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Water and Sanitation | Now, an eco-friendly toilet that saves cost, minimizes water use -Tarini Puri

Now, an eco-friendly toilet that saves cost, minimizes water use -Tarini Puri

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published Published on Apr 16, 2015   modified Modified on Apr 16, 2015
-The Times of India

PUNE: A city-based researcher has developed an eco-friendly toilet which can convert dry human faeces into humus (organic matter) and utilize urine for vermicomposting in an odourless, pollution-free manner.

"The system does not require extra water or an expensive drainage system. It will especially help green-zones, parks and agri-rich areas where water is scarce," said Mohan Ketkar, who has conceptualized and developed the eco-friendly toilet.

Ketkar worked for the Indian Council of Agricultural Research through Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Phaltan. The eco-friendly toilet was made under the aegis of Jaysingpur-based Utkarsh Foundation. It took him three years to develop the model at an installation cost of approx. Rs 1,000.

The toilet structure could be made of metal or brick and cement. While the design of the toilet is the same as that of a conventional one, what sets it apart is the way it collects and treats the faeces and urine. Minimal water is used that too only for personal cleaning.

A working model of the toilet has been put up near Ketkar's home in lane no. 5 of Tulshibaugwale colony in Sahakarnagar number 2 for a fortnight.

The faeces is collected in a movable trolley through a drop-hole on the platform. A shovelful of soft and loose soil has to be poured onto the faeces through the same hole. A rake has been provided in the trolley for levelling. Once filled (in approximately 40 days when used by four persons per day), the trolley is emptied on the ground which is lined by a layer of dry organic matter and also covered with the same from the top. The faeces gets converted into organic matter in approximately 90 days, which is then ready to be used in farms.

Meanwhile, urine and wash water gets collected in a tray that has a hole and drains out evenly onto the vermicompost bed through a pipe. It helps generate NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium) rich vermicompost in about 60 to 90 days.

Ketkar said the idea was to provide a sustainable sanitation solution, especially for rural areas. "The Utkarsh Foundation, founded by Suresh Patil, was surveying villages for health and sanitation. I took a cue from a book I had read on the subject to develop this eco-friendly toilet. We collaborated and have been since working together. The first experimental model that I made has been installed in a school about 10km from Jaysingpur in Kolhapur. One has been installed in the office of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana in Kolhapur while another is being utilized by people on a 5-acre farm in Jaysingpur for the last nine months," he said.

The Utkarsh Foundation has written to the state and Union governments to consider public utilization of the toilet, given its advantages in water-scarce areas, as also in agricultural belts or even in parks and open public places. "The humus generated from the human faeces is very high in micronutrients as is the vermicompost, which is much better than the artificially-produced varieties," Ketkar said.

Patil hopes the toilet can find use in rural areas, especially those facing water shortage. "In rural areas, villagers have been provided with toilets by the government, but they entail heavy infrastructure cost and plenty of water. This toilet needs neither of the two and can be very useful for rural areas in Osmanabad, Jalna and other drought-prone regions of Marathwada," he said.

Advantages

Odourless and pollution free

Minimal use of water that too for personal cleaning

No water required for flushing

No need of costly pipelines and drainages to carry the waste

No need of deploying a septic tank, soak pits or sewage treatment plant

Dry-waste conversion into high quality organic matter

Utilizes urine for vermicomposting, yielding NPK rich vermin-compost

Benefits

Minimizes use of water and saves on expensive drainage system

Reduces incidences of diarrhoeal diseases

Eco-friendly

Helps generate high-quality humus and vermicompost for sustainable agriculture

Can be made mobile by fixing wheels underneath
 

The Times of India, 14 April, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Now-an-eco-friendly-toilet-that-saves-cost-minimizes-water-use/articleshow/46913741.cms


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