3 ms·

Good grief. Using expensively treated water to flush waste away is crude Victorian technology as it is - adding fusspot electronic detailing hardly improves it.

Good grief. Using expensively treated water to flush waste away is crude Victorian technology as it is - adding fusspot electronic detailing hardly improves it. Composting toilets at urban scale - now that would be tech worthy of the 21st century.

blp 7y ago
If you then centralize the composters, for efficiency, the you really have something.
- kylek 7y ago
  I have this strange fascination with pneumatic tube systems (I wish we used them for everything). I think we just found a new use case.
  - crispinb 7y ago
    That could work if everyone reduced fibre intake ;) (I completely see the steampunkish appeal btw)
  - DonHopkins 7y ago
    Then you'll just love Brazil! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teufz17PqoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teufz17PqoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNnRBksvOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNnRBksvOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSDdJIcmHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSDdJIcmHU
shirakawasuna 7y ago
Bidets use less water than it takes to make the toilet paper Americans use to excess.
- deleted 7y ago
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- crispinb 7y ago
  True, everything is an improvement on the current English-derived norm. Grey water systems would help, but are expensive, particularly to retrofit.
coderintherye 7y ago
Sanergy has something along those lines http://www.sanergy.com/ http://www.sanergy.com/ However, I don't think that model fits the American mentality well. One more likely scenario would be the electric or gas powered combustion toilets: https://shop.ecojohn.com/products/tinyjohn-waterless-incinerating-toilet https://shop.ecojohn.com/products/tinyjohn-waterless-inciner... https://incinolet.com/ https://incinolet.com/ You see these in places where fresh water may be scarce or sewage treatment limited, e.g. a small live-aboard boat. But it's really a question of what you want to optimize for. As others have said though, a great easy addition to the current American toilet is adding a bidet.
- crispinb 7y ago
  It's one of the more interesting if unsexy engineering problems I guess. You mention small boats - composting toilets are making inroads there too. I happen to live in the bush with a composter. As I'm also on rainwater, which was damn scarce earlier this summer, flushing toilets make me cringe.

blp 7y ago

If you then centralize the composters, for efficiency, the you really have something.

kylek 7y ago
I have this strange fascination with pneumatic tube systems (I wish we used them for everything). I think we just found a new use case.
- crispinb 7y ago
  That could work if everyone reduced fibre intake ;) (I completely see the steampunkish appeal btw)
- DonHopkins 7y ago
  Then you'll just love Brazil! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teufz17PqoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teufz17PqoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNnRBksvOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNnRBksvOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSDdJIcmHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSDdJIcmHU

shirakawasuna 7y ago

Bidets use less water than it takes to make the toilet paper Americans use to excess.

deleted 7y ago
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deleted 7y ago
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crispinb 7y ago
True, everything is an improvement on the current English-derived norm. Grey water systems would help, but are expensive, particularly to retrofit.

coderintherye 7y ago

Sanergy has something along those lines http://www.sanergy.com/ http://www.sanergy.com/ However, I don't think that model fits the American mentality well. One more likely scenario would be the electric or gas powered combustion toilets: https://shop.ecojohn.com/products/tinyjohn-waterless-incinerating-toilet https://shop.ecojohn.com/products/tinyjohn-waterless-inciner... https://incinolet.com/ https://incinolet.com/ You see these in places where fresh water may be scarce or sewage treatment limited, e.g. a small live-aboard boat. But it's really a question of what you want to optimize for. As others have said though, a great easy addition to the current American toilet is adding a bidet.

crispinb 7y ago
It's one of the more interesting if unsexy engineering problems I guess. You mention small boats - composting toilets are making inroads there too. I happen to live in the bush with a composter. As I'm also on rainwater, which was damn scarce earlier this summer, flushing toilets make me cringe.