Hot on the heels of a bed made of cardboard for use in disasters, one company has upped the ante with a whole line of cardboard emergency goods including a range of toilets to suit your needs.
Nara-based cardboard company Takaoka boasts the centerpiece of their toilet collection as the Rakulet, which translates to “Joylet” – an unflinchingly optimistic name for a makeshift toilet for use in disaster areas. Their price of 8,000 yen (US$74) each seems rather steep considering the material, but Takaoka is confident the Rakulet more than makes up for it in features.
For starters, the Rakulet can be assembled in about four minutes without any tape or cutting tools necessary. The toilet itself only weighs about 3.2 kilograms (seven pounds) but can support nearly 100 times that meaning it should accommodate even the most gravitationally-challenged of survivors. It also has arm rests and a back for elderly or infirm users and comes with a partition to ensure some privacy.
If all that still doesn’t justify the price in your mind, you can always consider downgrading to an Elevator Box. As the name suggests, it is a more compact design for use in that nightmare scenario of nature calling while trapped in an elevator. However, it can still support a 300-kilogram (661-pound) defecator and only costs 4,000 yen ($37).
Still too rich for your blood? Okay then, how about the Emergency Takeout Box & Toilet for only 1,250 yen ($11). It only holds 200 kilograms (440 pounds), but if that’s deciding factor for you, you may have bigger problems that disaster preparedness. It also comes with a carry-case that you can stock with first-aid supplies or important toiletries.
Takaoka also produces beds like the ones we previously reported on by J Pack and even has the Multi-Box for 9,000 yen ($83) each. These can be used for a variety of purposes such as a dining table or coffin.
Granted, you probably won’t be able to get much repeated use out of a Rakulet or other cardboard toilets unless you happen to have some plastic bags handy as well. But at least they’re biodegradable and are a disaster relief item that should offer a little extra relief while relieving yourself in a disaster area.
Source: Takaoka via Sankei News (Japanese)
Images: Takaoka