Reinvent the Toilet Fair

The Toronto team uses a conveyor belt inspired by the food industry to dry out poop before it’s sanitized by smoldering.

In their 20-foot container field factories, re:char produces UD toilets which double as biochar reactors.
- A special design award went to the Swiss research group EAWAG and the Austrian design firm EOOS for their urine-diverting toilet that uses membrane technology to recover water for flushing. The striking blue plastic tower can be built into a new home or incorporated into an existing latrine. Very short Gates Foundation video here.
- The Cal Tech team won first place with their solar-powered toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity. Watch video as well as a photo stream that shows how their approach works Very short Gates Foundation video shows set up but little technical detail.
- Washington Post coverage shows the toilet designed for a large low cost housing development in Ecuador uses a bicycle chain operated dry flush and an auger screw to move material through the pipe. When I remarked to Marcos Fiovavanti of Fundacion In Terris that urine diverting bowl was very small (see photo in stream and first photo in MSNBC story), he pointed out that this kept collected urine clean and urine that falls into the other chamber facilitates the process. Good thinking.
- The Longborough Team that placed second in the contest is led by Sohail Khan, interviewed here in this BBC video. A new 6 minute video by the university introduces the years of experience that led to the development of the winning prototype. Here’s the short Gates Foundation video overview.
- Video coverage by the Los Angeles Times shows black soldier fly larvae and features a segment with Jim McHale of American Standard, demonstrating a plastic pan designed for Bangladesh. A simple hinged water seal that blocks odors and opens when waste and a small amount of flush water are added.
- A sanitation system that converts human waste into biological charcoal is a fairly comprehensive biochar system from Stanford University and the Climate Foundation. Here’s the short Gates video.
- South Africa’s University of Kwazulu-Natal proposed a community bathroom block that recovers clean water, nutrients, and energy Gates Foundation’s short video isa good overview.
- A toilet that converts human waste to fuel gas from Delft University of Technology requires lots of energy to recover energy, as they explain in short video from Gates Foundation.
- Interesting urine-diverting combustion toilet has been prototyped by the National University of Singapore. Basic set up is shown in this short video.
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Today is Menstrual Hygiene Day, and PHLUSH realizes that menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and health can be improved with adequate access to restrooms. We are beginning to dive into the intersection of restroom advocacy and MHM -- learn more by hearing our board President, Genevieve Schutzius, speak on the intersection…
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