As I was jogging past the group of giggling teenagers on a stoop, something struck my shoulder.  Curious, I picked up the offending projectile: a plastic bag, tied and filled with a dark, crumbly material.  The kids on the stoop burst out laughing.

“So what’s in the bag?”  I asked, playing along.

After a pause, one of them blurted out,”it’s sh*t.”

“I see,” I replied.  “Is it yours?”

“Uh-huh.”  More laughter.

“Oh?  Well here – take it back!”  I flung the bag back in their direction.  It tore as I threw it, flinging the contents (which, for all I knew, could have been only dirt) in all directions.  Thanks in part to the mood-enhancing endorphins generated by my run, we all had a good laugh.

“That was a good one!”  One of the kids shouted as I waved and continued on my way.

This harmless practical joke was unusual for the Baltimore neighborhood where it took place, but plastic bags filled with human feces – flung out windows or onto the street – are not uncommon in urban slums of the developing world.  According to the World Health Organization (2006), an estimated 18% of the global population resorts to defecating in open spaces.  In areas that lack basic sanitation, these “helicopter toilets” are often the most pragmatic waste disposal method available.

These bags aren’t typically thrown at human targets, but they pose a health risk nonetheless.  Pathogens in human waste – a major contributor to diarrheal disease – can contaminate drinking water.  Globally, one in five child deaths (1.5 million annually) are caused by diarrhea, often resulting from a lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.

The inventors of the Peepoo are hoping to address some of these problems with a single-use toilet – in the form of a biodegradable plastic bag.  Recently profiled in the New York times, the Peepoo – according to initial research – inactivates pathogens within four weeks using non-hazardous chemicals embedded in the bag, after which point the contents can serve as valuable fertilizer.

I’m generally in favor of solutions that safely return human waste to soil.  It’s an approach that potentially solves two problems:  a waste disposal issue, and the desperate need for fertile soil – upon which food production entirely depends.  While the Peepoo bags target the developing world, industrialized nations – including the U.S. – could greatly benefit from a shift in attitudes and practices:  We flush human waste out to our waterways using trillions of gallons of potable water, when we ought to instead be finding more ways to return that nutrient-rich material to the soil, while weaning ourselves off fossil-fuel based synthetic fertilizers that contribute to a host of environmental and public health harms (recommend read: Is America Fertilizing Disaster? Over at Grist).  Composting human waste, the ancient practice of cultivating humanure,  is one very promising (and sensible) approach that I’ll discuss in a later post.

Meanwhile, if ever struck by another helicopter toilet, instead of tossing it back I’ll ask if it’s sanitized and biodegradable.  If so I’ll say “thank you” and add it to my garden.

- Brent Kim