Toilet Bike Runs On, Yup, Human Waste

Poop, it’s the new coal, at least according to Japan’s largest toilet manufacturer, Toto, who — believe it or not — has recently released a three-wheel bike powered by human excrement. No. We are not making this crap up.

So how does it work? According to a report, the company says the waste – which can come directly from the driver sitting on a toilet-style seat – is stored in the basin and is then converted into biofuel which fuels the retro-styled chopper.

image via Toto

The Toto biogas bike has more than just good looks and convenience going for it. It’s actually loaded with extra features that you simply won’t find on the latest Vespa. According to the company, the trike uses “residual light imagery to write messages in the air as it zooms by.” The company reports that the bike can also talk and play music as it runs.

The bike is part of the company’s Toto Green Challenge, whose goal is to cut CO2 emissions in bathrooms in half by 2007.

__spr_config = { pid: '4e52e96cc2b21921a1000007', title: 'Now That\'s A Fuel Cell! Bike Runs on Human Waste', ckw: 'biofuels,charging stations,concepts,fuel cells,Renewable Energy', chan: '', no_slide: false, slide_logo: true, pub: '2011-10-11 19:00:38', url: 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earthtechling.com%2F2011%2F10%2Ftoilet-bike-runs-on-yup-human-waste%2F', header: 'COOL GREEN TECH NEWS' }; var content = document.getElementById('simplereach-slide-tag').parentNode, loc; if (content.className){ loc = '.' + content.className; } if (content.id){ loc = '#' + content.id; } __spr_config.loc = loc || content; (function(){ var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/js/slide.js'; __spr_config.css = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/css/p/4e52e96cc2b21921a1000007.css'; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(s); })(); Source: Earth Techling LLC