On September 12, the 2025 James Dyson Award the Chinese Mainland Regional Ceremony and 10th Anniversary Special Event concluded successfully. Huang Junming and Liang Ji from the Eco-Design Research Institute at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University won the Chinese mainland regional title for their project “Pureco-Waterless household toilet for cold and arid areas.”
Video Presentation of Pureco
Video credit: James Dyson Award
Award Certificate and On-Site Model Display
Introduction to the James Dyson Award
The James Dyson Award is an international design and engineering competition founded by Sir James Dyson to recognize, encourage, and inspire young innovators to address global challenges through engineering, technology, and design. The competition emphasizes not only sustainable solutions but also the iterative design process, prototype development, and potential for commercialization.
2025 The James Dyson Award: Selected Winning Entries
Design Background
Globally, 3.4 billion people still lack access to safely managed sanitation services, with nearly 400 million practicing open defecation, primarily in rural areas. Every day, approximately 1,000 children under the age of five die from diarrheal diseases linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) explicitly aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of sanitation for all by 2030. However, according to the 2023 UN-Water report, current progress is only one-fifth of what is needed, highlighting the urgent need for transformative solutions.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6: Water and Sanitation
The Situation in China
Since China launched its “Toilet Revolution” in 2015, significant improvements have been made in rural living environments. However, cold and arid regions remain challenging due to climatic and economic constraints.
In these areas, scattered settlements, drought conditions, and severe winters make it difficult to implement traditional flush toilets. Issues include challenges in constructing pipe networks, freezing pipes during winter, and high maintenance costs. Some households abandon newly renovated toilets and revert to traditional pit toilets due to burdens like water fees, cleaning costs, and electric heating costs. Others wrap their flush toilets in quilts during winter to prevent freezing, while some must even pour boiling water to thaw the waste outlet before use. This has significantly reduced residents' willingness to upgrade, greatly undermining the initiative's effectiveness.
Team Research Process
The team conducted field research in Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province and Tibetan regions, identified numerous issues where existing toilet renovation solutions failed to meet practical application needs. In response, the team designed the “Pureco Waterless Toilet System for Cold and Arid Regions,” achieving waterless and electricity independence, freeze resistance, low maintenance, and resource recovery.
This project originated as the first-place winner in the Livelihood Track Special Contest of Tsinghua University’s 42nd “Challenge Cup” Student Extracurricular Academic and Technological Works Competition in 2024. It was further developed based on the graduation project of Master's student Huang Junming. With support from Tsinghua University's Research & Development Afairs Office, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, and Wuxi Institute of Applied Technology, the project underwent multiple rounds of design iterations and is currently in prototype adjustment and testing phase.
Notably, this project secured a spot among the global top ten in the “imaGen Ventures” competition launched by UNICEF in May this year—marking the first time a Chinese project has reached this stage since the competition began. (Award recipients: Liang Ji, Huang Junming, Xue Shuhao)
UNICEF Youth imaGen Ventures Innovation Challenge Global Top 10
Scheme Iteration and Prototype Trial Production
The Pureco Eco-Toilet integrates passive building design, user-centered toilet design, waterless toilet, and microbial treatment technology. Solar collectors transfer heat to the urine-feces separation processor, preventing freezing and enhancing fermentation efficiency. A family of three only need to empty the septic tank once a year, which can save hundreds of yuan in maintenance costs every year.
Feces are mixed with rice husk bedding containing probiotics, then composted to significantly reduce volume, stabilize texture, and eliminate odors, producing a soil conditioner. Urine is stored, matured, and diluted into organic fertilizer, with composite storage bags ensuring functionality in cold temperatures. The waterless urinal's trapezoidal back design maximizes space efficiency. Solar axial fans and passive ventilation ensure continuous odor control. A step assist facilitates use by seniors and children. High-density foam seat cushions improve winter comfort. Gravity-sealing toilet lids encourage male users to use urinal, reducing urine stains on seats and lowering humidity in the composting chamber. An optional kitchen waste processor mounted externally increases fertilizer yield. This system helps rural toilets reduce dependence on water and electricity while balancing economic, environmental, and social benefits.
Schematic Diagram and Applicable Scenarios
Bathroom Interior Rendering
Waterless toilet
Follow-up Plan
The prototype has been completed and will be tested at an ecological farm in the Beijing suburbs. The team will further optimize the project based on the test feedback. Small-scale trials are planned for rural households in mountainous areas of Hebei Province this winter. The product design will continue to be refined, with a focus on modularity to reduce costs. While meeting the practical toilet needs of rural households, we will explore the use of more sustainable materials to achieve low emissions throughout the entire product lifecycle.
Related Links
2025 Dyson Design Award Winners Showcase
https://www.jamesdysonaward.org/zh-CN/2025/project/purecono-flush-toilets-for-cold-and-arid-areas
UNICEF “Youth Innovation Initiative” Global Top 10 Announced!
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/59irtx1IxB8oQlLrJ9cOrQ
This group of Tsinghua students went to the countryside and “radically transformed” dry toilets!
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/YR8PoWPFyNp3CalVccLEA
Tsinghua University Academy of Arts & Design Institute of Ecological Design
https://www.ecodesign-thu.com/ https://www.ecodesign-thu.com/
Text by｜Liang Ji
Editor｜Chen Jianrui
Reviewed by｜Liu Xin
