Loo and behold: Next-generation toilets go green

New Delhi: Imagine a toilet that removes water from human waste and vaporizes it using a hand-operated vacuum pump, turning the remaining solids into fuel that can be used as fertilizer . Or, how about a self-contained toilet that disinfects liquid waste and turns solid waste into fuel or electricity. Even better is a solar toilet that uses concentrated sunlight to disinfect liquid-solid waste and produce biological charcoal (biochar) that can be used as replacement for wood charcoal or chemical fertilizers.
These “next-generation” toilets won the prestigious “Reinvent the Toilet” challenge , which was floated by IT czar-turned-philanthropist Bill Gates last year.
During his recent visit to India, Gates had told TOI that reinventing a toilet that has an operational cost of $0.05 per user, per day, and a contraption that does not rely on water to flush waste and does not discharge pollutants was his latest mission. According to him, no innovation in 200 years has saved more lives than a toilet. The Gates Foundation said 2.6 billion people still don’t have a safe “affordable way to poop” . California Institute of Technology received $100,000 as the first prize for designing a solar-powered toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity.
Loughborough University of the UK won $60,000 as the second place prize for a toilet that produces biological charcoal, minerals and clean water. University of Toronto won the third prize of $40,000 for a toilet that sanitizes feces and urine and recovers resources and clean water. Unsafe methods to capture and treat human waste result in serious health problems and death. According to Gates, food and water tainted with fecal matter result in 1.5 million child deaths every year. Most of these deaths could be prevented with the introduction of proper sanitation. Gates felt that all other modes save flush toilet are vastly inferior. “One of my ultimate dreams is to reinvent the toilet - find a cheaper alternative to the flush toilet that does not require running water, has smell characteristics better than flush toilet and cheaper to build,” he had said.