And they cost only three cents each

The mismanagement of human waste is a serious health problem for the 2.6 billion people who don't have regular access to toilets. In fact, in the slums of Kenya, waste management is so haphazard that residents dispose of feces-filled plastic bags by simply flinging the bags away without concern about where they land. And it was discovering those flying sacks of waste that inspired Anders Wilhelmson to invent the PeePoo, a chemically treated toilet bag that sterilizes human waste and converts it to fertilizer, all for only two or three cents.

PeePoo Bag :  via PeePoople.com
The secret of the PeePoo lies with the urea coating on the inside of the bag. Once its filled and buried, enzymes in feces naturally breakdown the urea into ammonia and carbonate. This raises the pH in the bag, killing any pathogens. Once the urea decontaminates the waste, the bag biodegrades, and the remaining ammonia fertilizes the soil.

Most importantly, because these problems affect the poorest 40 percent of the world population, the bag is cheap. By producing the bags so inexpensively, Wilhelmson hopes to both help the world and turn a profit. And considering the market for low cost toilets runs into the trillions of dollars, there is certainly profit to be made.

Every year, 1.5 million children die from diarrhea caused by poor sanitation. Through amazingly cheap production and simple design, Wilhemson hopes that the PeePoo won't just save lives, but allow the people suffering through the problem of waste mismanagement to save those lives themselves.

[The New York Times]

13 Comments

This is certainly a great step in the right direction for the grinding impoverished conditions that exist the world over.

However, this product would also have great value in disaster relief efforts as well.

Well done!

This is awesome! Not only has Mr.Wilhelmson come up with a solution to the massive human waste issues in third world countries, he has also turned that problem into a method of fertilizing their land, thus enabling the growth of food.

All for merely pennies! That's right up there with the medical diagnostic strip that can generally do what costly labs do to test for diseases. And it costs only pennies a piece too!

I see so many good effects to be brought from this: decline in disease, death, starvation, severe poverty, increased quality of life and so on.

not wallowing in your own poo is also a good benefit of this.

This is a step up from some other shitty inventions I've been seeing on PopSci the last week.

sorry PopSci guys, I love you. bad joke

He should get a international award for this.

So much for learning from cats.....

People won't even take a dump anymore without spending money on 'proper' procedural methods of waste.

Fantastic product and an answer to India's open Toilets. Wonder what is the price and how economically viable it is. Would like to get in touch with the inventors and take it as a challenge to market the product in the developing nations.

awesome, I cant wait to get my hands on one;)

oh, and this could also be a great solution to the whole diaper dilemma.

Since the military has no toilet system, this could be the field individual solution.

Hard to win hearts and minds when disease causes casualties and thousands of folks are dropping waste in your home.

Sounds like a good system for the homeless right here in the United States or have they been forgotten in the equation of
planet earth.

Distribution backed-up? You need a plunger, PeePoo.

Pooh bear, is that you? This looks like the begining of a BYOS Borat scat party.



July 2013: The Future Of Flight

The incredible innovations, like drone swarms and perpetual flight, bringing aviation into the world of tomorrow. Plus: today's greatest sci-fi writers predict the future, the science behind the summer's biggest blockbusters, a Doctor Who-themed DIY 'bot, the organs you can do without, and much more.


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