CTV News has an item from University of British Columbia researchers who have found an alternative to Port-a-Potties and camp toilets that doesn’t need all the maintenance, doesn’t smell, and actually leaves the forest (or music festival) a little better off for having been there. It’s a toilet that runs on mushrooms:
The MycoToilet works by first separating liquid from solid waste, the latter of which is dropped into a compartment lined with mycelium, the root networks of mushrooms. The fungi break down and dry out the waste, turning human excrement into valuable soil — without the need for electricity, chemicals or water.
“The liquid waste runs off, and we capture it where it self-sterilizes and will eventually be used for irrigation,” Dahmen said.
Perhaps more importantly, the toilet’s developers say it works its magic with almost no smell.
“We actually discovered that the mycelium, when we were working with smaller prototypes in the laboratory environment, actually had a big effect on odour reduction,” said Steven Hallam, UBC microbiology and immunology professor.
Testing suggests the mycelium liners remove more than 90 per cent of odour-causing compounds, according to UBC.