Sustainability Hacks: Poop Power

Yes. That’s a motorized tricycle with a toilet. Let that sink in for a minute. Oh, that isn’t a concept sketch of something that will never be built. The Toilet Bike Neo is most assuredly a real thing.

Biogas, or methane produced from decaying plant or animal wastes, is a legitimate form of energy. Waste gasses from landfills make up about half a percent of U.S. natural gas consumption. The state of Vermont even has a Cow Power program of renewable energy. That being said, this is a toilet on a trike.

The bike was built for Japanese bathroom fixture manufacturer TOTO’s green initiative. Biogas is produced onboard the trike, so instead of going to the local gas station to fill up, you could just get a newspaper, coffee and bran muffin. There are tanks on the back of the trike containing “fuel”. This arrangement probably makes a rear end collision in the Toilet Bike Neo more terrifying than getting rear-ended in a Ford Pinto.

The Toilet Bike Neo is setting off on a trip across Japan on October 6th (today) to promote biogas. You can follow the updates on the Toilet Bike Neo’s Twitter.

A tip ‘o the hat to [jon] for sending this one in. You may now commence the jokes.

33 thoughts on “Sustainability Hacks: Poop Power

  1. But wouldn’t it take a while for the waste to ferment and produce methane? And I would not think that the the amount of methane produced from the average human’s waste would be enough to get very far.

    That said, it seems like a great idea, and I would love to see it going, but I would never consider riding on one.

    1. Oops, sorry blurry

      I tried to scroll down but accidentally left-clicked …and the cursor was strategically passing over the “Report comment” button at the time. My apologies.

  2. This arrangement probably makes a rear end collision in the Toilet Bike Neo more terrifying than getting rear-ended in a Ford Pinto.

    ROFLMFAO!!!!

    Adding a biohazard complication to any potential accident. Nice!

  3. So, to get anywhere you’d have to eat massive amounts of food and get multiple times the RDA of fiber, and have an exhibitionist streak.

    Or, does the bike come with a portable shower curtain attachment for “fillups” in public places?

    Does a laxative end up working like Nitrous Oxide?

    Do you have to start “filling it up” a few days before a trip to ensure the “fuel” has adequate processing time?

    “Hold on honey, I gotta go crap in the bike, I’m going on that road trip this weekend with the guys”

    or

    “Hey guys, be sure everyone remembers to crap in the bike this week, I’ve got an extra long trip this weekend and don’t want to run out”

    Instead of a tune-up, you get a high colonic.

    instead of sugar in the gas tank, your enemy slips you ImmodiumAD

    Too good. Bravo, Japan.

    1. The beginning of your comment reminded me of a scene:
      Frylock: No, no no. This is the best part Carl. Press this button and an infared privacy curtain is activated, rendering you virtually invisible!
      Carl: Oh, okay. Sorta like that movie ‘Predator’. Only instead of huntin’ people, he’s like crappin’

  4. I get the biopower thing.. but I don’t get the necessity of an actual toilet seat and generator on the bike. Wouldn’t it be more effective to install a larger generator in a water treatment plant?

  5. Now your hog can actually smell like a hog!

    The range might be limited by the amount of food you can eat, but remember…the Japanese are very good at eating contests. Anyway, I am sure you wouldn’t want to ride very far with that hard seat.

    Now, someone just needs to make a movie where that bike crashes in Fukushima and a giant, city-crushing poo ball is born only to be killed by Gamera…friend to all children.

  6. Strong focus on numbers 2s folks – but it’d add a whole new meaning to pissing into the wind.

    I can also see someone on the side of the road with a plunger trying to fix a blockage in the fuel system.

  7. When I was younger I went to rainbow gatherings a lot with my family. About ten years ago I saw a schoolbus that had been modified to run on this system.

    They towed a cart that had the toilet rig. That thing powered a school bus…it had to plod along, stopping for a day or so here or there, but they had traveled many, MANY miles on it already.

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