Index – Science – Even flushing is problematic – a dry toilet can put an end to waste

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It is considered one of the busiest points in our home, yet it may happen that we soon have to say goodbye to the toilet, which is mostly made of white porcelain. Of course, using them is essential for everyday life, so it is not a question of banning them or moving them to another room in favor of a crazy decor trend, but their rethinking and transformation may be an extremely urgent task for humanity.

Of course, the biggest problem is not caused by the appearance or design of toilets, but by their extremely wasteful water use, which is a growing problem in regions of the world that are basically struggling with water shortages. Although it is not one of these countries, the phenomenon is well illustrated by the fact that, according to the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the continuous flushing of toilets has now reached such a scale that it accounts for a third of indoor water use in the states, reports CNN.

The change is thus indisputably necessary.

An innovative toilet, we have seen similar ones before

Although little is heard about it for the time being, a revolutionary innovation is already providing an alternative, and there are even places where it has already kicked in the door, while elsewhere it is still lingering outside the threshold. The dry toilet of Finnish origin, which is an increasingly popular topic of conversation among social media users, does not differ much from a traditional cup at first glance, but even more so in its use. One of the biggest advantages of a toilet is that it separates the small from the big and keeps unpleasant odors away. After use, the contents of the toilet bin must be covered with peat or sawdust, which, when full, are kept for months in a larger, hermetically sealed container, so that the microorganisms die.

The remaining material, rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, can be used as a natural fertilizer.

This is also an extremely important environmental protection step, since in addition to saving water, popular synthetic fertilizers that emit greenhouse gases can also be replaced with this.

After hearing the operating principle of the toilet, it may rightly occur to us that their presence is by no means new, but the dry method has been used until now mainly by those who could not introduce water into their garden or holiday home, or who blocked it for some reason.

Difficult storage is the biggest negative, recycling is urgent

However, despite the huge advantage, the popularity of dry toilets will not necessarily increase by leaps and bounds in the near future, because the need for sustainable solutions is most often only important to people in the affected areas – so they can spread mainly in areas affected by drought or floods.

Spreading the use of dry toilets poses enormous challenges to manufacturing companies, as regulations and personal preferences do not help it nearly as much. It would be a mistake to say that a dry toilet cannot cause serious headaches for its owner, since their installation in an urban environment is difficult, and their maintenance is also not easy. There is, for example, the question of time:

you have to wait up to a year to safely recycle the waste, which immediately puts most people off.

But what if someone has already found a solution to this problem?

This question was also raised by the startup Change:WATER Labs, patenting an evaporating material that aims to reduce the amount of accumulated waste by 97 percent in a single day.

However, innovation is also essential for changes at the settlement level, i.e. it is not enough just to replace the toilets. In cities with developed sewer systems, radical changes can occur. For example, California is struggling with a worsening drought, and San Francisco would need 10,000 square meters of new buildings for its wastewater recycling system.

You don’t have to be afraid of smells

One of the most common objections to the different dry and compost toilets is that they are unhygienic and have an unpleasant smell, but this is all a mistake.

The separation of solid and liquid elements landing in the toilet also effectively prevents the main cause of odor formation.

Unpleasant odors are mostly caused by the mixing of urine and faeces. As a result, the moisture content of the mixture will be high, which catalyzes the formation of odors, and in addition, ammonia, which is responsible for the majority of unpleasant odors, is formed during the processes of rotting and decomposition of the mixed excrement. For consistent prevention, the installation of an electric extraction system is recommended. It is no coincidence, because an effective extraction system can completely prevent odors from escaping from the already covered box, and from this point of view, it is even more convenient than a traditional toilet.

(Cover photo: Westend61 / Getty Images)

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