The Amazing Hi-Tech Toilets & Bill Gates Connection!

Did you know that inadequate sanitation costs India upwards of USD53B every year; or that roughly 50% of hospitalization in developing countries is caused by unsafe sanitation conditions?

About a year back Bill & Melinda Gates foundation announced a project to alleviate this problem. The challenge was clear- To create a toilet that does not depend upon running water or sewer, does not use electricity and yet not just works fine but also derives something useful from the waste!
Oh! and we forgot one thing- the operating cost should not exceed $0.05 per day!

The reward? $100,000

Now that was a herculean challenge that needed one to be mighty imaginative.

The foundation received several designs, and California Institute of Technology in the United States received the $100,000 first prize for designing a solar-powered toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity. Loughborough University in the United Kingdom won the $60,000 second place prize for a toilet that produces biological charcoal, minerals, and clean water. University of Toronto in Canada won the third place prize of $40,000 for a toilet that sanitizes feces and urine and recovers resources and clean water. Special recognition and $40,000 went to Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology) and EOOS for their outstanding design of a toilet user interface.