EToilet

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An eToilet, installed on a street in India EToilet.jpg
An eToilet, installed on a street in India

An electronic toilet or eToilet is a type of public toilet that is used in India. The increase in the use of eToilets is in support of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (in English, the Clean India Mission) which intends to reduce the practice of open defecation. [1]

Contents

eToilets are self-contained, self-cleaning, unisex, user-friendly, unmanned, automated, and remotely monitored toilet pods installed in public places. They were developed by a private company, Eram Scientific Solutions, in 2008. [2] Like Sanisette, eToilet is a registered trademark. This registered trademark, similar to Sanisette, demonstrates a growing trend towards integrating technology and convenience in public hygiene facilities.

Features

eToilets can be coin operated pay toilets, or freely accessed with manual entry and exit. A safeguard corridor panel serves as a screen to avoid disturbing the public or the user of the toilet. The entire unit is made of stainless steel. Like other self-sustaining, electronic public toilets, eToilets have sensors to initiate automatic functions including pre-flush and post-flush platform cleaning, after a specified number of uses. Indication lights are displayed outside the unit which helps the user to identify whether the facility is occupied (red light) or unoccupied (green light) and whether the facility is out of service, for example if the water supply is low.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flush toilet</span> Toilet that uses water to convey human waste down a pipe

A flush toilet is a toilet that disposes of human waste by using the force of water to channel it through a drainpipe to another location for treatment, either nearby or at a communal facility. Flush toilets can be designed for sitting or squatting, in the case of squat toilets. Most modern sewage treatment systems are also designed to process specially designed toilet paper. The opposite of a flush toilet is a dry toilet, which uses no water for flushing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bidet</span> Plumbing fixture or type of sink intended for washing the genitalia and anus of the human body

A bidet is a bowl or receptacle designed to be sat upon in order to wash a person's genitalia, perineum, inner buttocks, and anus. The modern variety has a plumbed-in water supply and a drainage opening, and is thus a plumbing fixture subject to local hygiene regulations. The bidet is designed to promote personal hygiene and is used after defecation, and before and after sexual intercourse. It can also be used to wash feet, with or without filling it up with water. Some people even use bidets to bathe babies or pets. In several European countries, a bidet is now required by law to be present in every bathroom containing a toilet bowl. It was originally located in the bedroom, near the chamber-pot and the marital bed, but in modern times is located near the toilet bowl in the bathroom. Fixtures that combine a toilet seat with a washing facility include the electronic bidet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squat toilet</span> Toilet used by squatting

A squat toilet is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. This means that the posture for defecation and for female urination is to place one foot on each side of the toilet drain or hole and to squat over it. There are several types of squat toilets, but they all consist essentially of a toilet pan or bowl at floor level. Such a toilet pan is also called a "squatting pan". A squat toilet may use a water seal and therefore be a flush toilet, or it can be without a water seal and therefore be a dry toilet. The term "squat" refers only to the expected defecation posture and not any other aspects of toilet technology, such as whether it is water flushed or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urinal</span> Sanitary fixture for urination

A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture for urination only. Urinals are often provided in public toilets for male users in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures or in a trough design without privacy walls. Urinals designed for females also exist but are rare. It is possible for females to use stand-up urinals using a female urination device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainwater harvesting</span> Accumulation of rainwater for reuse

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit, aquifer, or a reservoir with percolation, so that it seeps down and restores the ground water. Rainwater harvesting differs from stormwater harvesting as the runoff is typically collected from roofs and other area surfaces for storage and subsequent reuse. Its uses include watering gardens, livestock, irrigation, domestic use with proper treatment, and domestic heating. The harvested water can also be committed to longer-term storage or groundwater recharge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilets in Japan</span>

Toilets in Japan are sometimes designed more elaborately than toilets commonly seen in other developed nations. European toilets occasionally have a separate bidet whilst Japan combines an electronic bidet with the toilet. The current state of the art for Western-style toilets in Japan is the bidet toilet, which as of March 2016 is installed in 81% of Japanese households. In Japan, these bidets are commonly called washlets, a brand name of Toto Ltd., and they may include many advanced features rarely seen outside of Asia. The basic feature set commonly found on washlets consists of anal hygiene, bidet washing, seat warming, and deodorization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public toilet</span> Room or building with toilets for the general public

A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or prisoners and are commonly separated into male and female toilets, although some are unisex, especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets, public toilets are sometimes accessible to people with disabilities. Depending on the culture, there may be varying degrees of separation between males and females and different levels of privacy. Typically, the entire room, or a stall or cubicle containing a toilet, is lockable. Urinals, if present in a male toilet, are typically mounted on a wall with or without a divider between them. Local authorities or commercial businesses may provide public toilet facilities. Some are unattended while others are staffed by an attendant. In many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a specific service, such as might be the case at upscale nightclubs or restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Composting toilet</span> Type of toilet that treats human excreta by a biological process called composting

A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. This process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. Composting is carried out by microorganisms under controlled aerobic conditions. Most composting toilets use no water for flushing and are therefore called "dry toilets".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pit latrine</span> Toilet that collects human waste in a hole in the ground

A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human waste in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort. Pit latrines can be built to function without water or they can have a water seal. When properly built and maintained, pit latrines can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from open defecation. This decreases the transfer of pathogens between feces and food by flies. These pathogens are major causes of infectious diarrhea and intestinal worm infections. Infectious diarrhea resulted in about 700,000 deaths in children under five years old in 2011 and 250 million lost school days. Pit latrines are a low-cost method of separating feces from people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical toilet</span> A toilet that collects human excreta in a holding tank and uses chemicals to minimize odors

A chemical toilet collects human excreta in a holding tank and uses chemicals to minimize odors. They do not require a connection to a water supply and are used in a variety of situations. These toilets are usually, but not always, self-contained and movable. A chemical toilet is structured around a relatively small tank, which requires frequent emptying. It is not connected to a hole in the ground, nor to a septic tank, nor is it plumbed into a municipal system leading to a sewage treatment plant. When the tank is emptied, the contents are usually pumped into a sanitary sewer or directly to a treatment plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanisette</span> Self-cleaning public toilet

Sanisette is a registered trademark for a self-contained, self-cleaning, unisex, public toilet pioneered by the French company JCDecaux. These toilets are a common sight in several major cities of the world, but they are perhaps most closely associated with the city of Paris, where they are ubiquitous. In the United Kingdom, they are known informally as "Superloos".

Sani-Flush was an American brand of crystal toilet bowl cleaner formerly produced by Reckitt Benckiser. Its main ingredient was sodium bisulfate; it also contained sodium carbonate as well as sodium lauryl sulfate, talc, sodium chloride, fragrance and dye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female urinal</span> Urinal designed to be used by women and girls

A female urinal is a urinal designed for the female anatomy to allow for ease of use by women and girls. Different models enable urination in standing, semi-squatting, or squatting postures, but usually without direct bodily contact with the toilet. Sitting models also exist, and are designed for body contact with the urinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilet</span> Piece of hardware for the collection or disposal of human excreta

A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia, known as a squat toilet. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system; in isolated areas, to a septic tank. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent, including other sources, is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilet (room)</span> Room for privately accessing a toilet, and often handwashing sink

A toilet is a small room used for privately accessing the sanitation fixture (toilet) for urination and defecation. Toilet rooms often include a sink (basin) with soap/handwash for handwashing, as this is important for personal hygiene. These rooms are typically referred to in North America as half-bathrooms in a private residence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pissoir</span> Structure that provides screening of urinals

A pissoir is a French invention, common in Europe, that provides a urinal in public space with a lightweight structure. The availability of pissoirs aims to reduce urination onto buildings, sidewalks, or streets. They can be freestanding and without screening, with partial screening, or fully enclosed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic bidet</span> Nozzle attached to an existing toilet, or a part of the toilet itself

An electronic bidet is a seat attached to an existing toilet or a part of the toilet itself, with a nozzle to squirt a jet of warm water for cleaning the anus and female genitals, electrically powered and with electronic controls. It replaces the conventional bidet, a separate plumbing fixture not attached to a toilet. Some bidets of this type have one adjustable nozzle on the side rim for anus and genital areas, or two nozzles on the back rim, a shorter "family nozzle" for washing the area around the anus, and a longer "bidet nozzle" for women to wash their vulva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omni processor</span> Group of physical, biological or chemical treatments to process fecal sludge

Omni processor is a term coined in 2012 by staff of the Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to describe a range of physical, biological or chemical treatments to remove pathogens from human-generated fecal sludge, while simultaneously creating commercially valuable byproducts. Air from feces are separated from common air, then these collected air from feces are compressed like (LPG) and used as fuel. An omni processor mitigates unsafe methods in developing countries of capturing and treating human waste, which annually result in the spread of disease and the deaths of more than 1.5 million children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Container-based sanitation</span> Sanitation system which uses removable containers

Container-based sanitation refers to a sanitation system where toilets collect human excreta in sealable, removable containers that are transported to treatment facilities. This type of sanitation involves a commercial service which provides certain types of portable toilets, and delivers empty containers when picking up full ones. The service transports and safely disposes of or reuses collected excreta. The cost of collection of excreta is usually borne by the users. With suitable development, support and functioning partnerships, CBS can be used to provide low-income urban populations with safe collection, transport and treatment of excrement at a lower cost than installing and maintaining sewers. In most cases, CBS is based on the use of urine-diverting dry toilets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Loo</span> Unitary public toilet

The Portland Loo is a type of single-occupancy public toilet designed by the city of Portland, Oregon. It is manufactured, sold, and marketed by the Portland-based manufacturer Madden Fabrication under license from the city, for $96,000 each. The first unit was installed in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in Portland in 2008. Since the first unit was installed, additional 54 units have been purchased by February 2018, mostly by 20 other cities and 15 of them within the city of Portland.

References

  1. Krishnan, Vidya (3 November 2014). "Innovative eToilets key to Narendra Modi's Clean India mission". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  2. "eToilet - India's first Electronic Toilet". 2016-04-14.(registration required)

Further reading