The use of technology to transform lives is evident in different sectors globally and waste disposal and sanitation is not an exception.

In the past, people were known to use some rather archaic methods to dispose of their wastes such as digging and burying refuse in the soil or taking a dump in rivers or streams to be washed away.

These moves posed a grave danger to sanitation and the health of people living in a given area.

Today, modern sanitation systems are transforming sanitation with communities reaping the benefits of waterless toilets that are affordable to most households.

People in developing countries, especially, are now able to dispose of their wastes without causing environmental degradation or exposing themselves to diseases as a result of poor sanitation.

However, there is still a need to reach as many people as possible on the importance of boosting sanitation and conserving the environment through sound human waste disposal methods.

The Need for Waterless Toilets

As industrialization continues to advance and human activities escalated to natural habitats such as forests and water bodies the impact of environmental degradation increases and its hostile consequences will be experienced by generations to come.

Activities such as logging of natural forests, air and water pollution as a result of chemical wastes released from industries have caused climate change and global warming, extreme phenomena that have caused extreme agony to Mother Nature.

These environmental concerns make the need for eco-friendly living a necessity.

If we are to save the planet from further damage and protect human and animal life, then we should embrace going green.

And there are various ways of doing this. Saving water through the use of waterless toilets is just one of them.

Benefits of Waterless Toilets

1. Waterless systems conserve water which is a scarce resource whose misuse and wastage has resulted in desertification in some areas.

Flush toilets are known to consume up to 6600 gallons of water annually with each user’s bathroom visit, a painful luxury that costs the environment and can’t be afforded by developing countries.

1. Most waterless systems are cost-effective and resourceful in the treatment of human wastes as they allow for on-site treatment.
2. Contrary to the conventional flush treatments, waterless toilets don’t require complex septic tanks to function.

This makes them a cheaper alternative for waste management and it is much safer since there is no risk of water from septic tanks sipping into water bodies.

1. Waterless systems protect the environment from degradation by eliminating the threat of harmful by-products of human wastes from flowing into rivers and streams.
2. In terms of affordability, the waterless toilets are cheaper to install and maintain since some of them require the use of basic materials.

This makes sanitation accessible and readily available, especially in developing countries.

1. If well maintained, waterless toilets are hygienic and the end products can be recycled for reuse in the household.

Limitations of Waterless Toilets

1. The uptake of waterless toilets among modern households is slow. Most people are apprehensive about the hygiene and potential stench that would emanate from the system.

Truth is, if not properly installed and maintained waterless toilets can be unsanitary and hazardous with pests and foul smell.

1. More attention, care, and energy are required in the maintenance of a waterless toilet as compared to a conventional flush toilet.
2. Some waterless toilet designs require expensive equipment compared to the low-flow models.

For example, an incinerating toilet requires an incinerating chamber which can be quite pricey.

The Innovative Waterless Toilet Designs

It is important for households to understand how waterless toilets work, the care and maintenance necessary for their efficient operation.

·         Composting Toilet

The composting toilet is the most common in third world countries due to its affordability and inexpensive nature with poorer households embracing the DIY home-made design.

This cheaper alternative can fit in smaller spaces and uses readily available materials in the home and can be built from a huge bucket fitted with a comfortable toilet seat on top with sawdust placed inside the pail.

More sawdust is added along with the waste each time the toilet is used.

The other design is the active composting toilet that is self-regulating and requires no active user input as it is designed to work flawlessly on its own.

It is built underneath the toilet or in a remote location with a huge container for collecting wastes.

The composting process works using natural mechanisms to break down and decompose human waste into an end product that has sufficient nutrients for enriching soils known as compost. The compost is suitable for use as manure for growing crops.

As such, the toilet requires no septic hookups and with the availability of solar-powered models, it is beneficial to rural households.

·         Incinerating Toilet

This inventive waterless system of sanitation collects human waste before transferring it to the incinerating chamber where it is burnt to sterile ash for dumping into a trash container. The incinerating process is carried out using fuels such as propane, natural gas, and diesel.

This technology can be out of reach for most households since the combustion fuels are quite expensive. The upside of this toilet, however, is that it is mostly odor-free since the burning process is rapid.

·         Dry flush Toilet

Using silver liners placed inside the toilet bowl, this waterless toilet works by squashing human waste in its grip using a chargeable motor built beneath the toilet seat before pushing it into the receptacle as a new liner automatically unravels in the bowl for use by the next visitor.

A new cartridge with fresh liners replaces the old one as soon as it drops in the trash.

·         Hydrogen-producing Toilet

Despite not being completely waterless, using solar-powered mechanisms, this green toilet produces energy in the form of hydrogen suitable for use by the households. The grey water can also be recycled and reused in the home once it has been sanitized in the treatment plant.

·         Nano Membrane Toilet

This nanotechnology toilet associated with Bill Gate’s uses a process known as pervaporation to dry out human wastes into pathogen-free solids that can be utilized as fuel and fertilizer.

The water from the waste is condensed and sterilized safely for household use.

Wrapping Up

As time goes by, inventive technologies continue to transform the way the world poops. The waterless toilet technology is one of the best ways to embrace eco-friendly living and help Mother Nature bring back its glory.