Sign in to view
member only content

Spotted: It may surprise you to learn that the global market for potable toilets was worth $16.70 billion in 2022. Although some may see loos as a straightforward business with little scope for innovation, startup Wasted* is working to disrupt the portable waste industry with its sustainable portable toilets.

Talking to Springwise, company co-founder Thor Retzlaff explained: “Across the sanitation industry and public perception, human waste is seen as just that: “waste”… but Wasted* views human byproducts as valuable resources that can be harnessed to support the flourishing of natural ecosystems. We are here to make sanitation cool, inspiring, and sustainable.”

Wasted*’s products include toilets with waterless flushing, solar-powered ventilation, and a circular system that collects and processes waste separately and converts it to fertiliser. The fertiliser can then be used by local farms, reducing the carbon footprint of the potties and taking pressure off under-resourced wastewater treatment plants.

The company’s Offgrid toilet, intended to be installed for long-term use, is designed to make it impossible to drop objects like keys or phones in the toilet. Urine is drained off and into a urine dispersion field, where nutrients are absorbed by local flora. Solid waste and toilet paper are deposited into a decomposition chamber where invertebrate and soil microorganisms decompose the waste, turning it into fertiliser.

The company, which grew out of a nonprofit called Do Good S***, has rented out its portable toilets to construction sites, individuals, and events. Wasted* has already reintegrated nearly 5,000 gallons of urine-derived fertiliser back to the land in Vermont and, having recently expanded into the Boston market, is now in the process of developing its Massachusetts waste processing infrastructure. The next step is to expand across the entire US.

Written By: Lisa Magloff