Recentlyย while working on a little bathroom tile project, we had to pull upย the toilet so that we could continue the tile work. While I haveย changed out and re-set a myriad of commodes, it always amazed me thatย we have not come up with a better method of washing away fecalย matter. Since the advent of the โmodernโ toilet, back inย 1885, not a whole lot has changed. They consume incredible amounts ofย water, are prone to leaks thanks to an antique wax seal design, andย have sensitive parts that seem to frequently break down. All in all,ย we would have to agree with Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, whoย thinks we need to reinvent the toilet.
The End of the Traditional Toilet?
Dealingย with human waste in many places around the globe proves to be aย challenge. Here in America, we often take for granted the amount ofย clean water that is available and take minimal measures to conserveย it. Depending on the age of your home and the type of toilet that isย installed, a toilet can be one of the largest users of water in yourย home. Now the reason that Bill Gates is interested in toilets isย because, for a big part of the world, clean water is limited and inย many cases is not even available. So the idea to develop a betterย toilet, maybe even the ultimate toilet, does seem like a worthyย cause.
Theย Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with $10 million dollars ofย earmarked money from Germany, plans toย provide 800,000 people in Kenya with access to proper sanitationย (toilets) facilities over the next five years. The goal of this endeavor is to find innovativeย solutions to handle sanitation issues in poor urban areas. Accordingย to Mr. Gates, itโs time to move on from the era of the classicย toilet. Even with all the recent developments in conserving waterย with flush-style toilets, at least 40% of the worldโs population, orย some 2.5 billion people, still live without proper means of flushingย away waste. Simply installing a flushing style toilet isnโt possibleย for many of these people because of the limited water resources.
Thereย is a certain urgency to the matter for better toilet facilities asย well. Since the lack of sanitary installations and hygienic wasteย removal furthers the spread of disease, UNICEF estimates that 1.1ย billion people worldwide donโt have access to any kind of toilet orย ways of eliminating waste. That, in turn, ruins drinking water andย can cause diarrhea, which spreads quickly. At least 1.2 millionย children under the age of 5 die of diarrhea every year according toย UNICEF, and the main cause is contact with human waste.
Exploring Alternative Toilet Ideas
Theย Gates Foundation and German Development Policy is experimenting andย exploring many different alternative toilet ideas that include dryย toilets that do not use water to flush, some that separate excrementย from urine and even pit latrine designs for rural areas and slums. Itย is also supporting research projects and giving grants to scientistsย who come up with new ideas for using human excrement for somethingย productive. The importance of this research is not always easy toย convey because anything having to do with human waste provokes aย โyuck factor.โ The reality is that as the world populationย continues to grow, the importance of clean water will continue to beย a bigger issue.
Dealing with human waste could prove to be a bigย business if the right technologies and methods for treating,ย disposing or even reusing human waste are developed. Is this end of the traditional toilet? We canโt say for sure.ย Itโs time for aย new toilet but I hope these new toilets donโt take the Microsoftย approach that will require frequent updates and have compatibilityย issues.
