Social acceptance and willingness to pay for a smart Eco-toilet system producing a Community-based bioenergy in Korea

Abstract This study investigates residents’ social acceptance and their willingness to pay for the community-based smart Eco-toilet system (SETS) project developed by Science Walden in UNIST, Korea. As an alternative to the flushing toilets and the centralized sewage treatment system, the SETS project strives to save water and recover bioenergy and fertilizer on a community basis as well as operate with a health check-up service. A nation-wide, web-based contingent valuation survey was implemented for the sample of 1,613 households in 2018. Nearly 80 percent of respondents expressed their intentions to use the Eco-toilet at home. About 70 percent of the sample stated a positive willingness to pay for the construction of a bioenergy facility inside their community. Furthermore, about 41 percent of the sample expressed their willingness to pay for adding a health monitoring sensor. The respondents’ stated preference for the SETS project was influenced by their perceptions and attitudes toward human feces, water usage of flushing toilets, and efficiency of bioenergy and renewable energy. The willingness to pay for constructing the Eco-toilet system was estimated to be around $12 USD per month. The willingness to pay for the smart health services was estimated to be about $3.45 USD per month.