A startup is turning porta-potties into sources of green energy.

Wasted, a Burlington-Vermont based startup, is hoping to change the way human waste is managed.

The three-year-old company collects human waste from portable toilets and transports it to a processing center, where the excrement is treated through a nutrient-recovery process to create fertilizer. On Wednesday, Wasted announced $7.5 million in seed-stage funding from investors that include Collaborative Fund, Divergent Capital, Day One Ventures, Third Sphere, Pure Ventures and Gratitude Railroad. This funding will allow the company to continue its important work of collecting and processing human waste, with the ultimate goal of creating a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly way to manage this waste.

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The funding will go to Wasted's first pilot program, involving 200 porta-potties located on construction sites in Burlington. Solid waste from the retrofitted porta-potties will be transported to a nearby facility in Williston, where it will be processed into a nitrogen-rich fertilizer aimed at reducing the phosphorus run-off that creates algae bloom on Lake Champlain.

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According to Wasted's co-founder and chief executive officer Brophy Tyree, the porta-potty industry is helping to build distributed, climate-resilient sanitation that can be deployed anywhere it's needed.

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Wasted's porta-potties are part of what's known as "container-based sanitation." It's a catch-all term for toilet systems that collect human waste in containers, then transport the excreta for processing at treatment facilities. A cost-effective solution in densely populated cities and countries with limited sewage infrastructure, the idea of turning waste into fertilizer is now attracting the attention of startups in Europe, including Sweden's Sanitation 360 and France's Toopi Organics. Tyree's goal is to bring the idea to the US.

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"We decided to do it here because it's not currently being done here," he says. "We saw the opportunity to build on the work of others who have pioneered it in other countries."

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The appeal of container-based sanitation for locations with existing sewage systems is primarily environmental. These systems typically use less water, and the ability to convert human waste into fertilizer is especially beneficial in light of inflated fertilizer prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, Tyree notes that container-based systems often result in a more pleasant bathroom experience.

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Wasted was founded by Tyree, Taylor Zehren and Thor Retzlaff in 2020. The company grew out of a non-profit, Do Good Sh*t, that the team launched in 2018 after noticing exorbitant amounts of human waste during mountaineering trips. Do Good Sh*t provides toilets and other sanitation facilities near popular outdoor destinations.
Wasted has big plans, starting with an equally narrow focus. The startup is eyeing other venues with portable toilets - including camping sites, concerts and outdoor events - and looking to expand into a second city in 2024. Tyree says Wasted plans to tailor its fertilizer to local needs and has also filed a patent for a toilet that can parse liquids from solids.

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Wasted will have to overcome the ick factor in order to be successful. The company has looked to many international examples, but Rebecca Nelson, a biologist at Cornell University, says it may struggle to introduce container-based sanitation to American consumers. The lack of US competition could actually help Wasted. Cities like Chicago and Tacoma, Washington already have programs in place that produce fertilizer from sewage waste. This gives Wasted a unique advantage in the container-based sanitation space.

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"That's why it's an opportunity," Nelson says. "There's a lot of value on the table. It's straight up nutrient value," he adds.