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Innovation at Home

Toilet

Most people in developed or so-called Western nations take toilets for granted. They are definitely a source of humour for kids but other than that, we don’t tend to give the toilet much thought from day to day.

But really, the toilet and associated sewerage systems deserve a lot more credit than they get. Without proper toilets and human waste removal systems people and communities frequently become seriously ill and diseased such as Cholera can kill thousands of people in just a few weeks.

Follow the evolution of the modern toilet from Scotland, in around 3,000 BC to today, learn about the clever Aussie who made a great water saving innovation and consider the future of the toilet and waste management in the context of building a more sustainable society.

Toilet Tally Worksheet

Key Events

  • 3000BC

    First known sewerage system

    Scotland develops a toilet comprised of a hole in a seat above a channel that washes waste away. India has a similar system in place at the same time.

  • 1596

    The Jax

    Sir John Harrington, an Englishman, invents the first recorded “flush toilet”. The Queen has one installed in Buckingham Palace.

    1596

  • 1775

    The s-bend

    Alexander Cummins develops the S-bend to keep waste smells from wafting through the home

  • 1980s

    Half Flush

    Bruce Thompson from Caroma develops the half-flush water saving mechanism

    1980s

UN Sustainable Development Goals

This episode focuses on water use and sewerage management in cities. From an Australian curriculum perspective, the episode examines our world view [sustainability curriculum key concept 2] about responsible use of our very limited water resources as well as use of associated resources, such as those that go into making toilet paper. We challenge students and families to consider steps they can take immediately to reduce the impact of their toilet use on the environment. Check out our “challenges” section of the show notes and download the resources to kick start your action today.

We also ask listeners to consider the future [sustainability key concept 3] of both the toilet and sewerage management. How could we innovate to reduce waste and also repurpose human waste so that it becomes useful?

The concepts in the show also link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Clean water & sanitation) and 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)

Challenge
  1. Get everyone to tally each time they flush the toilet (after they’ve washed their hands) tally half and full flushes for a whole weekend. Full flush for most toilets less than 20 years old is 9L and half is 4.5L.
  2. Count the number of rolls of toilet paper use in your house in a week.
Resources

This episode was researched, written and edited by Melanie De Gioia

It was narrated by Rachel Brittliff & Melanie De Gioia

Extra voices came from the De Gioia kids, the Balak girls and Ashley Brinson.

Music was sourced by Melanie from Audio Jungle, YouTube, Podington Bear and Free Music Archive.

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