In Latin America, many of the people who grew up in rural areas were first accustomed to latrines. But what was used in the past, improved, can be key to taking care of health and saving water use in the future. It is time for dry toilets.
At least this is the proposal of experts in the ecological field.
An average flush in the toilet needs between 10 and 16 liters of water. And that without thinking where it is going, which in rural areas could be to nearby rivers or lakes, which would contaminate the water that the inhabitants themselves use.
Furthermore: every time a toilet is used, Bacteria jump out or even towards the body of the person.
From there was born the initiative of bioconstructors such as José Antonio Sánchez Colín, quoted by the Agua Ecosocial portal.
What are dry toilets?
The dry toilets, explains Sánchez Colín, are common toilets with the particularity “that we separate the gray water from the fecal matter, in order to avoid contaminating the water and then having to invest time and money in purifying it.”
To create them, a toilet with two compartments is used: one for urine and another for dehydrating feces.
The dehydration chamber for faeces is a cubicle where the waste falls. There, dry matter such as ashes, sand and sawdust is thrown to dry the feces with the destruction of bacteria and parasites.
This chamber has an air current to avoid bad odors in the bathroom.
The urine goes to the gray water, product of the sinks and showers.
The bucket for feces lasts for six months: when it is full, it is left to compost for another few months, later using it in the field as fertilizer.
Even if the person is not used to handling the cube, there are companies that work with it. The AD Magazine portal cites the Mexican WCEco, which is in charge of collecting the waste from the dry toilets to process it and use it later as compost in reforestation projects.
What do you think about the proposal?