New Faeces - Part 2

It's time to seriously rethink how we go to the toilet.

The flushing lavatory did revolutionise sanitation but with water supplies fast becoming scarce or under threat it will soon become unsustainable and unethical to just press a handle, pull a cord or push a button for the sheer convenience of not having to see or smell your own bodily wastes.

Time is running out for a viable alternative to be adopted. It is not just water scarcity that is an issue.

In 2017 the UN reported that 60% of the global population lacked access to safely managed sanitation and that 80% of waste water is released in an untreated state into the environment. The potential for disease and contamination is therefore a reality for a good proportion of those on the planet.

Add to that the increasing frequency of urban and surface water floods and sewage systems can easily be breached and the raw effluent simply washed out into the streets and fields.

There are many clever inventions and systems now in the market and one that I have taken a liking to is that of Loowatt a UK Company who specialise in waterless flush toilets.

Traditionally in such situations there has been a reliance on chemical loos, bucket or bin types or simple holes in the ground.

The Loowatt model combines the essential requirements of safe collection of fecal waste, removal from site and treatment.

That sounds a bit like the standard drains and sewers process doesn't it?

The crucial difference is that Loowatt work in localities and settings where there is no access to the network of mains. Approximately 27% of the worlds population lack plumbed sewerage or the potential for this to be installed adequately.

So how does it work?

The toilet itself has a conventional appearance making it readily suited to a house, community facility or as a portable installation.

Waste is removed from the bowl with no water assistance using a compostable polymer film in a belt and bag movement. After each use the bag is crimped and sealed and with carbon filters eliminating odours.

The deposited effluent can then be safely and hygienically collected from beneath in an airtight canister.

The small unit size and easy transportation is again ideal in more remote areas of the planet.

That is not the end of the operation.

In a household application pioneered by Loowatt in Madagascar the waste is treated in a small scale anaerobic digestion system making it very compact and self contained. Alternatively, where the infrastructure exists the waste can then be taken away to an energy plant to be made in to electricity and with any bi-product suitable for use as fertiliser in agriculture.

The days of the conventional water closet are numbered.