Save!

In 2019, the Gates Foundation commissioned us to continue developing the Urine Trap to make it ready for mass production, with the innovative Swiss manufacturer Laufen as the project partner. Although the foundation’s focus is on helping people in need, it was extremely helpful to first introduce the technology in the Global North. This helped ensure it was not labeled as “technology for the poor.”

The Save! model was presented for the first time in 2019 at ISH in Frankfurt, the international sanitation and HVAC trade fair. The design specifications stated that the toilet should fit into any bathroom. The brief did not explicitly call for pithy design language to make the technology visible.

The toilet is attached to a slightly modified support frame of a concealed flush system. As with any standard flush toilet, wastewater flows toward the back via a siphon into the downpipe (dark gray pipe system). The urine, separated through the Urine Trap, is routed through a smaller siphon into a separate urine downpipe at the rear. This urine piping (yellow) has a smaller diameter, similar to that used in urinals.

The collected urine is directed into a tank in the basement. From there, it can either be processed into fertilizer using a urine treatment unit or collected for treatment at a central facility.

Initial tests were conducted in Laufen’s water laboratory in Gmunden, Austria, with a view to industrial-scale production of the Urine Trap technology.

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The interior geometry of the Laufen Save! toilet model has been developed for industrial production. The urine outlet is invisible, while a V-shaped groove helps guide and channel the flow.

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