Loo

What it does

Loo is a dry toilet system that does not use water or a drainage system. It allows users to have a good treatment of their feces. Designed for people in shelters, rural and isolated properties who do not have a drainage system or access to water.

Your inspiration

We decided to develop a design that would address a water-related issue. While researching we realized that many diseases are caused by contact with or ingestion of contaminated water. From there we were investigating where this problem happens more frequently and we realized that due to civil and political conflicts there is a lot of movement of refugees nowadays. We contacted people in Ukraine and Bangladesh who shared with us more about their experience and dependence on the UN to treat and unload their septic tanks.

How it works

First, fill the back container with dry leaves, coffee, or tea. Then, use the bathroom either sitting or squatting. Loo is designed to separate solids from liquids through its shape, liquids flow into a tube that leads to a latine pit or container, while feces drop into an internal container.Once you finish using the bathroom, turn the lever on the side of Loo. After use, turn the side lever, which activates a mechanism to push the waste into the container. The waste container sits on a cart with a weight indicator to show when it's full. The internal container in Loo is positioned on a cart. When the container is full, you can transport it to a tecal treatment plant using the cart. Alternatively, you can bury the container. The container is made of mycelium, a durable, water-resistant, fire-resistant, and biodegradable material.

Design process

Once we were clear about our problem, we brainstormed to see different alternatives to solve it. We decided to broaden our outlook by interviewing experts and realized that our possible solutions were too complex to implement, required a lot of infrastructure, and were not as frugal as we thought they should be. We explored different solutions and bounced ideas around among the team. Narrowing down to one idea was a complicated process, because knowing that they had so many problems, we were trying to solve them all, but we decided to focus on making them independent for our user, so we could avoid the rest of the problems. We made the toilet as user-friendly as possible. We started by making a square, with complex and cumbersome mechanisms, a not very homogeneous design, and surely uncomfortable. Once the functions were defined, we explored shapes through sketching and started from one that was modified. We made quick mockups to test the functions and even the comfort of certain shapes. At the same time we did tests with feces to test how they behave with different waste, we made mock ups of mechanisms and validations of these. Finally we 3D modeled and made plans and a functional and visual prototype of the design.

How it is different

Loo is an innovative product designed to offer solutions in areas with water shortages or deficient hydraulic systems. What distinguishes Loo from other products is its design as a dry toilet, incorporating a dispenser for organic matter such as dried leaves, coffee and tea, which makes it easy to use and comparable to a conventional toilet. Loo does not require water, controls odors to prevent disease and has a container made of mycelium that collects the fecal waste and organic matter, thus helping to nourish this mixture to prevent the proliferation of bacteria. In addition, this enriched mixture can be used to improve soil fertility by burying it, favoring the planting of trees.

Future plans

Loo is designed to continue to grow and innovate in both the product itself and its market. We are thinking about a future where it serves not only shelters, underserved communities and campers, but also other users such as construction sites and outdoor events. In addition, we are working on modifications to make Loo easily installable in homes, especially for people interested in reducing their carbon footprint.

Awards

With this project we have won the award for the best project in the category of technology-based design and entrepreneurship at the Tec de Moneterrey University.