HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Eiwa Land Environment Co. is marketing a water-saving toilet that uses oyster shells in dry parts of Australia, China and the United States.
The environmental equipment maker may also try to export the toilet to developing countries as a way to help prevent infectious diseases.
The company, based in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, began producing the toilet in China in November in an attempt to halve its price.
"We'd like to cultivate new demand by drawing the world's attention to our environmentally friendly toilet," Eiwa President Ryoichi Okamaoto said.
Oyster shells, a local specialty of the prefecture, are a good place for microorganisms that decompose sewage to live because they have a wide surface area enhanced by their jagged shapes.
Sewage run through a purifier tank containing oyster shells becomes clear and odorless for reuse, with activated carbon and chlorine used to remove E. coli bacteria.
