14 DAY TRIAL // Thanks to Bill Gates and his decision to give away significant amounts of money for the purpose of green-oriented research, the people living in developing countries might soon be presented with environmentally-friendly toilets.
What will make these innovative toilets so very special is the fact that they will be able to use solar energy in order to power a system that converts human waste into hydrogen and electricity, or maybe even provide locals with nutrients they need to fertilize their crops.
Therefore, the lack of clean water and poor access to sewers or sources of electricity will no longer be an issue when it comes to keeping a close eye on public health and providing remote communities with the electrical energy they need in order to improve on their lives.
In a recent blogpost, Bill Gates explained how, “The flush toilets we use in the wealthy world are irrelevant, impractical and impossible for 40 percent of the global population, because they often don’t have access to water, and sewers, electricity, and sewage treatment systems.”
As he goes on to argue, “Inventing new toilets is one of the most important things we can do to reduce child deaths and disease and improve people’s lives. It is also something that can help wealthier countries conserve fresh water for other important purposes besides flushing.”
Apparently, Bill Gates hopes that in two to four years such innovative toilets will hit the market, thus improving on the living conditions of people in developing countries.
Business Green informs us that, for the time being, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation presented various green-oriented toilet projects with awards of up to $240,000 (€195,005), and that $3.4 million (€2.76) were also made available for further research in this field.
The top prize was won by the California Institute of Technology, which was followed closely by Britain's Loughborough University and the University of Toronto.
“We don’t have all the answers yet, but I’m optimistic that we can and will solve this problem. I’m hopeful that this unusual summer fair will be a positive step toward that important goal,” concluded Bill Gates in his blogpost.
Down below you have a video of what the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is trying to accomplish.
