Building a Better Toilet by Meredith Jacques
Hot topic Demo
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Photo credit: The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2012/8/15/3244009/bill-gates-reinvent-toilet-fair-awards
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation challenged the world to build a better toilet, in their competition the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. First prize winners would receive $100,000. Why is this challenge important? Toilets are a luxury of first world countries. While there are receptacles for waste in some developing countries, they do not have water available or the infrastructure that is required for good sanitation. This leads to spreading of diseases that would otherwise be pretty easily preventable, like malaria and cholera.
Many groups participated in the challenge and the top three prizes went to a solar powered toilet that can generate energy, another that can generate charcoal from human waste, and one that can recover clean water from the waste. Since the challenge, one of the toilets, which does not require water to use but is able to produce water and energy has gotten more financial boosts and will soon be tried out in Africa. It costs less than 5 cents per use, which was one of the criteria of the challenge.
How can it be that something that seems so ordinary here in the US be so hard to come by in other countries?
What other kinds of environmental problems could be solved by changing toilets and sanitation systems?
What other kinds of problems could be tackled with a prize structure like this? Do you know of any other examples?
https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-waterless-toilet-2016-11
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2012/08/Bill-Gates-Names-Winners-of-the-Reinvent-the-Toilet-Challenge
https://www.theverge.com/2012/8/15/3244009/bill-gates-reinvent-toilet-fair-awards
Hot topic Demo
Photo credit: The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2012/8/15/3244009/bill-gates-reinvent-toilet-fair-awards
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation challenged the world to build a better toilet, in their competition the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. First prize winners would receive $100,000. Why is this challenge important? Toilets are a luxury of first world countries. While there are receptacles for waste in some developing countries, they do not have water available or the infrastructure that is required for good sanitation. This leads to spreading of diseases that would otherwise be pretty easily preventable, like malaria and cholera.
Many groups participated in the challenge and the top three prizes went to a solar powered toilet that can generate energy, another that can generate charcoal from human waste, and one that can recover clean water from the waste. Since the challenge, one of the toilets, which does not require water to use but is able to produce water and energy has gotten more financial boosts and will soon be tried out in Africa. It costs less than 5 cents per use, which was one of the criteria of the challenge.
How can it be that something that seems so ordinary here in the US be so hard to come by in other countries?
What other kinds of environmental problems could be solved by changing toilets and sanitation systems?
What other kinds of problems could be tackled with a prize structure like this? Do you know of any other examples?
https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-waterless-toilet-2016-11
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2012/08/Bill-Gates-Names-Winners-of-the-Reinvent-the-Toilet-Challenge
https://www.theverge.com/2012/8/15/3244009/bill-gates-reinvent-toilet-fair-awards
I think this is a very cool idea because if it works then it could help a lot of people. -Brooke Lierman
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really cool concept since it solves a lot of problems at once, like reducing the spread of disease, creating energy, and making clean water.
ReplyDeleteIan He
How much more energy is generated. - Jason Williams
ReplyDeleteBecause we got more money than other countries- Brandoooooooo Mckinley
ReplyDeletebill and melinda makes the better toilet in the world, in reinvent the challenge.
ReplyDeleteOne reason that something as ordinary as a toilet is harder to come by in other countries is because some countries are not as rich as the US is. -Jeffrey
ReplyDeleteAlthough the United States uses low flow toilet systems, we still use a lot of water and take advantage of it. On the plus side, we’re conserving more water than what we were before using low flow. -Brylee Richardson
ReplyDeleteIt's cool because it saves a lot of energy and water.
ReplyDeleteIt's cool that there saving water and providing toilets for people that need them. Alvi Lending
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ReplyDeleteI think it's shocking that our water used in toilets in the U.S. is cleaner than some drinking water in developing countries. -Ashley Herman
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. This way you ton save a ton of energy and water.
ReplyDeleteI really do think that we need to get our $h!+ together. These toilets are very innovative and i believe it will succeed with time.
ReplyDeleteThis is definately a good attempt at helping the environment in other places but I wonder how they would turn poop into clean water...
ReplyDeleteHow much money did it cost to build this?-Alvi lending
ReplyDeletethis could be helpful to our environment
ReplyDeletethis is good for
ReplyDeleteI think this is very efficient and it cuts down on expenses and saves a lot of energy-christa medcalf
ReplyDeleteI think this is going to help save water and keep waste away from the streets and community~Willie Gibbs
ReplyDeleteThe energy we will save is a massive amount and will save gallons and gallons of water
ReplyDeleteIt's good b/c it's saving water
ReplyDeleteThats good so we dont pollute the water
ReplyDelete-jon
ReplyDeletegreat because of its energy efficiency and saving of water
I like these concepts because they cut down on water and energy usage and are available to third world countries.
ReplyDeleteJoe peck
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