Samsung Vice Chairman Jay Y Lee, left, and Bill & Melinda, Bill Gates, met in South Korea on Aug. 16 to discuss progress on Samsung’s “reimagined toilet.” Picture: Samsung
Samsung said Thursday it has developed, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a new toilet that recycles and disposes of waste safely.
The South Korean tech giant responded to the foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, launched in 2011, which aims to develop cost-effective toilets that can provide inclusive sanitation services without requiring sewage treatment systems.
The company’s advanced research arm, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, was working with the Bill & Melinda Gates since 2019. The institute recently completed core technology development and fabricated a prototype that has been tested, Samsung said.
Thermal treatment and bioprocessing technologies
According to the South Korean tech giant, the toilets, intended for domestic use, feature heat treatment and bio-treatment technologies to kill pathogens in human waste and the material released is environmentally safe.
Picture: Samsung
Treated water can be fully recycled, while solid waste is dried and ashed and liquid waste is purified, Samsung said. The company added that it plans to offer free licenses of toilet-related patents to developing countries upon commercialization.
According to the South Korean tech giant, Samsung’s initiative to develop these toilets was spearheaded by Jay Y Lee, vice president of Samsung, the conglomerate’s de facto leader, who met with Bill Gates earlier this month to discuss the progress of the project.
Demonstration of commitment
Jay Y Lee expressed his commitment to using Samsung technologies to help “address the challenges facing humanity”, the company added.
In recent years, Samsung has announced multiple corporate social responsibility projects. At the Unpacked conference in February, the company said it was incorporating materials made from discarded fishing nets to make its Galaxy devices.
Last year, the company said it was repurposing used Galaxy phones and modifying them into eye-care devices for use in underserved communities around the world.
Source: ZDNet.com