You’ve heard the phrase “re-inventing the wheel” and this week innovators from universities around the world were  “reinventing the toilet” in Seattle, after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sent out a call normally reserved for plumbers: “We need the toilet fixed.”

Last year the foundation issued the Re-invent the Toilet Challenge to: “design toilets that can capture and process human waste without piped water, sewer or electrical connections, and transform human waste into useful resources, such as energy and water, at an affordable price.”

“Innovative solutions change people’s lives for the better,” said foundation Co-chair Bill Gates in the statement about the challenge. “If we apply creative thinking to everyday challenges, such as dealing with human waste, we can fix some of the world’s toughest problems.”

For instance, as the foundation’s infographic for the event succinctly put it: “2.6 billion people still don’t have a safe, affordable way to poop.” Countries lacking facilities, and those that have unsanitary ones, compounded with the scarcity of water can create unhealthy living conditions and unsafe food for their people.

Yesterday Gates announced the winners on the second and final day of the Reinvent the Toilet Fair which was hosted by the foundation at their west coast headquarters.

The California Institute of Technology was awarded $100,000 and placed first for a solar-powered toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity.

Followed by the UK’s Loughborough University who won $60,000 and second place for a toilet that produces biological charcoal, minerals, and clean water.

Canada’s University of Toronto won the third place and  $40,000 for a toilet that sanitizes waste and recovers resources and clean water.

But one of the winners you have likely seen several pictures of by now was the toilet that received special recognition for “outstanding design of a toilet-user interface.”

The foot pedal operated fixture with a tall back is a modern-squatting toilet and was designed by Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology) with EOOS. The toilet separates waste and diverts the water for handwashing while only using about 1 to 1.5 liter of water for each individual use. The water is cleansed by a membrane filter and electrolysis by a solar powered electrode. The toilet is not connected to a water supply.

“Imagine what’s possible if we continue to collaborate, stimulate new investment in this sector, and apply our ingenuity in the years ahead,” added Gates. “Many of these innovations will not only revolutionize sanitation in the developing world, but also help transform our dependence on traditional flush toilets in wealthy nations.”