Research sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to look into ways to build a waterless toilet for regions lacking sanitation.

The sanitation plight of many developing countries is well documented within these pages. That is why it is welcome news that a project featuring Research Triangle Institute and CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory (EECL), will work to build waterless toilets for these regions.

The project aims to build toilets that burn solid and liquid waste, and then convert the remaining product into energy.

“From a design standpoint it’s a really unique design challenge,” Morgan DeFoort co-director of the Engines and Energy Conversion Lab said.

Research will begin with a 15 month timeframe. Should the research bear fruit another 15 months will be sought to complete the model.

“You could see a product ultimately coming out that would have a big impact on human health throughout the world,” DeFoort said.