Peepoo Personal Toilet

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Peepoople saleswomen and retail kiosks sell Peepoos directly to customers as part of Peepoople Kenya. Additionally, partner NGOs distributing Peepoos include the Red Cross, Oxfam, Caritas, ACF and UN-agencies.

Manufacturing/Building Method

Peepoos are mass produced via a high-speed production line Stockholm, Sweden. The capacity of the plant is up to 500,000 Peepoos per day, up to 12 million on a monthly basis.

Intellectural Property Type

Patent Protected

User Provision Model

In local slum communities, users may purchase Peepos through Peepoople micro-entrepreneurs or kiosks. A local partner is responsible for organising the sales of Peepoos in urban slums. In schools, Peepoos are distributed for free to the children, initially financed by the school’s donors. In emergencies/refugee camps, Peepoos are distributed through governmental organisations or aid organisations.

Distributions to Date Status

Millions^{Interview with representative}

Design Specifications

A Peepoo Personal Pack contains 28 Peepoo toilets and one Moyla disposal bag. The outer bag and inner funnel is made of high performance, fully biodegradable plastics that meet EU standard EN 13432. This means that Peepoo disintegrates and that the molecules are broken down into carbondioxide, water and biomass. EN 13432 is the strictest of all standards for evaluating biodegradability and compostability. The biodegradable plastics are made up of a mixture of aliphatic/aromatic co-polyesters (Ecoflex) and polylactic acid (PLA), with small additives of wax and lime. The biomaterial is developed in cooperation with the German company BASF. Peepoo is designed to optimize the contact between faeces and urea so that the urea dissolves and decomposes rapidly. As the urea breaks down, ammonia starts to inactivate infectious organisms. The carbonates that are produced when urea decomposes help to control the pH at a level that supports the ammonia sanitisation. The Peepoo polymer is developed to contain the ammonia within Peepoo during the time sanitisation occurs. Following decomposition the used Peepoos can be utilised directly in home gardens. Outer packaging material: OPP and PE Guaranteed shelf-life: 2 years Dimension: 140 x 160 x 40 mm Weight: 340 grams Packing: 20 Peepoo Personal Packs per box Box: 200 x 300 x 400 mm, 7 kg Pictorial disposal guidelines for Peepoo bags are provided.

Technical Support

Provided by Peepoo AB, Sweden.^{Interview with representative}

Replacement Components

As a single-use product, it does not have replaceable components.

Lifecycle

Peepoo disposable bags have a guaranteed shelf life of 2 years.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

The urea inside Peepoo inactivates pathogens (harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites) after 4 weeks and Peepoo does not start to break down until the contents have been completely sanitized.

Vetted Performance Status

The Department of Energy and Technology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences developed the single use, self-sanitising, biodegradable toilet (Peepoo bag) and tested it for smell, degradability and hygiene aspects. It was found that no smell was detectable from a 25 mm thick bag filled with faeces during 24 hours in a 10 square meter room at 30 degrees C. Bags that had been in contact with urea-treated faeces or urine for 2 months in air, compost or water at 24 or 37 degrees C showed little signs of degradation. Pathogen inactivation modelling of the 4 grams of urea present in the bag indicated that appropriate sanitation of fecal material collected was achieved in the bag within 2–4 weeks, after which the bag can be degraded and reused as fertilizer.

Safety

Peepoo meets the WHO requirements for safe sanitation.

Complementary Technical Systems

Peepoo Kiti: Specially designed seat/holder to be used with Peepoo toilet for sitting or squatting Peepoo Yizi: Privacy tent for use in home or shelter

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

Peepoo meet the WHO requirements for safe sanitation. World Health Organization (WHO) has established three requirements for a sanitation system to function for the individual, his or her surroundings, and for society in general. It must: 1. Isolate faeces from the individual. 2. Prevent flies and small animals from coming into contact with faeces, in order to prevent contamination. 3. Inactivate pathogens in faeces before they are returned to nature. The outer bag and inner funnel is made biodegradable plastics that meet EU standard EN 13432. EN 13432 are standards for evaluating biodegradability and compostability.