Norway’s Cinderella Eco Group develops and produces incineration technology toilets, with the only byproduct being a small amount of safe and clean ash. Cinderella incineration toilets are now being sold worldwide to customers with limited or no access to sewage systems or water.
For more than 25 years, Cinderella Eco Group has been developing and producing environmentally friendly electrical incineration toilets, while relying on the expertise of Nemko.
A proof of the reliability of the products is that Cinderella is still servicing many toilets from the original production run in the 1990s.
“One of the benefits of working with Nemko is that they can give us tips for markets with similar requirements to the ones we have already fulfilled. We can enter these new markets based on the testing we have already done."
Espen Ingeborgvik, Development Engineer at Cinderella Eco Group
Cinderella relies on Nemko from early-stage design
Cinderella works with Nemko on each product from the initial stages of design and improvement.
“We always involve Nemko early in the development of our products,” says Espen Ingeborgvik, development engineer at Cinderella. “This is to ensure that all the regulatory requirements for all the markets we want to go into are taken into consideration. We know that the changes that we do make will fulfil regulatory requirements and won’t affect the validity of our certifications. And this leads to better developed, better-designed products,” he says.
Cinderella has long sold incineration toilets to people living or staying in remote locations, whose natural environment can then be protected from harmful sewage at the same time as they achieve an easy and practical sanitation solution. The incineration process is powered by electricity and is completely water-free.
Cinderella toilets significantly reduce a household’s water usage, which is critical in areas of water scarcity. A typical family of four in Norway uses more than 450 litres of water for toilet flushing in one week. Valuable water resources can instead be used for drinking, cooking and agriculture.
Cinderella's work in developing water-free incineration toilets through sustainable industrial production was recognised with the environmentally focused Norwegian Siva award in 2021.
“Most of our customers don’t have access to sewage treatment,” says Chief Technology Officer Bård Olav Sugustad at Cinderella. “They can be rurally located families or people who stay in leisure homes, micro houses, mobile homes or boats. But we also deliver our products to industrial markets like offshore fish farming, mining and construction, and soon to trains.”
Comfortable and practical solution
In these situations, it can be expensive, difficult, or even impossible to install a standard flush toilet. “Our customers choose Cinderella because it’s the most comfortable solution,” he says. “Our products are sustainable and sound. They incinerate at a very high temperature and the final product after incineration is completely safe and bacteria-free clean ash,” he says.
The ash does retain nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus, making it ideal as a garden fertiliser. The amount of ash produced is minimal, only the equivalent of a teacup of ash after a week of use by four people. The Cinderella toilets are energy-dependent and cannot be used without access to electricity or gas. They also require both regular maintenance and operating knowledge, as new liners must be fitted in the bowl by users.
Showing the way toward new markets
“One of the benefits of working with Nemko is that they can give us tips for markets with similar requirements to the ones we have already fulfilled. We can enter these new markets based on the testing we have already done.”
“The top three strengths of Nemko,” Espen Ineborgvik says, “are trusted individual advisors, knowledgeable teams and superior technical knowledge. The Nemko certification tells our customers that our products have been tested and approved according to all relevant requirements. It is a mark of quality,” he says.
“It is a truly global product,” says Rolf Martinsen, sales manager at Nemko. “We help Cinderella gain market access by finding the fastest and most cost-efficient route to market.
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