GROUNDBREAKING environmental innovations by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is set to benefit some of Durban’s poorest communities.
On Tuesday, the City said that it will be entering into an agreement with the international non-profit organisation to roll-out pilot projects around the municipality for prototypes of their waterless toilets.
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The foundation, that was established by the world’s richest man Bill Gates and his wife Melinda in 2000, will test out toilets that will use minimal, zero or recycled waste water thus reducing water consumption and pressure on the environment.
The City said, “A report tabled at the Executive Committee said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation wish to play a significant role in solving world sanitation challenges for the more than 2.5 billion people affected by poor or non-existent sanitation services.”
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They said the foundation has selected eThekwini Municipality to test the five groundbreaking prototypes that came from an international grand challenge funded by the organisation.
According to the municipality, all funding for the pilots will be provided by the NPO, with the City acting as a local liaison and giving access to community sites.
The waterless toilet system, according to the foundation, moves the human waste down a rotating toilet bowl that turns 270 degrees to deposit the waste in a tank underneath. Next a scraper tool wipes off any residual waste from the bowl. The solid waste stays on the bottom while the liquid rises to the top.
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