cesspools, and ecological sanitation, to complex and mechanized approaches providing advanced treatment. The most typical systems are constructed wetlands, terra-preta sanitation, anaerobic digestion, waste stabilization ponds, and media filters. A decentralized wastewater system should be simple, cost-effective, and have low energy demands. A recommended system for rural households involves the separation of brown water containing mainly feces, grey water from sinks, showers, washing clothes and dishes, and yellow water containing urine through source control schemes. In this system, grey water is first treated in a conventional septic tank to remove most of the settleable solids, after which the water is further treated in a small horizontal flow-constructed wetland, and then discharged to a non-food agricultural field for irrigation purposes. Feces from dry toilets or brown water from low flush toilets are collected inside the toilet, together with an lactic acid bacteria solution. This mixture is then composted in a chamber with wood chips, charcoal, and kitchen waste. After a week, worms are added, which then leads to the production of a highly fertile black soil. The urine is stored anaerobically in a plastic or concrete container. The nutrient-rich urine and terra-preta humus are then applied to the soil as a fertiliser for agroforestry. This system may require a lifestyle adjustment, and if not properly maintained, may lead to nuisances including strong odours, scaling of pipes, and growth of insects and pests. However, these issues can be minimised by the application of acids, vinegar and smeltraps. The adoption of such integrated, decentralised solutions could significantly facilitate closing the loop through resource recovery and reuse in wastewater treatment systems.