Loowatt Toilet
Loowatt Ltd.
The Loowatt toilet is a dry-toilet that seals waste into a biodegradable film for transport and further processing, creating either energy or fertilizer.
Loowatt toilets are versatile waterless-flush sanitation systems that seal waste into a portable cartridge using biodegradable film. The cartridges prevent odors and enable periodic emptying by a team of waste-collectors. Once waste is collected it is processed anaerobically to produce biogas, electricity and fertilizer. Overall this system is obtained with an initial monetary deposit and maintained with a monthly fee for emptying and replacement of the biodegradable film.
In Madagascar each toilet requires a $16 deposit for use rather than purchase; the technology remains owned by Loowatt. In addition, a service fee of approximately $4 is charged each month for maintenance and materials. At UK festivals the toilets are promoted as “luxury loos” and cost approximately $45 per adult for use throughout the festival duration.
Other water-less toilets available include the Dry-Flush toilet which similarly bags and contains waste, but these devices are at a higher cost and for purchase rather than the leasing model used by Loowatt. In Madagascar there are no other sanitation companies that let users rent toilets, and in the UK none of the rentable toilets available are dry.
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Loowatt targets urban customers in Antananarivo, Madagascar at in a pilot program for public toilets and waste treatment, and now continues a second program at the household level to develop a waste-to-value treatment system. In addition the company provides toilets for events and festivals across the United Kingdom.
