Hardly once polite talk around the dinner table, the subject of using a public toilet has recently become just that, thanks to a remarkable innovation out of Chengdu which has made a discussion as to answering nature’s call around others now somewhat respectable.
Along Xiyuan Avenue in Chengdu’s Pidu District sits a bus stop. Nothing unusual in that perhaps, until one’s gaze is diverted to an eye-catching structure just 20 metres distant; a public toilet.
But not just any old public toilet. For this contraption is smart. And convenient. And clean. And good for the environment. Oh, and there you can also snap up a lottery ticket or slurp down a bowl of noodles, while you wait for your bus and go about your other “business”.
Specialising in green pollution-free toilets, Zhong He Qing Shan Toilet Technology’s automated demonstration unit beside its factory has saved over 3,400 kilograms of emissions since its installation in September, 2024.
It’s an inspiring statistic; the potential for just one humble public toilet to save fully a tonne of emissions annually.
Chinese President Xi Jinping referenced the “Toilet Revolution” as long ago as 2015 in describing the government campaign aimed at improving overall sanitary conditions in China, with particular emphasis on rural areas, tourist attractions and public toilets in general. And so it has come to be, with 127,000 public toilets either renovated or newly built since.
For the Chairman of Zhong He Qing Shan Toilet Technology (Sichuan) Co. Ltd., Xu Jiping, it’s also an economic opportunity for sure, but one close to his heart that is very much as one with environmental protection.
Himself from a rural upbringing in Sichuan Province, Xu discovered at a young age that the dry toilets in the countryside were more than just a place to defecate; they also had an associated output, namely high-quality organic fertiliser.
“When I was a kid, the tomatoes grown with organic fertiliser from the dry toilets in our village were delicious. I especially liked to eat these kinds of raw tomatoes when I was young. They were very good; they were the sweet taste of my childhood”, said Xu, speaking exclusively with The Nanjinger.
Fast forward to 2008 and the unimaginable horror of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan that left in excess of 60,000 people dead and millions homeless.
Xu was among the first responders out of the door to Wenchuan in the immediate aftermath, where he was yet again reminded of his childhood, helping to dig pits to act as makeshift dry toilets in attempts to prevent the proliferation of bacteria that often comes in the wake of a major disaster.
Such emergency relief was to be his wake up call.
“I realised that the real solution to people’s excreta is actually related to humanitarian aid, to environmental protection and even the relationship that is every human’s dignity”, said Xu, speaking from his heart in the cafe that sits on the second floor of that demonstration unit.
Meanwhile, the patented technology at work beneath Zhong He Qing Shan’s public toilets is not only able to function at high altitudes and low temperatures, as low at minus 40 degrees; it can also recycle over 90 percent of human waste.
Fully customisable and transportable (ideal for outdoor festivals), in different sizes, offering different services for all kinds of customers in all kinds of environments, such facilities are manifest by these being public toilets with power banks available for people to borrow, vending machines offering drinks or sanitary products, plus electronic advertising hoardings.
On the face of it, there is nothing not to love. Yet, challenges remain; the Chairman points to promotion and building brand awareness being atop his firm’s to-do list.
But there is much opportunity too. The Sichuan-Tibet Plateau is hardly alone with its extreme climate; Canada, Russia, Finland and other places stand to benefit from the toilets that need neither a sewage system nor septic tanks.
Back at the dinner table, but away from defecation, it was not long until Xu pointed out to this Scottish correspondent that “Braveheart” is among his favourite films, together with “Zorro” and “Batman”; all movies in which the central character fights the good fight to bring benefit to the masses.
Xu’s revolutionary restrooms are not just enhancing the image of Chengdu, they are bringing financial savings to local government by also driving job creation; just one public toilet which provides work for eight employees underscoring well China’s commitment to high-quality development.
