With a population approaching 1.3 billion people, and the number of flush toilets increasing daily, China desperately needs to conserve water. Since each flush of a toilet requires six liters of water, China is well on its way to becoming the largest toilet-water-consuming society in the world.

Just think: potentially one billion flushes per day, at 1.5 gallons each. That seems enough to make the Yellow River run dry -- or, even more likely, run brown!



So, what's the most practical answer? Maybe it's the Clean Life II, an alternative toilet recently showcased at the World Toilet Expo in Beijing, China. The unit may be more accurately described as a litter box for humans.

Andy Tung, director and general manager of Shinnichi Mechanical and Electrical Equipment, Shenzen, China, calls it "the compost toilet." Waterless and odorless, the Clean Life II, designed by Korean-based LG Corporation, consists of a temperature-controlled steel box filled with sawdust. After the user dumps a load of poo flung dung into the unit, a mechanism rotates the sawdust, which is kept at a warm 45 to 50 °C. The moisture evaporates, and the remaining waste and toilet paper then breaks down into organic fertilizer.

The sawdust needs to be changed just once a year. "Essentially, this is what happens in nature. We just speed up the process," says Tung, who eagerly plunges his hand into a batch of six-month-old sawdust and holds it to his nose to prove its lack of foul odor.

The Clean Life II's seat can be customized, Tung says. "I can make a squat or a sit. There's no need for a standard bowl. I have a model that looks like a couch, which is good for old people. You can even put it next to their beds." Tung says the compost toilet, which costs $3000 per unit, has been a real hit in several government offices in Beijing and the southern city of Shenzhen.

Tung, trained as a software engineer, became interested in toilet technology on a visit to Japan a few years ago when he first used a compost toilet. "I never thought I would be making toilets," Tung says with a laugh. "But I feel like I'm doing something good for the environment. I never knew how much water toilets used."