Mustek donates solar powered toilets to school

29th January 2015

By: Creamer Media Reporter

  

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From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. The first solar powered water-recycling toilets have been installed at a primary school near Midrand. Anine Vermeulen reports.

Anine Vermeulen:
ICT distributor Mustek donated four solar powered water-recycling toilets, installed by green sanitation company Smartsan, to the Orefile Primary School, in Olievenbotsch near Midrand, Gauteng this month as part of their CSI intuitive for education.

Orefile Primary School is the fist green school in Gauteng.

Mustek head of renewable energy Mike Cassidy

Anine Vermeulen:
Smartsan CEO Jurgen Graope explained that the sanitation system used a  combination of biological anaerobic processes and nano filtration systems that ensured that 100% of all dissolved contaminants such as nitrates, nitrites and phosphates were removed from the filtered water.

Smartsan CEO Jurgen Graope

Anine Vermeulen:
He added that the recycling of the toilet flush water ensured flush waterborne sanitation without a municipal water connection to the toilet cistern, and that the cistern tank was able to accommodate rain water.

Jurgen Graope

Anine Vermeulen:
He further noted that it was very simple and quick to install a unit and in areas where flooding was a problem, the unit could be installed above ground or even elevated above flood levels.

He mentioned that the unit is totally sealed and can even be placed on a river boat for communities living on water. Owing to the effective gas filter cap, there are no unpleasant odor emissions and the units can therefore be placed in densely populated areas without any risk. The units also pose no risk of leakage, thus preventing the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea and malaria.

Orefile Primary School  principle Clever Shikwambane stated that the school promoted educating children about recycling and saving water.

Orefile Primary School principal Clever Shikwambane

Anine Vermeulen:
He added that the school was proud of the project and that it was a step towards eliminating pit toilets, which could have unpleasant odors and were environmentally unfriendly.

Shannon de Ryhove:
Other news making headlines this week: the manufacturing sector is key to Gauteng’s growth; and Toyota mulls its continued Dakar sponsorship as South Africa’s team come second.

Productivity declines in the manufacturing sector, influenced by the depressed global demand for South African products, is to blame for the rapid contraction in Gauteng’s gross domestic product in recent years.

Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development Lebogang Maile

Toyota South Africa Motors was “happy” with what its sponsorship of the Toyota Imperial South Africa Dakar team had achieved over the last few years, but changes to race regulations this year did not make as big a difference in levelling the playing field as team principal Glyn Hall had hoped for.

Dakar team principal Glyn Hall

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.

Edited by Shannon de Ryhove
Contributing Editor

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