Toilet Technology Research Articles

Excreta flow mapping along the sanitation service chain, a case of Kombolcha town, Ethiopia

Poor management of fecal sludge (FSM) presents significant risks to public health and the environment. This study employed qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, along with the Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) data analyzing tool to investigate FSM patterns in Kombolcha town, Ethiopia. The findings indicate that 75.7% of housing unites in the town are shared toilets, with multiple households sharing a single facility. The primary toilet technologies used include cistern flush toilets (2.1%), pour/manual flush toilets (19.8%), ventilated improved pit latrines (11.1%), pit latrines with slabs (56.4%), and pit latrines without slabs (10.6%). However, 98.5% of these toilet types had either unlined or only partially lined containments. Furthermore, only 37% of households practice safe pit or sludge tank emptying. As a result, only 17% of fecal sludge goes through the sanitation value chain and is effectively treated, while 39% remains onsite and unemptied, and the remaining 44% is disposed of in a manner that poses risks to the environment and public health. The study highlights the significant public health and environmental risks associated with the high reliance on shared toilets, the prevalence of inadequately lined toilet types, and the low adoption of proper fecal sludge management practices. Addressing these challenges requires the implementation of sanitation bylaws and building code regulations that prioritize hygienic standards and promote improved toilet technologies.

Sustainability assessment of rural toilet technology based on the unascertained measure theory

Upgrading toilets in rural areas is an effective way to protect public health and reduce environmental pollution. Although there are studies on rural toilets, the sustainable performance of rural toilets in developing areas is considerably less understood. The study aims to build a sustainability assessment model of rural toilet technology to support the local government in upgrading rural toilets. The unascertained measure theory is integrated into the model to quantify the sustainability performance of rural toilet technology in three dimensions: economy, service and management, and environment. A case study of Honghai Village, Inner Mongolia, China, is conducted to verify the reliability of the sustainability assessment model. The results indicate that the sustainability performance of the three-compartment septic tank toilet technology is good in Honghai Village. The results are consistent with the situation of the three-compartment septic tank toilets in the village, which verifies the model’s validity. This study can help local government significantly upgrade rural toilets and improve the living standards of rural residents.

SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS OF MANGOSTEEN TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CLUSTER IN INDONESIA BASED ON PATENT DOCUMENT APPLICATION

Functional food consumption is on the rise and has a significant market value. Indonesia is one of the largest mangosteens (a functional food source commodity) exporting countries globally. Unfortunately, the mangosteen export is still in fresh fruit condition, not in other forms that have a higher value. Policymakers need to identify critical technologies in the development of mangosteen commodities. This study uses a patent-based technology document analysis method to map the potential of technology. The data used is patent data that has been registered with the Indonesian Patent Office and the WIPO Patentscope database. The analysis was carried out using computational methods, namely a Social Network Analysis with the Girvan-Newman algorithm. According to the study's findings based on global patent data, there are three major technology clusters used in mangosteen patents: 1) 24 percent for technology related to developing preparations for medical, dental, or toilet purposes (A61K). 2) 20% for food and food ingredient technology or non-alcoholic beverages (A23L). The remaining 43 percent is spread across many other IPC technology codes, including technology related to drug preparations (A61P). It is in line with the results of patent data analysis in Indonesia, which also shows that there are three dominant technology groups applied to mangosteen in Indonesia, namely 1) Technology related to the development of medical, dental, and toilet technology (A61K) of 47 percent; 2) Technology related to food and food ingredients or non-alcoholic drinks (A23L) by 18 percent, and 3) Technology related to drug preparations (A61P) by 13 percent and the remaining 22 percent spread over several other IPC technology codes. According to Social Network Analysis, the world's dominant technology cluster for mangosteen is technology related to the development of food and food ingredients or non-alcoholic beverages (A23L). The technology associated with medical, dental, and toilet technology is the most important mangosteen technology cluster in Indonesia (A61K).

Vouchers for Improving Sanitation: A Step toward Stopping Open Defecation.

Vouchers for Improving Sanitation: A Step toward Stopping Open Defecation.

Indicators for Sanitation Quality in Low-Income Urban Settlements: Evidence from Kenya, Ghana, and Bangladesh

In recent years, shared facilities have contributed substantially to increased access to sanitation in urban areas. While shared sanitation is often the only viable option in densely-populated, low-income urban areas, it is currently considered a “limited" solution by the international community. In this paper, we analyze the conditions under which shared sanitation could be considered of adequate quality and propose a set of indicators associated with sanitation quality to be included in national household surveys. We conducted a survey with 3600 households and 2026 observational spot-checks of shared and individual household toilets in Kisumu (Kenya), Kumasi (Ghana), and Dhaka (Bangladesh). We develop a composite sanitation quality outcome measure based on observational data. Using regression analysis, we identify self-reported indicators that correlate with the spot-checked composite measure and are, therefore, robust with regard to reporting bias. Results show that (pour-) flush toilets are a highly informative indicator for sanitation quality compared to other toilet technologies. In contrast to previous arguments and depending on the context, sharing a toilet has a comparatively lower correlation with sanitation quality. Toilets still show good quality if shared among only 2–3 households. Toilet location and lighting, as well as the presence of a lockable door, are equally strong indicators for sanitation quality and could serve as alternative indicators. The findings suggest that the sanitation service levels defined by the WHO and UNICEF might be reconsidered to better capture the quality of sanitation facilities in low-income urban settlements.

Weighting of toilet assessment scheme in China implementing analytic hierarchy process

Advancing toilet technologies to address public health and sanitation issues are a concern of governments and organizations. This article mainly studies the assessment methods for the public toilets and some rural toilets considering from design to demolition to assist for the innovation of toilet technologies. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods were adopted to identify the assessment indicators and rank the weight. The outcome of Toilet Assessment Scheme (TAS), which includes a set of weightings and a classification system for the selected assessment indicators and sub-indicators. The weight calculation result showed that water resources, ecology, and indoor environmental quality are relatively high, which indicates that saving water, protecting the environment and optimizing the toilet environment should be given priority at the current stage. The individual questionnaire experts from the perspective of gender, profession, and generation, have different emphases on the evaluation scheme. This study can improve the comprehensiveness of toilet evaluation under the distinct background conditions, and will play a relevant role in the promotion of new toilet technology. The TAS can accelerate the toilet revolution in areas where toilets are scarce, and thus will improve the sanitary and health conditions of these populations.

The Role of the SaTo Pan Toilet Technologies in Advancing Progress in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector

The United Nation’s (UN) 6th Sustainable Development Goal seeks to enable the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030 (UN Sustainable Development Goals Platform). Lusaka, Zambia has thirteen peri-urban areas (PUAs), all with poor sanitation conditions (WHO / UNICEF). The SaToTM brand, created by the LIXIL Corporation, offers a suite of frontier sanitation technologies including various safe and affordable toilet products for use in lower-and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and Asia. This study examines the potential market demand and environment for the SaToTM Pan Sit and Squat toilets in the Bauleni PUA. In Lusaka, landlords (LLs) hold the decision-making power regarding household-based infrastructure; therefore, this study measures LL interest in the SaToTM Pan Toilet technologies for the LL’s personal and familial use as well as for use by their tenants. 30 semi-structured interviews with conveniently sampled, adult LL residents of Bauleni were conducted to capture their demographic, sanitation, and toilet history status as well as their SaToTM Pan product interaction. Quantitative data was analyzed in Stata; qualitative data was analyzed via thematic content analysis. Results indicate that there is an overarching positive preference toward the SaToTM Pan Sit toilet compared to all other presented sanitation technology alternatives. Conducting a SaToTM Pan Sit toilet user trial and social marketing campaign pilot could potentially aid in efforts to effectively and affordably decrease the incidence of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related disease transmission in Zambia.

Multidimensional Benefits of Improved Sanitation: Evaluating 'PEE POWER®' in Kisoro, Uganda.

With 2.3 billion people around the world lacking adequate sanitation services, attention has turned to alternative service provision models. This study suggests an approach for meeting the sanitation challenge, especially as expressed in Sustainable Development Goal 6.2, using a toilet technology system, such as Pee Power® that generates electricity using diverted urine as a fuel. A field trial was carried out in a girls’ school in Kisoro, Uganda, where the generated electricity was used to light the existing toilet block. The trial was evaluated in terms of social acceptability and user experience using a multidimensional assessment protocol. The results of our assessment show that users felt safer when visiting the toilets at night. Lights provided from the technology also helped with the perceived cleanliness of the toilets. The technology was well accepted, with 97% of the respondents saying that they liked the idea of the Pee Power® technology and 94% preferring it over other facilities on site. This shows how the technology helps meet SDG target 6.2, with its particular focus on vulnerable populations.

Diverting toilet systems - quality of collected urine mixture compared to other organic fertilizers

Storstrnm County and A & B Backlund ApS are cooperating in four wastewater projectsrunning since 1998 concerning source control, diverting toilet technology and analysis ofcollected human urine mixture and composted human faeces. Results from one of the projectsare presented in this paper. A & B Backlund ApS is working with further four national andinternational projects and are planning for further projects. The projects are carried out in anAction Plan administrated by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). DanishEPA is not responsibel for the conclusions or expressed views in the reports.The collected user experiences in the Danish projects show that the diverting technology areaccepted in a housing area, is running very well in a public place and are even highlyappreciated in allotment gardens (even if further technical improvement should be made).This paper presents contents of nutrients, heavy metals, organic compounds andmicroorganisms found in urine mixture compared to findings in organic fertilizers used indanish agriculture. The analysed urine mixture was of high quality.No-mixing toilets, diverting toilets, separation toilets, composting toilets, biological toilets,waterless urinals, wastewater treatment, ecological engineering, ecological sanitation, humanurine, human faeces, nutrients, heavy metals, pathogens, compost, sludge, manure,anaerobicly processed biomass

Agent-Based Modelling for Simulation-Based Design of Sustainable Faecal Sludge Management Systems.

Re-using faecal sludge (FS) to generate value has the potential to contribute towards solving the issue of long term sanitation solutions in growing urban areas across sub-Saharan Africa; however, hitherto, no design tools have been available that are capable of simulating a system involving economic factors, complex social issues and environmental circumstances. We hypothesized that Agent-Based Modelling (ABM), when deployed with appropriate rigour, can provide such a tool. Extensive field work was carried out in a Malawian city, investigating the adoption of Skyloo above-ground composting toilets by households, and the operation of the municipal FS site. 65 semi-structured interviews and 148 household interviews, together with observations, were carried out to characterize these processes, with the data acquired being used to construct two separate ABMs. The Skyloo ABM was run for various scenarios of start-up capital for business and payback of loans against the toilet cost to households. The municipal FS Site ABM was run for different patterns of dumping fee and enforcement structure. The field work demonstrated that there is potential for further expansion of FS reuse, with a market for agricultural application. The Skyloo ABM identified the significance of start-up capital for a business installing the toilet technology; the municipal FS Site ABM showed that existing fees, fines and regulatory structure were insufficient to reduce illegal dumping of FS to any useful degree, but that a monthly permit system would provide enhanced revenue to the city council compared with per-visit charging of disposal companies at the municipal FS site. Whilst each ABM ideally requires some additional data before full application, we have, for the first time, shown that ABM provides a basis for the simulation-based design of FS management systems, including complex social, economic and environmental factors.

Välikäimlat leiutatakse endiselt! / The outhouse is still being reinvented!

Outhouses are still found, and still in use, in many backyards in rural Estonia. The aim of the graduation thesis Design and construction of a composting dry toilet, recently examined in the native construction programme, was to develop the model of a modern dry toilet from idea to execution.
 Simple outhouses appeared in Estonian farms only in the late 19th century. The origins of modern composting toilets can be traced back to the Clivus composting toilet technology developed in Sweden in the 1940s. Outhouse products can also be bought in stores, but enthusiasts might consider building a system by themselves.
 Unlike flush toilets, a dry toilet requires neither water nor power. It also does not require above-zero temperatures in order to function year-round. The outhouse constructed for the graduation thesis was designed to be suitable for farmyards, summer-house backyards, and also for sites close to hiking trails and similar points of interest, and even close to graveyards.
 The outhouse should consist of an inexpensive compost space that should be easy to empty and maintain, and for more efficient composting, urine should be collected separately. The outhouse should be equipped with functioning ventilation, and with lighting and hygiene solutions. I also aimed to give it a practical and simple form both inside and out.
 The architectural form was developed with an eye on functionality, making sure that the design of the outhouse was not too conspicuous. The shape and internal dimensions of the outhouse are determined by the size of the cesspit and the room to move. Environmentally-friendly materials were chosen, while ease of maintenance of the toilet surfaces was also taken into account. Ventilation of the room is enabled via gaps under the roof ridge, covered by insect nets. A washing basin is installed for washing hands. Water for this comes from a canister next to the composting room, brought up using a foot pump. Eaves over the door make the outhouse more convenient. A separate urinal cabin for men, which is also used for emptying the toilet, is to be found at the back of the outhouse. Rather than using a scoop for scattering bulking material, the outhouse uses a crank-activated dosing system.
 The composting room, the most complex assembly in the outhouse, comprises a 1000-litre metal-frame IBC container with an inclined plane and openings made under the toilet seat and under the bulking material dosing system, as well as for the ventilation pipe and for emptying the composting room. The emptying and maintenance opening at the back is covered with waterproof plywood hatches. 
 Climate and the construction of the cesspit dictate that secondary composting is required in addition to the composting taking place in the composting room of the outhouse that produces the “raw compost”. Hopefully, more and more enthusiasts will take it upon themselves to build outhouses. It is something anyone can manage and use for passing on construction skills to their children as a summer project.
 Keywords: dry toilets, composting, construction, latrines

Water Saving Retrofit Device for Squatting Pan Without Trap

Under the wave of the “toilet revolution” and toilet technology innovation, we started with squatting pan without trap and aimed to achieve the goal of technological innovation and saving water resources by installing water-saving devices on the existing squatting pans. The water-saving reforming device for squatting pans has a simple structure and is easy to install. And the materials used have advanced scientific features. The device can solve the problems of over much water consumption and uncleanness of existing squatting pans. This water-saving device has strong economic value and outstanding environmental performance. Compared with other water-saving solutions, this design takes into account the demands of the entire chain of stakeholders in production, installation and use. Therefore, it can be easily applied and popularized.

Corn stalk as matrix in decomposting toilet for treating urine and feces

Bio-Toilet technology (BT) which is appropriate for the habits of Indonesian people has been studied and developed. BT is a dry toilet technology commonly uses ligno-cellulosic waste materials as matrix to facilitate the growth of natural microbes. In aerobic condition, microbes degrade feces and urine. Mineral as the leftover of feces and urine, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) remain in the rest of matrix waste. After certain period. matrix can be harvested and used as soil conditioner. BT uses much less water, mobile, and very useful to be applied in areas where water availability is limited. BT type with different capacities, user amounts and mixing systems has been developed using sawdust for matrix. Since corn stalk is categorized as useless and priceless waste, its application in BT is challenging. Performance of BT with corn stalk as matrix to degrade feces and urine of carnivore imitating the human waste was observed. BT M-15 manual mixing type with paddle was filled with chopped corn stalk as much as 45% of total volume. This BT was designed for 15 person as users per day if 80% reactor volume was filled with ligno-cellulosic matrix. It is assumed that 150 g of feces are discharged once per person/day and 1000 mL of urine 6-8 times per day. Start up process was made in the beginning to initialize the needed microbes in the reactor (matrix). The discharge of feces and urine were increased slowly and gradually the users were increased from 1 to 4 users per day. Performance of BT was indicated by the change in the pile that showed by moisture content, temperature and pH. C/N ratio in matrix decreased significantly from 43 to 17. This result showed that the corn stalk could be used as matrix in BT.

Economic and environmental analysis of five Chinese rural toilet technologies based on the economic input–output life cycle assessment

Building toilets are critical infrastructure to promote public health. The current sanitation technology in developed countries is based on diluting human excreta with large volumes of centrally provided potable water. This approach is a poor use of water resources and is also inefficient and energy intensive, which is not suitable for water-shortage rural areas of northern China. Therefore, comprehensive schemes of Chinese rural toilets, including standard flushing, rainwater harvesting flushing systems, urine separation and composting systems, were considered in this study by means of five scenarios simulation. Economic net present value method was adopted for economic analysis and economic input–output life cycle assessment model based on Chinese economic input–output table and life cycle database was developed for comparing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission implications, aiming to guide the selection of toilet schemes. A mountainous village in Mentougou District of Beijing was taken as the example. Based on total cost and net present value method, the results showed that scenario 5, namely urine diverting composting systems, outweighed the other four alternatives on the cost even in the different discount rates ranging from 0% to 10%; scenario 3, namely urine-diversion and potable water flushing toilet, was sub-optimal economic solution which net present value was negative when discount rate was over 8%. This study also present scenario 3's environmental superiority to scenario 5 on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission. These two technologies were proved viable options for standard flushing toilet. Nevertheless, for another two scenarios of rainwater harvesting flushing toilets, they had higher amounts of investment, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission due to the high investment on rainwater tank construction. Moreover, the vast majority of construction materials required high energy consumption and were carbon intensive sectors in China. Finally, some suggestions were given for the implementation of urine separation toilets and composting toilets in the practical application. Meanwhile, impact of the rising water price in selecting alternative technologies and tradeoff about the priority consideration for rural toilet technologies were analyzed in this study. Considering the great significance of rainwater harvesting toilet technology to save the water resources, measures of how much government should subsidize for guarantee its extension and motivation was discussed as well.

Dispatches

Dispatches

Rethinking public toilet technologies in Nairobi: the case of Ikotoilet facilities

Although shared sanitation facilities have received low priority in the UN Millennium Development Goals, there is a growing recognition that these facilities should be central to sanitation interventions in the developing world. Accompanying this recognition is a realization that new and existing sanitation technologies must necessarily be customized to ensure that the safety and hygiene of such facilities is sufficiently sustained. In line with this recognition, this article highlights how ‘Ikotoilets’, the nationally and internationally acclaimed public toilets in Nairobi, Kenya, are providing reasonably hygienic and safe sanitation, largely due to a rethinking of the local technologies of shared sanitation. Drawing from a qualitative analysis of a ‘convenience’ survey of Ikotoilet users, interview with the provider of Ikotoilets, field observations, and published papers and reports, the article shows that since Ikotoilets are designed to incorporate different uses, blend into the existing urban landscape, and are installed with technologies which, among other things, reduce use of scarce resources, the facilities are contributing to sanitation solutions in the city.

Waste Matters: Compost, Domestic Practice, and the Transformation of Alternative Toilet Cultures around Skaneateles Lake, New York

The Skaneateles Lake Watershed Composting Toilet Project highlights the material and sociocultural challenges of developing new kinds of embodied practices that effectively utilize alternatives to traditional water-dependent plumbing. Practical, small-scale innovation is important to addressing the human dimensions of these changes, particularly given the widely held taboos informing discussion of what happens behind closed bathroom doors. In this example an innovative watershed policy placed composting toilets in seventy-five lakeside homes to prevent household blackwater from polluting an unfiltered drinking water source utilized by 250 000 people. Interviews with key informants and participating households illustrate the ways in which expectations of toileting practice sit in tension with the need to preserve the health of the local watershed, particularly over the long term. Understanding shifts in toileting practice must move past functional assessments of new or untested technology, taking into account sociocultural understandings of private, deeply embodied, yet resolutely pragmatic daily habits. As individuals seek to normalize new toilet technology as a part of daily routines, they encounter the body's materiality in ways that conflict with expectations of what belongs inside the home. In this case, the traditionally excluded effluence of the human body remains too close for comfort, forcing a renegotiation of the common boundary-making habits defining domestic space. The result is a shift in expectations about what of the body can or should belong in the home.

Sanitation for all

Water pollution from sewage is causing great damage to India. The nation needs to complete its waste systems and reinvent toilet technologies, says Sunita Narain.