Foundation Names Winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge to Improve Sanitation Solutions

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challengean effort to develop next-generation toilets that will deliver safe and sustainable sanitation to the 2.5 billion people worldwide who dont have it. The awards recognize researchers from leading universities who are developing innovative ways to manage human waste, which will help improve the health and lives of people around the world.
 
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.
 
One year ago, the foundation issued a challenge to universities to design toilets that can capture and process human waste without piped water, sewer or electrical connections, and transform human waste into useful resources, such as energy and water, at an affordable price.
 
The first, second, and third place winning prototypes were recognized for most closely matching the criteria presented in the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge.
 
Teams showcased their prototypes and projects at a two-day event held at the foundations headquarters in Seattle Aug. 14-15. The Reinvent the Toilet Fair brought together participants from 29 countries, including researchers, designers, investors, advocates, and representatives of the communities who will ultimately adopt these new inventions.
 
Innovative solutions change peoples lives for the better, says foundation co-chair Bill Gates. If we apply creative thinking to everyday challenges, such as dealing with human waste, we can fix some of the worlds toughest problems.
 
Unsafe methods to capture and treat human waste result in serious health problems and death. Food and water tainted with fecal matter result in 1.5 million child deaths every year. Most of these deaths could be prevented with the introduction of proper sanitation, along with safe drinking water and improved hygiene.
 
Improving access to sanitation can also bring substantial economic benefits. According to the World Health Organization, improved sanitation delivers up to $9 in social and economic benefits for every $1 invested because it increases productivity, reduces healthcare costs, and prevents illness, disability, and early death.
 
Other projects featured at the fair include better ways to empty latrines, user-centered designs for public toilet facilities, and insect-based latrines that decompose feces faster.
 
Imagine whats possible if we continue to collaborate, stimulate new investment in this sector, and apply our ingenuity in the years ahead, says Gates. Many of these innovations will not only revolutionize sanitation in the developing world, but also help transform our dependence on traditional flush toilets in wealthy nations.
 
Gates adds, All the participants are united by a common desire to create a better world a world where no child dies needlessly from a lack of safe sanitation and where all people can live healthy, dignified lives.
 
The Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WSH) initiative is part of the foundations Global Development Program, which addresses issues such as agricultural development and financial servicesproblems that affect the worlds poorest people but do not receive adequate attention. WSH has committed more than $370 million to this area, with a focus on developing sustainable sanitation services that work for everyone, including the poor.
 
The foundation also announced a second round of Reinvent the Toilet Challenge grants totaling nearly $3.4 million. The grants were awarded to: Cranfield University (United Kingdom); Eram Scientific Solutions Private Limited (India); Research Triangle Institute (United States); and the University of Colorado Boulder (United States).