Latest Toilet Technology
There have been improvements into many facets of our lives. One of the oldest overlooked areas for any advancement is the toilet. Several companies have noticed the neglect. They set out to change the oldest activity done by humanity.
The developed countries have taken toilets for granted. According to the WHO, over 1.5 billion people lack basic sanitation, and 419 million still relieve themselves in the open. No reliable way to manage human waste has a cost. The areas these people live have dirty conditions. Human waste contains bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Poor management means water sources are susceptible to contamination. The Swedish company Peepoople set out to provide an answer. They developed a bag with a special lining. The lining converts feces into fertilizer. The bag kills off harmful organisms. After treatment, the bag’s contents can be used to help local farmers’ crops. No plumbing required is the greatest feature. Removing plumbing means more help for undeveloped countries.
What about the people in the developed countries? Citizens in these countries wouldn’t be able to poop into a bag. How can they contribute to local farming? Ecotoilets steps in to help. They operate in the United Kingdom. They provide composting toilets to residential houses. They claim their toilets require little effort to stay clean and protect water sources. Composting toilets use little or no water, and the waste becomes compost instead of sewage. The toilets separate the solids and liquids. The toilets are mini-waste processing systems.
We discussed how to make human waste help farmers. What if farmers have enough fertilizer? The Gates Foundation’s engineers had an idea. What if the sewage sludge was something valuable instead of trash? With foundation funding, Janicki Bioenergy built the Omniprocessor. The processor takes the sludge and removes the water. The dried sludge is burned in a furnace. The furnace creates hot pressurized steam. The steam goes into a steam engine and produces electricity. The energy powers the processor first. Excess energy goes out to the community. The removed water runs through a cleaning system. What you end up with is clean drinking water.
The need is large. The Gates Foundation notes that about 3.5 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, which is why it funds "reinvented toilet" projects.
Head over to this guide to find out what’s available in the market!
Sources
- Sanitation fact sheet, World Health Organization
- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Gates Foundation
