Bill Gates asks scientists to reinvent cheap toilets

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Bill Gates asks scientists to reinvent cheap toilets

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Bill Gates in a technology showcase asks scientists to reinvent toilet for the poor.

15 August,2012 10:31 pm

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced further funding for the best projects after scientists from around the world showcased their ideas in Seattle, USA.The current design has a real problem. It uses a lot of water, requires a very expensive system to bring in very clean water, then you make that water dirty, said Mr Gates, speaking at the toilet expo.You have a very expensive system to take it away and then you have a treatment plant and actually the water you are using there is almost ten times as much as you use for direct human consumption, he added.To enter the competition for the worlds next toilet, the Gates Foundation gave a precise design brief: the lavatory must operate without running water, electricity or a septic system, not discharge pollutants, preferably capture energy or other resources, and operate at a cost of five US cents a day.What we are used to is a toilet that is connected to sewer systems and water systems, so in some ways its a luxury to be able to flush a gallon of water every time you pull the handle on the toilet, said Chris Elias from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation President of Global Development. Thats not a scalable solution; most places dont have that much water.The United Nations estimates disease caused by unsafe sanitation results in about half the hospitalisations in the developing world. About 1.5 million children die each year from diarrhoeal disease.Scientists believe most of these deaths could be prevented with proper sanitation, along with safe drinking water and improved hygiene.The foundation, which has has committed $370m (£236m) to the project, expects to field test its first prototypes within the next three years.