Waterless loo will be a fertiliser farm

Beijing – US billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates unveiled a futuristic toilet yesterday in Beijing that doesn’t need water or sewers and uses chemicals to turn human waste into fertiliser.

He also lauded the globalised and free trade systems that made the toilet technology possible. “Trade allows every country to do what it’s best at. Components of this toilet were made in China, others in Thailand, others in the US – you really want to be bringing together all of that IQ so that you’re getting that combination.” There are multiple designs of the toilet, but all work by separating liquid and solid waste.

“The current toilet sends the waste away in the water, whereas these toilets don’t have the sewer. They take the liquids and solids and do chemical work on it, including burning it in most cases,” Gates said. “We can do this chemical processing at household level.” –