Earth auger toilet: Innovation in waterless sanitation To develop several prototypes of a mechanised, pedal-operated, low-cost, easy-to-use, odourless urine-diverting dry toilet (UDDT).
Development of prototypes:
Several prototypes of “El Taladro de la Tierra“ (The Earth Auger) were designed based on earlier work Dr. Henry had done at the University of Washington. These are decentralized pedal-operated urine-diverting dry toilets (UDDT) where diverted urine is infiltrated into the ground and faeces are being composted. The main innovations with the prototypes were the mechanised, foot-pedal-actuated dry-flush system and sawdust delivery systems. When the pedal is operated the faeces, cleansing paper and automatically added sawdust are mechanically processed through a pipe with an auger inside, which mixes, aerates and moves them through a composting chamber to storage (e.g., buckets). In storage it is detained for an additional 1-5 months (depending upon number of users) for compost stability and pathogen kill prior to being used as a soil amendment. Direct handling of excreta by the user is thus not required as the whole process is pedal-operated until harvest. The urine is harvested separately in hose-connected containers, or mixed with wash water and used in a grey water system. The toilets differ in price and number of accessories: in mass production the different units are expected to cost between US$150 and US$ 300.
Mission
The goal of this project was to develop several prototypes of a mechanised, pedal-operated, low-cost, easy-to-use, odourless urine-diverting dry toilet (UDDT).Approach
This was an RTTC grant and also falls into the BDS (Building Demand for Sanitation) category.Discussion on the forum about this grant
Discussion on the forum about scaling up activities in various countries
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Filter / Tags
Product design and engineeringSpecific to one or several countriesToilets or urinals (user interface)Treatment of wastewater or greywaterResource recovery Composting, vermicomposting (solid waste), composting toiletsUrine diversion dehydration toilets (UDDTs) Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationFaeces or faecal sludgePeri-urbanPractitionersFertiliserLocal NGO
Related Countries
EcuadorUnited States
Project location
