Help test a new waterless toilet!
I am one of the designers developing a waterless toilet system at Cranfield University to help the 2.5 billion people without access to sanitation that leads to the deaths of 1.5 million children a year. The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the brief was very challenging (has to cost less than $0.05 per user/per day, no water and off the electrical grid) to really push innovation in this field. I also believe that there will be transferable features that will be of value to reduce the water use of flushing toilets. We are a number of years away from having a full working system but we are really keen to test the user interface with people already using waterless toilets as soon as possible. Users of waterless toilets in the camping/caravan community are a great example of this and a group we are really keen to work with. We've have tested on campus but are really keen for some fresh, unbiased people to try it ideally for a two days and let us know their thoughts. This feedback can really help our development and produce a new toilet not only for developing countries but also anyone in need of waterless sanitation. The toilet will be not much different than a camping/container toilet in terms of its use and maintenance but with a few small changes we hope to improve the user experience. After the user has done their business, they close lid that rotates the bowl and drops the waste into a holding tank below that can be emptied every few days. The rotating bowl reduces odour and blocks the user from the waste below. Ideally we would be testing around the Bedfordshire area and each case would be discussed on an individual basis to ensure it would be suitable for both parties. If you would be interested in helping with our testing phase please message me or email me at r.tierney@cranfield.ac.uk or comment below. I’ve attached a photo of one our prototypes that will be used for testing. Here’s the website of the whole project. http://www.nanomembranetoilet.org/
Comments
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Don't think you will get much help[ from the caravan community as caravans come with toilets already built in with a locker on the outside to allow you to remove the waste cassette. These things will not fit a modern caravan. Suggest you speak to a major caravan manufacturer to see if you can get one fitted and tested by them. However, good luck with your idea.
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