Every November 19th for the past 10 years has marked World Toilet Day. Run by WTO, (World Toilet Organisation) a global non-profit organisation committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide, today is a day built around awareness. So in the spirit of World Toilet Day, here are a few cool projects and potentially game-changing ideas when it comes to toilets.
Have you ever wondered where your toilet waste travels to? This web-based tool, Flush Tracker shows you where your flush ends up. It’s pretty fun to play with – try finding out where the Queen’s flushes go to, or ones from 10 Downing Street. This is more entertaining than it is game-changing but it’s a good awareness tool.
When you purchase Scott brand loo roll, you get a Smart Flush bag that goes into the back of your toilet to conserve water. It’s a logical pairing and another great initiative to see coming from Scott Brand (they also recently have ditched the roll part of toilet paper).
LOOWATT is the toilet made from poo, which collects human waste and converts it to energy. Once the waterless toilet system is full (waste is kept in an airtight compartment) the user can take it to a biodigester to convert the waste into fuel. Excrement to energy. Charming, eh?
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
