iThrone Waterless Toilet Technology Reaches 20,000 Households

Diana Yousef’s iThrone, a waterless toilet, is currently changing the way approximately 20,000 households handle sanitation across Uganda, Panama, and the United States. She first conceptualized this non-flushing system while working at NASA on sanitation solutions for space missions. Realizing that the constraints of space travel mirrored those of Earth-bound communities without plumbing or sewage systems, she designed the iThrone to bridge that gap. The technology works by evaporating 95% of liquid waste. Because it removes the need for pipes or regular emptying, the system is well-suited for rural and low-income areas where infrastructure is often missing. The portable, straightforward design makes it easy to set up in various environments, helping to improve hygiene for the people who use it.

For her work, Diana Yousef was honored with the Global Citizen Waislitz Award, which comes with a $100,000 grant to support her efforts. This capital will allow her startup, change:WATER, to scale up distribution and reach millions more households. Her focus remains on making safe, sustainable sanitation a reality for people everywhere.