Will a Reinvented Toilet Solve the World's Sanitation Problems?

just look at India and China

It may help... go for it

oh god... when i hear toilet 2.0 for some reason this went through my head lmao thank god we can work on making a "clean" toilet and still no advances anywhere else that matters.

It won't solve all sanitation problems. For one thing it will be YEARS before people actually invest in it, unless they plan on handing them out to every household for absolutely free; which won't happen. A toilet like that will cost THOUSANDS of money that most people just don't have.
While it WILL HELP, we must also consider the costs and how long before everyone worldwide actually gets one of these. After all, remember how long it took for everyone to get a computer on their desks after the first computer was invented? It won't happen overnight.
Not to mention the question is will it SOLVE the world's sanitation problems. No, it won't; it will HELP but not solve.

OR ,,, how bout use toylet paper and not your fingers to wipe your azz.. ???

Camping toilets are already invented and there are gelling agents you can put in them to make the waste completely safe and biodegradable Nice try, Mr. Gates. If you want to throw money away, you can mail it to me. I need to refurbish my home and pay off my mortgage :-)
http://www.cabelas.com/produc...

The Japanese have alreadE done it. There is a bidet that washes and drys. That would decrease the spread of disease.

It certainly couldn't hurt.

Probably not.

Some folks are pigs.

To solve the world's sanitation problems you first have to educate the masses. They need to use a toilet that does not use water, one that will not infiltrate into the drinking water supply. Wait... eureka! I've got it! Build a bunch of outhouses and supply them with corncobs for wiping. When full, you fill it in and dig another one, just move the building over the new hole. Public outhouses should have multiple holes and a barrier for privacy. To keep the smell down and aid in killing odor causing germs, dump a scoop of wood ash into the hole when finished. This also aids in the drying process. Viola! Problem solved. For that extra special touch for the wealthier people, an electric light can be installed and a heating element for those frosty mornings. These designs can be upgraded for use inside the home but do require frequent cleanings, which can be done outside the home through a port. Once dried, the feces can be burned as a fuel. Now, wasn't that easy? Ok,where's my $$, Mr. Gates?

The Clivus Multrum company made a composting toilet in 1962 that does not use water, is odorless, and creates compost from the fecal matter. There is now a company that has branches worldwide that market the devices. They market a fiberglass model that is simple to set up and operate. The problem inherent in the product is the devices will not be efficient in large buildings and they do not allow the inclusion of grey water.

does it have the 3 seashells??

Not until the liberals let the third world countries build their own Electric Plants. Just think, refrigeration in Africa so the people don't have to hunt everyday for their food.

Heck, I can't tell you how much water I have wasted trying to flush the government mandated toilet. Once again, government intervention makes waste.

Just wait until we try to dispose of the Mercury laden light bulbs.

how about one that will wipe your @** for you?

Maybe...

its not just toilets!

Which is fine for us in a privileged western country. Go to a number of developing countries where the lack of the kind of sanitation that a redesigned toilet could provide causes millions of deaths, then a new toilet seems like a pretty good idea. The second leading cause of death in children in the worst places in the world is Diarrhea, a bare percentage point behind Pnemonia. We are kind of spoiled here, and we think of Diarhea as an inconvenience rather then a death sentence for toddlers. If a new toilet helps bring about basic sanitation, then the number of lives that could be saved is absolutely unthinkable.

But it might help a bit. I mean, we've given up on morals and all that rot.

just another billionaire throwing money away rather than help pay off the national debt

..... don't tell me, let me guess ..... we will be forced to purchase only Canada approved toilets ....... something like dejaPoo isn't it

Well no, not solve. But it could go a long way towards saving Millions, and probably approaching billions.

So if the technology to turn waste into energy arises, can we just get a bunch of politicians to speak into a microphone?

but it might help.

I don't understand it. It seems like it is a good idea, but then again, so did Obama

It may not solve the world's sanitation problems, but it will help people in areas who have nothing--no water, no electricity, no sanitation. And it will certainly serve as a model for efficiency in "civilized" countries. 1/6 of the world's population have NO access to water for drinking, cooking, or washing. 1/6 of 7 billion people.

Most of the people in the more developed areas in the world have no inkling of the horrendous living conditions of underdeveloped countries. I have traveled enough to see this, and to see the need for something like this.

Yes few people know that at least 1/6 of people on Earth live without access to fresh water at all. Few people even know the population of Earth (almost 7 billion), nor how fast it's growing (1.2% or so) nor what that means in biological terms.

I don't know the statistics for what we call "proper" sanitation. The toilet advances described in this article are really a miracle, they will go a long way to improving the quality of life for us all because they prepare a model of what we will be able to do when our water supply is really bleak.

And actually, few people understand that we're both draining and polluting our groundwater, redirecting water in a way that damages ecosystems, and our dam systems on many rivers are nearing the age of failure. Nothing in infrastructure lasts for ever, but we have gotten so spoiled that we seem to not realize this. We take it all for granted, until there's a catastrophe no one wants to put up their tax money to rejuvenate our ailing infrastructure.

Very well put.

it might help, but I can't see it solving the world's sanitation problem.

a Bidet in all homes would be a good start....



The new toilet that could do what they say would be an "old outhouse" and waste used for fetilizer or treated with lyme.

Yeah, the idea of using water to clean oneself after using the toilet is sth most Americans have yet to re-discover, though most Asians have known this for 1000s of yrs. Having lived in Asia for so long, I don't even HAVE toilet paper in my own home as my bidet (& some soap) are all that is required. ;-P

Will it be able to run Windows 7?

yeah, but it'll crash if you leave it open for too long (i.e., don't leave the seat up! LOL)

It would be great if someone would figure out how to change human waste into energy!