How Bio Toilets Can Help Improve Standards of Health & Hygiene Amidst Covid-19

To battle the Covid-19 pandemic, personal hygiene, clean households, and healthy surroundings are of utmost importance. It is widely believed that the Covid-19 virus can survive in the human digestive tract and its traces can be found in the feces. This makes waste management infrastructure and human waste treatment significant. But unfortunately, millions of people in India still lack adequate sanitation facilities and thereby succumb to fatal diseases due to dangerous bacterial and viral infections caused by it. A Bio-toilet, in such a scenario, is an effective solution and it can play a key role in improving the standards of health and hygiene amidst Covid-19 and forever change the sanitation landscape of the country.

 Awareness is also important in this sphere as many do not understand how health and hygiene is important. With Coronavirus spreading, the compelled attitudinal change with regard to hygiene and sanitation can help improve the overall societal health in the long run. As Bio-toilets are simple and easy to use, it can certainly help the poor in rural areas to embrace clean and healthy sanitation routines. 

Covid-19, Transmission & Bio-toilets

The shedding of faces and the transmission of coronavirus is still under investigation. Various studies and analyses across the world have pointed out the possibility of human feces and the contaminated bio-aerosols as a result may cause the spread of the virus. The current study was carried out due to the fact that the SARS virus due to faecal shedding and movement of contaminated bio-aerosol affected many during its outbreak. Also, pathogen such as clostridioides difficile is already found in toilets. 

Another factor in consideration, as found in a study is toilet-flushing. The process of toilet flushing creates a large cloud of virus-induced aerosol droplets. Technically, it is like vortices that rise upward when water strikes the toilet bowl. The droplets can float in the air for over a minute and settle on the surfaces. Thus, the potential for transmission cannot be underestimated due to Covid-19. 

Recently, the Indian Railways took the massive process of installing more than 40, 000 bio-toilets in trains to prevent human waste in railways tracks. This was carried out as part of its “Swachh Rail - Swachh Bharat” initiative and to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a huge step in the direction to keep the environment clean as well.

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As discussed before, the damage to health due to bad or no sanitation facilities is a big concern, especially in rural areas. The open-defecation practices and waste left untreated in the open lead to various diseases like diarrhoea and cholera. At many places, there are no sewage treatment plants around to treat human waste. During the rains, the waste is carried to the nearby water resources thereby polluting it. Therefore, there is a need for a two-fold solution. One is the right infrastructure and the other is the right treatment of waste. 

Keeping these challenges in view, bio-toilets can be the game-changer. The use of water and the resulting vortices as mentioned before is greatly reduced. The chances of bio-aerosols and transmission can be dealt with as well. Organica Biotech is one of the leading companies providing effective sanitation solutions and bioremediation of waste. Bioclean Biodigester is one such product that is flexible, easy to install, and requires only one-time installation. Since the capital and operating expenditure is low, it can be used anywhere. What’s more, there are waterless Bio toilets where the waste directly goes down and is treated using human waste treatment solutions like Bioclean BD, which is a consortium of microbes which are highly effective and degrades human waste aggressively without any hassles. It naturally eliminates pathogens and curbs foul odour. 

With the nation still fighting Covid-19, the introduction of bio-toilets can be an effective tool to keep individual as well as society safe and healthy.