Modern technology solves an old problem

The makeshift toilets once used by residents of Jindan, a village in Xiangyun county, Yunnan province, were unbearably dirty and fetid, especially during summer when they were plagued by flies and mosquitoes, posing a health risk.

To address the problem, the locals decided to dig simple communal toilets a few minutes' walk from the village. Although the new facilities reduced the health risk, they were inconvenient and children had to be escorted to them at night because they were afraid of the dark.

The situation began to change in June last year, when the local government started a pilot project using the CHtank, a sewage-disposal facility designed and made in China.