Providing toilet facilities is a major issue in mountainous and disaster-stricken regions where water and sewer services are not available. Even where toilets with proper plumbing are available, they consume vast quantities of water, and treating the sewage generated requires large amounts of power.

Seiwa Denko, based out of Asahikawa in Hokkaido, has developed the Bio-Lux, a bio-toilet that uses no water whatsoever. And unlike previous generation bio-toilets, Bio-Lux does not require specialized sawdust or bacteria, either: the unit uses conventional sawdust.