Peepoo Personal Toilet

Anders Wilhelmson, Peepoople

Snapshot
Manufacturing & delivery
Performance & use
Research & standards
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Product description Brand name and product description

Peepoo is a personal, single-use, self-sanitizing, biodegradable toilet that turns human waste into fertilizer without water. Peepoo can be used as a household toilet that helps prevent the spread of diarrheal diseases in urban slums and during emergencies to help save lives on a massive scale.

Check out their promotional video here.

Target region(s) Target region for distribution/implementation (listed by country if specified)

Any low income areas in the developing world with difficulty supplying their inhabitants with hygienic sanitation.^Interview ^with ^{representative} Specifically, Peepoople saleswomen and retail kiosks are now selling Peepoos in Kibera, Kenya, and in Goma, DR Congo. The Peepoo system has also been implemented in more than 100 schools in in Kibera. Peepoo has also been successfully tested in: Boxwood slum, Durban, South Africa together with Oxfam Novib, slum areas in Mymensingh, Bangladesh together with GIZ Bangladesh Bihar, India and as emergency response Peepoo has been recently used in Pakistan and the Philippines.

Distributors/implementing organizations Organization(s) distributing/deploying this product directly to communities/individuals?"

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.

Market suggested retail price Price per unit or service price per usage/terms (USD). Subsidies noted.

To date, women micro-entrepreneurs in Kibera, Kenya sell Peepoos to beneficiaries as single units or in rolls of 25 Peepoos. The price-supported retail price is 3 Kenyan Shilling (approximately 3¢) per Peepoo. A refund of 1 Kenyan Shilling (1¢) is given to the customer for each used Peepoo that is returned at a Peepoo drop-point.

Competitive landscape Similar products available on the market. May not be a comprehensive listing.

Sanergy Fresh Life Toilets

SDG targeted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targeted with this product/application/service

Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation

Target user(s) Target user/consumer base (country, income segment)

Individuals in urban slums and those displaced during emergencies without access to safe sanitation.

Manufacturing/building method(s) Detail regarding solution production or construction method (instructions, mass production capacity, custom made,etc...)

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.

Product Intellectual Property Open source/IP protected (note patent)/trade secret/other?

IP protected by patent^Interview ^with ^{representative}

User Provision Model Where can the product be purchased/acquired by end users?

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

Distribution to date Number of units that have been deployed, downloads or users to date

Millions^Interview ^with ^{representative}

Fields marked are sourced values that have been evaluated by the manufacturer or a third party, all others are design specifications.

Capacity (Liters)

0.8

End product

Organic fertilizer

Storage conditions (Environmental, Temperature ºC)

Dark and dry; 20-25 ºC

Toilet type

Single-use

Treatment Method

Urea catalyzed decomposition.

Design specifications Component and Operation overview including power, portability, facility requirements, preventative maintenance and user training requirements

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.

Product schematics Design and assembly illustrations

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Technical support Technical support provided by

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

Replacement components Availability of replacement components (in-country, by order,...)

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

Lifecycle Disposal and warranty

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

Manufacturer specified performance targets Designer / Manufacturer specified targets

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 Findings of manufacturer evaluations or independent testing centers

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 faecal material collected was achieved in the bag within 2– 4 weeks, after which the bag can be degraded and reused as fertiliser.

Testing organizations Independent lab, academic research centers, etc.

Department of Energy and Technology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Safety Potential hazards / risks related to operation of this product

Peepoo meet the WHO requirements for safe sanitation.

Complementary technical systems Performance of this product is improved with another technology (eg. Cookstoves and Wind-blocking skirts)

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 Academic research related to the product (e.g. published papers in peer-reviewed journals)

Nordin, Annika, Ammonia Sanitisation of Human Excreta Treatment Technology for Production of Fertiliser. Uppsala: Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Department of Energy and Technology and National Veterinary Institute [Doctoral thesis] available here

Patel, Deepa, et al., Excreta disposal in emergencies: Bag and Peepoo trials with internally displaced people in Port-au-Prince, Waterlines, 2011. 30 (1): p. 61-77. available here

Vinnerås, Björn, et al., Peepoo bag: self-sanitising biodegradable toilet. Water Science and Technology, 2009. 59(9): p. 1743-1749. Available here

Compliance with regulations Product certifications and standards referenced by designer/manufacturer

Peepoo meet the WHO requirements for safe sanitationWorld 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.

Evaluation methods Evaluation methods/protocols/guidelines referenced by designer or manufacturer.

Field trials and lab testing.

Other information

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Peepoo Personal Toilet

Anders Wilhelmson, Peepoople

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