Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/848539
© Portable Sanitation Association International (PSAI) • 2626 E 82 n d Street, Suite 175 • Bloomington, MN 55425 www.psai.org • 952 - 854 - 8300 W EEKLY EDITION JULY 12, 2017 Joke of the Week Two service techs were having lunch together. One said to the other, "Did you hear the boss finally fired Joe?" "No," replied his co - worker. "What was the last straw?" "Oh, I don't know for sure," said the first. "It might have had some thing to do with their last conversation. The boss walked up to Joe and asked him what he was doing. Joe said 'Nothing.' The boss said, 'That's what you were doing yesterday and the day before. Come to think of it, you're always doing nothing when I see yo u.' So Joe said, 'I wasn't finished yet.'" Innovative Sanitation Solutions are Saving the Day for Indian Women Two different startup products that are geared toward women and were born in similar fashion are attempting to address India's public restroom sanitation crisis Road trips can often be a time for thoughtful reflection, brought on by hours in the compact space of a vehicle. They also, without fail, bring about bathroom breaks. Perhaps this is why the idea for two of India's most revoluti onary restroom products were brought on by road trip restroom stops that lacked proper sanitation. India's "dire lack of safe and clean sanitation facilities" is a crisis that continues to grow. Women struggle immensely, as they are "forced into uncomfor table contortions to avoid physical contact" with unsanitary restroom options. When Srijana Bagaria contacted a urinary tract infection from a toilet seat while on a road trip to Gujarat in 2014, she and her husband were sure that there had to be a practic al way to prevent this, rather than avoiding toilet contact. Disinfectants and toilet cleaners on the market were not meant for portable use or for the toilet se at, thus making them ineffective in situations such as Srijana's. They launched PeeSafe in 2015 – a "isopropyl alcohol (IPA) - based spray that kills the bacteria in toilets" – allowing women the ability to sit worry free on a public restroom toilet seat. In 2013, a man named Deep Bajaj was on a road trip with his wife and her friends, listening to them joke about using a bottle to relieve themselves rather than face the unkempt public restroom options on their route. From this conversation the idea for the Pee - Buddy was born. After testing 40+ designs, the Pee - Buddy became India's first "female u rination device." Women do not have to sit on a physical toilet, and instead are able to use the "disposable, bright green, funnel - like product" standing up. While these are just two examples of products on the market in India today, they certainly indic ate progression for women's restroom needs and for public restroom sanitation as a whole. READ THE STORY