From correspondents in Europe, 08:45 AM IST

Tidaholm (Sweden) - 'Don't mix, don't flush, don't waste' is the slogan of a Swedish entrepreneur selling dry toilets - a revolutionary concept that not only saves water but also converts human waste into manure.

The concept could revolutionise toilet systems in countries like India, where sewerage systems in the countryside are a distant dream and a lot of water goes down the drain in the cities in flushing human waste.

The dry toilet concept, based on 19th century flushes used in some parts of Europe, keeps the solid waste and the urine separate and uses them to create manure that can be used in farms.

'There is a lot of difference in the farm produce using this manure and the normal one. The only thing is that people should get used to the idea of using human waste as manure. It is safe, ecological and hygienic,' Sven Ingvar-Nilsson, the man behind the initiative, told a visiting IANS correspondent.

Ingvar-Nilsson, 77, has been successfully using the dry toilet design for the last 11 years at his massive farm on the outskirts of this small Swedish town.

He says that the concept not only uses human waste but also saves a lot of water that is wasted every time you flush.

Flushes in India use up to eight litres of water in a single use. The porcelain toilets from Ingvar-Nilsson company are unique as they have two compartments in the toilet seat. One is to collect human excreta while the other one is for urine. Both are collected below the ground in separate containers.

The waste gets collected in the containers through gravity though there is a provision for vacuum flushing. A proper ventilation system has to be installed to make the toilets odour-free.

While the human waste takes a few days to turn into manure, the collected urine can almost immediately be used in the fields.

'Urine has 95 percent nitrogen and a good content of phosphorous and potassium as well. This can be very good for the crops,' said Thomas Karlsson, a farmer who is using this novel toilet in his countryside farm here.

Ingvar-Nilsson's company, Wost Man Ecology, has sold over 2,000 dry toilets so far. Trade enquiries have been made from as far as Hong Kong and Australia.

The installation of the dry toilets at various places can be done subject to regulations of local municipal authorities on human waste.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)