Hardware Podcasts

Circular Sanitation: How Human Waste Could Replace 25% of Global Fertiliser with Taylor Zehren

Hardware to Save a Planet · 20 Nov 2025 · 43m · Episode 91

What this episode covers

Taylor Zehren, co-founder and CEO of Wasted, explains how her company transforms portable sanitation into a circular economy by diverting urine from porta-potties to create fertilizer. She details the mechanical separation technology, such as conveyor toilets, and the treatment process that yields phosphorus and nitrogen products, replacing synthetic fertilizers. Zehren highlights the business model shift from disposal costs to revenue, the importance of source separation to avoid contaminants like PFAS, and the cultural education required to scale this technology into stadiums, homes, and communities.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Wasted, Do Good Shit, Rich Earth Institute
Products
Conveyor Toilet, Wee Bloom
Also
Braiding Sweetgrass

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