Japan 'oyster toilets' set to go global

WATER WORLD

by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) March 13, 2009
Japan's toilet makers, famed for their high-tech latrines, want to go global with a simple, water-saving design based on oysters, a manufacturer said Friday.

The design removes pollutants and acidity by filtering wastewater through large tanks filled with oyster shells, a by-product of the seafood industry in southern Hiroshima prefecture, the manufacturer said.

Oysters offer a natural waste-management system because their jagged shells give micro-organisms a large surface on which to live and decompose sewage, said Eiwa Land Environment Company manager Masaru Matsuoka.

Treating one cubic meter of wastewater takes about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of oyster shells, Matsuoka said, adding that "since Hiroshima produces so much waste in terms of oyster shells, we never run out of them."

The filtered water is recycled to flush the toilet, making it ideal for dry regions of Australia, China and the United States, he said.

The company started making the toilets more than a decade ago and has installed them in 500 locations throughout Japan, including lodges on Mount Fuji.

It opened a factory in China late last year and plans to make a full-fledged launch for the overseas market in the near future, he added.

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WATER WORLD

Population growth, climate change sparking water crisis: UN

Paris (AFP) March 12, 2009
Surging population growth, climate change, reckless irrigation and chronic waste are placing the world's water supplies at threat, a landmark UN report said on Thursday.

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