Russell, you may recall, had a bit of an issue in trying to use his Wilderness Explorer skills in using a latrine:
“Definitely before.” Wiser words have seldom ever been spoken.
If only Russell had read Web Watch, he would have known about this product for his trip with Carl: It may seem amusing to some people, but the PEEPOOPLE serves an equally very specific and serious purpose.
Proper sanitation and facilities don’t always exist in third-world countries. Water, whether clean or not, is often scarce and seldom used to facilitate waste management as is done in European-style bathrooms. Women have even been attacked while on their way to use whatever restroom options are available.
That’s why the PEEPOOPLE was created – to provide a clean, biodegradable, and safe way for people with no place to go, to HAVE a place to go.
This is important: there are over 2.6 billion people living without toilets or sanitation around the world. If a single gram of fecal material can contain 10 million viruses and 100 worm eggs, imagine what someone living in an area with no sanitation can come into contact with? We’re not talking about the amount of fecal material found in a pair of underwear – this is something much bigger, and much more important.
The Peepoople is a biodegradable plastic baggie that is used as a one-time-use waste recepticle. When the person using it is done, the bag can be tied up and disposed of in a proper landfill — where it will biodegrade into valuable, usable fertilizer in just a few short weeks.
These bags are being used in many places, from Kenya to Bangladesh – and brings a small amount of cleanliness and farming value to those who need it most.
If you are interested in ordering the Peepoople, they are now taking some orders; full-scale production is planned for 2Q2011.
Here is a little bit more of how the Peepoople is described on the Peepoople website:
The Peepoo is a personal single use toilet, that sanitizes human excreta shortly after defecation, preventing the faeces from contaminating the immediate and larger environment….
Ergonomically designed to be easy and hygienic to use, simple and rational to produce, and thus possible to be sold to groups with the weakest purchasing power, the Peepoo offers a sanitation choice for both individuals and society at large… The Peepoo is personal in the sense that it can be used whenever and wherever needed. It can be used NOW, there is no need to wait for public or political action. As the Peepoo is never used, never occupied, and always clean, it allows the user complete privacy….
The Peepoo can work as an every day toilet or as a complementary sanitation system at night, at work, or at school. Due to its low price, it can be used regularly at home or only when ill. It can be given as a gift.