Your Sh*t Might Not Stink in the Future: An Odor-Free Toilet Is in the Works

A British university is developing an innovative toilet that could change the way we all take dumps in a serious way. That’s right: Researchers at Cranfield University are hard at work on a toilet that wouldn’t need water, a sewage system, or external power, according to Reuters. And, oh yeah, this is all part of the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge” started by Bill and Melinda Gates (they’re also supporting a study to develop condoms made from hydrogel). 

So how the heck would this fancy-schmancy crapper work? A rotating mechanism would move waste into a holding chamber with nano elements that would block odor (sweet!). “Once the waste is in the holding chamber we use membranes that take water out as vapor, which can then be condensed and available for people to use in their homes,” Alison Parker, lead researcher on the project, tells the Thomson Reuters Foundation.