Bill Gates' 'environment-friendly' toilets could come to India next

Beijing: A USD 5-million project to develop  environment friendly toilets in China, which is being funded by Bill Gates, is expected to be replicated in India. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allocate grants to Chinese applicants to re-engineer the common toilet to be more environment friendly and cost-effective. India might be the next country to see a similar project, said Doulaye Kone, senior programme officer of water, sanitation and hygiene with the Foundation. [caption id=“attachment_1056473” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bill Gates. AFP image[/caption] Each Chinese researcher would receive between USD 1 lakh to USD 5 lakhs for the accepted toilet designs, said Prof Li Zifu of University of Science & Technology Beijing, which has been entrusted to implement the project. Kone said, “China is the first country we have launched such an independent grant, and we hope this will improve access among Chinese inventors to the project.” Previously, the Foundation launched a global campaign in July 2011 to prompt innovation of a more sustainable toilet, state-run China Daily reported. The California Institute of Technology in the US received USD 1 lakh first prize for a solar-powered design, which could transform waste into hydrogen gas and electricity. Few applications from China were received in 2011 probably due to language barriers, according to Kone, who added that cultural backgrounds and needs should be considered for practical designs. “The China project is expected to produce designs which better meet demands in China and other developing countries across the world,” he said. According to the WHO, 2.5 billion people worldwide don’t have access to toilets, resulting in 1.5 million deaths among children under the age of 5 each year due to sanitation problems. Meanwhile, in industrial countries, toilets use 20 to 40 percent of total water consumption. In China, toilet innovation has two major goals - sustainability and affordability, said Li. Zero water and electricity consumption, a daily cost below five cents per person, no smell, and comfort are also favoured, Kone added. “We should look at human waste as a source of fertiliser or minerals and recycle it,” Li said. Besides, designs are expected to be functional and reasonably priced, even without a local sewage system, Li said. PTI