Reinventing the ‘Loo’

There might be 2000 more topics that will make it to the dinner table before this one: that of the toilet aka the ‘loo’. I could not resist talking about what stands between you and the plethora of diseases brought on by poor water sanitation; let’s give the toilet kind of respect and attention it deserves!One man is on that wavelength – none other than Bill Gates. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation embarked on a project to clean up the world through the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge”.It was about time someone rethought the esteemed technology –dating back to 1775 – of the flush toilet that has proven impractical in areas with water shortage or that lack water treatment plants.Some of the criteria put forward for contestants was that the toilet must operate without running water (or a septic system), without electricity, and preferably capture energy or other resources like animal feed or water for irrigation – all the while operating at a minimal cost. Talk of a paradigm shift…The winners of the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge” were announced on August 14 with the first prize going to the Caltech team for designing and prototyping a toilet system that converts waste into hydrogen and electricity; this is a baby step in the right direction as the logistics of mass production and cultural absorption lie ahead.The challenge allowed many scientists to showcase their technical talent and imagination. Some of the ideas put forward included toilets that use microwave energy to convert waste into electricity; another turned waste into charcoal; another used urine for flushing; and yet another runs on solar energy harvested from a roof panel and uses electrochemical technology to process waste.The significance of this competition is monumental. Up to 2.6 billion people don’t have access to sanitation services – 37 per cent of the world’s population! In fact one in three people worldwide is forced to take care of fecal business outside resulting in a lot of poop coming into contact with the water system – this is in addition to the problem of poor sanitation and shared facilities. A staggering 1.4 million children die annually from diseases related to contact with human waste, more than malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis combined. This is not surprising given that 90 per cent of sewage in the developing world makes its way to rivers and lakes. Considering the fact that poop is teeming with hundreds of known viruses including E.Coli and Salmonella, one cannot appreciate the Gates’ efforts enough.In our context, the ‘latrine’ is still the protagonist of the Rwandan toilet story, leaving much to be desired: one interesting submission at the competition involved using black soldier fly larvae inside latrines to process waste to produce environmentally friendly animal feed at a small cost – this would come very handy in Rwanda, for example.By the way the submissions to the challenge could also apply to middle-class families: the flush toilet wastes water (3.5 gallons per flush) every day and fails to utilise reusable resources contained in excrement such as energy.At the end of the day, Reinventing the Toilet is half the story; consideration has to be made about the degree of acceptability within the communities to which these devices will be introduced. That bridge will be crossed when the time arrives…Did you know: The toilet we know today was invented by a watchmaker? 19th November is World Toilet Day.