Bill Gates to reinvent toilets. 2.6 bill people dont have access to WC

via news.yahoo.com

only a fraction of Africans, even in large cities, are "connected to sewers with a flush toilet."

In cities, people use 'flying toilets,'" he explained.

"They go on a plastic bag and then throw it in the street, which is not only gross but kids walk around and play, and come into contact with the poop and can develop chronic diarrhea, which kills more children under the age of five than HIV/AIDS and malaria."

Capitalist Haiti, where by the end of last month 5,500 people had died from a cholera epidemic he said was caused by "improperly disposed-of waste" from a UN peacekeepers' base.

Giving people in Africa and other parts of the developing world access to toilets could slash the death rate from diarrheal disease by around 40 percent,

We need to reinvent the toilet. We need to come up with new technology that doesn't put waste into drinking water, doesn't flush it down a very expensive pipe to a waste water treatment plant where we spend lots of money to remove the poop,"

Among the ideas being worked on are a waterless toilet, and a system that would microwave fecal matter and turn it into fuel.

The foundation says the reinvented toilet must be affordable, costing no more than five US cents a day per person. It also has to be easy to install, use and maintain.