My project is a backcountry waste disposal system designed for the environmentally conscious hiker. Due to heavy backcountry traffic, more and more of our national parks require hikers to pack human waste, in addition to garbage, out of the woods. This trend has resulted from improper disposal of solid waste by human hikers. Health hazards arise from fecal pathogens that find their way into the water supply. My design was bom after a backpacking trip with a friend, and I sought the solution to two problems. First, I desired a more comfortable way to defecate in the woods, and second, I wanted to be able to carry the waste out with me. Removing the waste from the forest does away with the sanitation hazards imposed on other hikers.

My solution to this problem involved a collapsible, lightweight sanitation system that consisted of two parts. Important considerations in my solution were setup size, collapsed size, cost, weight, stability, waterproof properties, and resistance to the environment. The first component of the design was a padded chair constructed of aluminum sheet metal. This chair performed two functions. It was a stabilizing base for the toilet system, and when not used as a toilet, this chair also served as a camp recliner. The camp recliner ftinction is a result of the canvas cloth back support attached to the aluminum base. The second part to my solution is a sealed PVC pipe that serves as a waste storage container and central load-bearing colunm.

After several concepts were generated, the best solution becwne my preliminary design. My design went smoothly from paper to prototype with only a few minor fabrication problems encountered. Most importantly, my prototype fimctions as it was intended, and it can be easily used in the field under a wide variety of conditions. The prototype satisfies 18 out of 20 of the initial design requirements; weight and cost were the two requirements overshot during the fabrication process. However, my design is a success because it is a collapsible, sturdy, weatherresistant, and waterproof design that allows for,the safe removal of backcountry human waste.