After retiring from Microsoft, Bill Gates used his status as one of the world's richest men to solve issues such as vaccination, finding cures for diseases and developing user-friendly toilets in the third world. Many do not realize that access to toilets is seen as a luxury in countries like India and Indonesia.
For the past few years, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have collaborated to develop more environmentally friendly toilets. Produce last week Samsung showed off a toilet prototype that eliminates solid waste by burning it and recycling water from urine.
Solid faeces will be dried until hydrated before they are incinerated by a closed system. The remaining dust from combustion can then be safely disposed of without contaminating water sources or becoming a vector for disease. A biological cleaning system will also be used to allow processed urine to be reused.
With the success of the prototype, Samsung wants to manufacture this eco-friendly toilet royalty-free in third world countries with the help of other companies. This is expected to reduce the issue of more than 3.6 billion people on earth who are forced to use less clean sanitation systems resulting in half a million children under 5 years old dying from diarrhea.