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Comment by mdifrgechd | Hacker News Reader

For this kind of application, I'm a big fan of this idea [1] (there is a more recent example of something similar out of the UK but I can't find it now). It uses a mechanical "flush" mechanism that basically just individually bags the waste and stashes it below the toilet. When full, the bags are pulled out (themselves in a bigger bag) and just taken to the dump. A great alternative to building custom sewer and treatment infrastructure. There are examples of this kind of tech being used in places (e.g Antananarivo that has slaves that flood regularly) that don't have or cannot easily get sewers installed.

[1] https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2013/12/entreprene...

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From the article, it costs $1 per use. And ends with plastic bags full of (maybe sterilized) human waste being thrown in the trash. This is a solution to what exactly? A lack of Toilet as a Service products?

Dumps are able to handle human waste. That's where diapers go.

$1 seems way too high for plastic, that would definitely come down with volume and competition. You can buy plastic bags in the store for $0.10 each easily.

> A lack of Toilet as a Service products?

Exactly! What do you think a sewer system is? It it literally a subscription to having your poo taken away, by a method requiring huge capital costs, major maintenance, a monopoly operator, etc. It is a concept with lots of room for exploring alternatives.

This same approach is used in fully developed areas for things like outdoor schools for kids. Another variant in the more luxury area is boat rentals, using the heads here can result in unpleasant smells for later users even if holding tanks are pumped - you basically put a special bag with a cat litter like substance into the actual toilet, then when you hit the dock you take the bigger bag out (if more than one use).

Bottom line, less is more and leverage solutions that have demonstrated actual market traction. A lot of stuff geared towards the poor has no market in the paying world for a reason - it's crap (no pun intended).

Perhaps there is a human manure angle that gets missed with these other approaches, and they may be more resource intensive in terms of plastic?

I think you were thinking of this: https://www.loowatt.com/

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