Consider the toilet — that humble porcelain bowl that spirits away our waste several times a day. It’s not a piece of technology that often gets flashy updates (though dual flushing, seat warming and electronic bidet features can certainly elevate it), nor is it a darling of the design world.
But toilets are in desperate need of an upgrade — as is our entire approach to sewage, according to the many designers, environmental engineers and sanitation experts hoping to bring about a paradigm shift.
Flushing our waste is, well, wasteful, accounting for nearly a third of indoor water use in US homes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In many parts of the world, the use of water toilets has become increasingly fraught as climate change ushers in extreme droughts and flooding, which backs up sewers and overflows septic tanks. In disaster zones, or places without access to running water, the need for innovation is even more urgent.
Rethinking how we deal with waste may also present an opportunity: Our excrement can be converted into renewable heat, electricity and fertilizer.
“Waste is not waste, it’s a resource,” said Arja Renell, a Finnish artist and architect who brought the topic to last year’s Venice Architecture Biennale as the curator of her country’s pavilion. She wasn’t an expert in the field, but had been alarmed to learn that some of Venice’s wastewater is flushed directly into its canals and wanted to demonstrate a circular approach to sanitation: the “dry” toilet.