Dear Elisabeth,

Yes it is true that a flushable toilet does not count as a dry toilet.

The toilet that we develop uses water to flush but faeces and urine do not get in touch with water.
The output of urine-diverting dry toilets does not differ from the output of our toilet.

Water is not used to transport faeces and urine but to reduce smudge in the toilet.
The term ’urine-diverting toilet that can be flushed’ corresponds best to what we do.
As we are still in the product development process we are not allowed to talk about more details.
I hope that my answer could help.
Regards,
Lena

Dear Lena,

I am a bit confused as you stated "Our goal is to develop urine-diverting dry toilets for sitting and squatting that can be flushed" whereas elsewhere in your post you talk about dry toilets ("Development of an odorless, clean and easy to use source separating dry toilet user interface.")

According to the Eawag-Sandec definition of a dry toilet it is not flushed. (We've discovered some flaws in their definition, see discussion here on the forum: forum.susana.org/166-definitions-glossar...-in-your-mind-or-not)

What is your definition of the term "dry toilet" then?

Secondly, could you elaborate on this, please?:

Main challenges / frustration:
Contacting end users

Thanks.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Here is the description of a new grant we received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the area of user interface development:

Title of grant: User interface of source separating dry toilets for sitting and squatting

Name of lead organization: EOOS

Primary contact at lead organization: Harald Gründl / Project lead, Lotte Kristoferitsch / Project coordination, Michael Bryla, Lena Kriwanek

Developing country where the research will be tested: Refugee camps in Austria

Start and end date: May 2017 – October 2018

Grant type: Reinvent the Toilet Challenge (RTTC)

Grant size in USD: $577,212 (as per BMGF grant database here )

Short description of the project:
Our goal is to develop urine-diverting dry toilets for sitting and squatting that can be flushed. Hereby the challenge is to differentiate between urine source separation and water separation. We focus on universal design, meaning that needs of women, children and people with limited mobility are included in the design process.

Goal:
To develop a user interface for a source separating dry toilet for dense informal urban areas.

Objectives:
Development of an odorless, clean and easy to use source separating dry toilet user interface.

Research or implementation partners:
Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology)

Links, further readings – results to date:
Discussion of a related project (Blue Diversion Toilet): forum.susana.org/forum/categories/106-us...and-and-austria#3692
Discussion of a related project (Blue Diversion Autarky): forum.susana.org/forum/categories/106-us...id-eawag-switzerland
www.bluediversiontoilet.com/
www.eoos.com/cms/?id=250

Current state of affairs:
Researching test methods in the field of ergonomics and creating an evaluation scheme for source separating dry toilets.

Biggest successes so far:
Not applicable, project just started

Main challenges / frustration:
Contacting end users

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me here on the forum.

Regards,
Lena