PhD candidate Yang Bojing conducts research on solid waste from humans and animals daily. But when he went to a village in a suburb of Beijing this May he was still shocked by the strong smell and unhygienic condition of a farmer's self-made toilet.

"I couldn't wait to get out and breathe some fresh air," said Yang, 25, a solid waste treatment PhD candidate student with the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Tsinghua University.

Such toilets are common in rural areas despite the governments' ongoing efforts to improve them.

According to a report entitled the Improvement of Rural Hygienic Toilets by Region in 2005, published in April 2006 by the Ministry of Health, in 2005 China added 3.39 million new hygienic toilets to a national total of 137.4 million. 

The report indicated that 55.3 percent of rural households had hygienic toilets.

Most of the toilets mentioned above are one of two kinds. One allows the solid waste to be collected in a tank and which is used as fertilizer after processing. But this causes pollution and is unhygienic.

The newly introduced flush toilet is cleaner than traditional lavatories. The water washes the human waste away into a pit or tank in seconds. But the disadvantage is that the water drainage systems aren't as well-equipped as those in urban areas. In addition these toilets use a lot of water and they're expensive to install and use for farmers, Yang said.

How to maximize the merits of both types of toilets and improve the sanitary conditions in rural areas had played on Yang's mind since returning from the trip. His efforts in researching this subject finally produced results - an environmentally friendly toilet.

Because of this invention, on October 26, Yang was awarded the Youth Environmental Innovation Projects: 2006 Ford Motor Conservation & Environmental Grant (CEGC).

With grants totaling US$131,000 this year CEGC has become the largest environmental grants program of its kind in China.

Yang's research was based on data collected by a special project group on in-field manure preparation. The newly designed ventilation, water control, flushing and stir-mixing functions of the new toilets ensure both sanitary surroundings and the recycling of resources in household toilets for manure preparation.

"The toilet is able to minimize the amount of water in the waste tank while increasing air flow to reduce germs and prevent odor," Yang said.

The trick is simple. "A screen hat allows the liquid waste to pass but keeps the solid waste in the tank. And the air channels guarantee the flow of the air," explained Yang. 

The system allows farming families to live a healthier life and also collect waste for fertilizers.

Yang's invention is also economically practical with a cost of around 3,000 yuan (US$375) and the use of convenient raw materials such as bricks and tiles. "If you want to promote your product to farmers you've to make sure it's cheap and easy to build," Yang said.

His CEGC award was 16,000 yuan (US$2,000). Yang called it a by-product. "I'm very happy to be able to contribute to environmental protection in China through my own research."

In rural China most environmental problems occur because of poor economic conditions. "For farmers there are many other issues to pay attention to. But in fact the environmental problems in rural China should be addressed urgently," he added.

What matters now is to raise public awareness of environmental protection in urban and rural areas, Yang said.

As a young researcher Yang said technology innovation that is practical, cost-effective and environmentally friendly is the key to solving problems.

(China Daily November 28, 2006)