The Urine Diversion Dry Toilet Insert (UDDT) is being developed in partnership with Oxfam, to convert a standard emergency Squatting Plate into a Urine Diversion System.

On the XXI century, a third of the world’s population still has no access to a toilet. This situation is directly related to factors as contaminated drinking water, which transmit diseases as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio or diarrhoea; which still causes the death of around 525.000 children under five every year.

Lightweight Squatting Plates are key in situations of humanitarian crisis; easy to handle and ship, they offer a needed basic sanitation solution. As one of the current leading manufacturers of Latrine Slabs, Dunster House is, once again, working on an exciting new project in partnership with Oxfam.

The project

The aim of this project is to develop not one, but two sets of urine diversion systems; a mould to enable local production and an add-on insert, which will have universal size to be added to no only the light Dunster Latrine Slabs, but also to other plastic squatting plates in the market.

Limited supplies of water along with the elevated cost of wastewater infrastructure make sewer waste management nearly impossible in many countries. This fact, along with the consequences associated to the use of some pit latrines, where the faecal contamination can be spread to clean water resources or originate difficulties for the waste removal make from Urine Diversion Systems the new sanitation challenge.

These models have been designed to eliminate the usage of water, reducing the contaminating impact, the odours as well as flies and insect infestations through the separation of the urine from the faeces.

Although after urination and defecation water must be present for hand washing and hygiene purposes, this UDDT is a waterless structure as it is not used for flushing and the excreta remains dry, odourless and easy to remove.

The design is also simple to understand, a key fact to ensure a correct use and prevent any water or urine entry into the vault destinated for solid waste. A smaller and longer vault is designed to gather the urine and divert it out of the structure, while a larger and round hole diverts the dry excreta directly underneath the UDDT system.

Two projects in one: UDDT Insert and Concrete Mould

A universal UDDT plastic unit has been designed to fit, not only Dunster House’s Squatting Plates, but also other commonly used latrine slabs in the market. This lightweight and easy to fit insert consists in two different areas, which easily divert urine and excreta into different vaults.

The system is easy to clean and has a cover for the solid waste compartment of the UDDT, so rain water will stay away when is not in use and waste will be safely stored underneath while drying. The lid is provided with a long arm which allows to close and open the hole hygienically.

A different, but also really important part of this project is the design of a solid, strong and resistant plastic mould, that can be easily used by local communities to produce their own concrete UDDT units.

This mould can be efficiently used by unskilled labour with minimal instructions and local materials, contributing to local development.

First Trials

Both, the UDDT Concrete Mould and the UDDT Insert will be soon sent to Uganda and Ethiopia for their first field trials. If the systems are well received by the local communities and used successfully, the next phase would be to start mass production for both items.