Updated on August 17, 2024

·

Created on August 27, 2015

Sanergy Fresh Life Toilet and Sanergy Fresh Life Waste Management Service

The Sanergy Fresh Life Toilet is a urine-diverting dry toilet which is housed in a prefabricated structure.

Developed By
  1. Sanergy
Content Partners
Unknown

Product Description

The Sanergy Fresh Life Toilet is a urine diverting dry toilet housed within a prefabricated concrete structure. The floor has a squat plate and two holes, one for liquid waste and one for solid waste, that lead down to removable waste cartridges. Sanergy sells the toilet as part of a franchise model which includes waste collection services. The collection service transfers waste to a treatment facility where the waste is converted to energy, fertilizer, and insect protein for animal feed –  a valuable asset for farmers in East Africa.

The toilets are sold to Kenyan entrepreneurs and includes installation, painting and daily waste collection for one year. Owners of the toilets, called Fresh Life Operators (FLO), receive business management and operations training from Sanergy and can earn revenues by charging customers. Financing is available through a partnership with Kiva, an online micro-lending platform.

Waste collection service is free for one year with purchase of the Fresh Life Toilet. Waste collection is approximately $106 USD for each subsequent year.

Target SDGs

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Market Suggested Retail Price

$588.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household, Community, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Sanergy

Countries

Kenya

Manufacturing/Building Method

The Fresh Life Toilet is pre-fabricated in local, in-country workshops. The toilets are transported to the site and assembled in one day. Walls are fabricated in panels to provide easy transport through narrow passageways.

Intellectural Property Type

Select Type

User Provision Model

Users can obtain the Fresh Life Toilet (FLT) from Sanergy and become a franchised Fresh Life Operator (FLO). FLO's can operate the toilet for commercial use on a pay-per-use model, or as a shared community toilet for residential and institutional use.

As franchise partners, the operators receive FLT, training, access to financing, ongoing operational and marketing support, and the daily waste collection service.

Interested Fresh Life Operators can obtain the Fresh Life Waste Management service directly from Sanergy by contacting the Communications Team.

Distributions to Date Status

As of 2016, 732 Fresh Life Toilets have been distributed.

Toilet type

Container-based service

Evacuation method

Dry

Storage conditions

Container storage

Capacity (L)

30 L feces container, 25 L urine container

Time until emptying

Daily collection frequency

Design Specifications

The structure has a 3' x 5' footprint and can accommodate waste from approximately 120 uses per day.

Fresh Life Toilets (FLTs) are operated by Fresh Life Operators – local residents who purchase and operate the hygienic sanitation facilities. As franchise partners, the operators receive FLT, training, access to financing, ongoing operational and marketing support, and the daily waste collection service.

The Sanergy Fresh Life Frontline collect the waste on a daily basis from FLTs. The Fresh Life Frontline is trained and properly equipped to remove the filled cartridges and replace them with clean empty cartridges. The waste is safely removed from the community by wheelbarrow, handcarts, and/or truck. The wheelbarrows and handcarts ensure that FLTs can be installed deep in informal settlements where there are only narrow, unpaved roads as access points.

Collected waste is processed at a centralized facility into useful end-products such as organic fertilizer, insect-based animal feed, and renewable energy. To produce the fertilizer, Sanergy co-composts the waste with sawdust, other carbon sources and effective micro-organisms, which eliminates pathogens. Then, they let the compost mature in windrows. Once ready, they test every batch of fertilizer by third parties to ensure compliance with World Health Organization standards.

To produce the insect-based animal feed, Sanergy uses a colony of Black Solider Flies, whose larvae consume organic waste, removing the pathogens and converting the waste into protein. Boiled and sun-dried to eliminate any pathogens, the larvae make a sustainably produced, nutrient-rich protein input for animal feed. Sanergy is investigating ways to re-use the urine and capture the biogas released by the waste. 100% of the waste is safely treated.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Sanergy employees collect liquid and solid waste containers daily and replace them with clean containers. At the time of collection Sanergy employees also clean the Fresh Life Toilet. Fresh Life Operators are responsible for maintaining a clean FLT between collections.

Replacement Components

Replacement squat plates are available from Sanergy.

Lifecycle

5-6 years for the toilet and the waste management service is renewed anually.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

100% of the waste is safely treated

Vetted Performance Status

Unknown

Safety

Not specified. Waste is not handled by the Fresh Life Operator, however the FLO is responsible for maintaining the toilet in between daily waste collection services. The FLO is provided with training upon franchise purchase.

Handling human waste can spread disease, waste is safely collected and removed by Sanergy employees daily.

Complementary Technical Systems

Sanergy has partnered with SweetSense a low-cost remote monitoring technology enterprise to include sensor in their toilets. The result is a network of waterless toilets in urban slums that tell Sanergy’s waste collectors how full they are.

A solar powered lantern is mounted to the roof to provide light at night. A hand-washing station is included inside the Fresh Life Toilet.

Compliance with regulations

According to the website, the cartridges are removed to Sanergy's waste management center and solid waste is treated in accordance with WHO, industry, and Kenyan government standards. Fertilizer is tested by third parties to ensure compliance with World Health Organization standards. Third party testing organization and testing methods not specified.

Evaluation methods

Field trials.

Other Information

Details available in this report.

 

Comments from the Community

3 Comments

  1. Emily says:

    Target user(s): I would add that this solution is specifically for users in high-density population settings (e.g. urban areas, potentially refugee camps), because this particular waste collection business model would not be cost-effective otherwise.

  2. Emily says:

    Lifecycle: 5-6 years (source: https://docs.gatesfoundatio… pg 71)

  3. Emily says:

    Sanergy:

    Technology category: Urine-diverting dry toilet (UDDT)
    Target product user: Community (not sure about public sector, but definitely not intended for individual households)
    Pricing structure (does this include business model?): Franchising
    Capacity: 25 L urine, 30 L feces
    Treatment method: Anaerobic digestion to produce biogas
    Lifetime: 5-6 years

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