X-Runner: Providing Our Portable, Safe and Hygienic Dry Toilet to Urban Households that Lack Sanitation

Two and a half billion people worldwide lack access to proper sanitation. Three million of them are in Lima, Peru’s capital. Although poor sanitation in slums also affects men, it is women in the slums who suffer the greatest burden, as they are unable to relieve themselves discreetly due to a variety of factors, including their modesty and susceptibility to sexual attacks. This is in addition to other health risks, especially diarrhea, which kills 1.5 million children under five each year. Poor sanitation also contributes to developmental delays in children through infections. Many latrine designs are out there, but few are suitable for poor urban areas. X-runner is a sustainable sanitation system that provides homes with a safe, portable dry toilet and a responsible service that removes and converts the human waste into nutrient-rich compost, thus improving the daily lives, health and environment of many people. By the end of Phase I, the project will have installed over 500 toilets in Lima slums, as well as directly employed 20 people.