Sulabh to construct low-cost toilets in Japan

The decision was taken in the light of the initiatives by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, on whose invitation Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak visited Tokyo to throw light on effective methods for easy disposal of human waste.

Pathak, who also visited some rural areas of Japan, said here on Sunday that there was a need for cheap toilets as the technology in use in that country was very expensive and felt that the two-pit toilet system could be a perfect solution given the climate of Japan.
Sulabh is going to construct at least half a dozen low- cost toilets as part of its project to display the efficacy of its technology.

Pathak, who won the coveted Stockholm Water Prize last year for its efforts in the field of sanitation to improve public health, said he discussed with officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which had invited him to demonstrate Sulabh’s two-pit technology.

He described the Sulabh pour-flush toilet with twin pits as a good option for densely populated urban areas and said site would be done soon.

At the "Follow-up Conference of the International Year of Sanitation", organised by United Nations and Government of Japan in Tokyo recently, Pathak told the delegates that Sulabh technology is perfect for developing countries and some of the African countries, China, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Nepal have already shown interests in this low-cost technology.

Pathak also said Sulabh has developed a new technology for production and utilization of biogas from human waste.

Experts from the UN and Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the conference, who evinced keen interest in the technology, have asked developing nations to adopt it to streamline their sanitation system.