Perpetual Motion Poo

Back to poo flinging. Or rather, not flinging poo, discarding it indiscriminately, or wasting it. Sorry. I can’t resist the jokes, wasting waste was just too… Anyway.

I wrote earlier this week about capitalizing on human waste. The benefits of capitalism when it comes to dealing with human waste and providing incentives for removal of a potential disease vector extends beyond the canny entrepreneurs in developing countries, however. If you can make money from it, people will deal in it. My mother pointed out that night soil men have been around in cities since cities were a thing. Thanks to Moira Greyland Peat, I came across a timely article about the perils of poop.

The article discusses the lack of hygiene that has led to almost 400 outbreaks of Hepatitis, an outbreak that has been linked by confirming that the genome of the virus is the same. The virus will linger for months, and although simple handwashing will help if you come in contact with it, the ubiquity of poop means that exposure can happen at unexpected places and times. I have to wonder that if the homeless could somehow get money for their waste, if this would cut down on the outbreak of disease. Whether or not the ‘environmental consciousness’ that led to a ban on plastic bags that helped contain the disease carrying waste, I’m certain that if we could capitalize on poo  – just like we have on cans and bottles – the problem would be reduced. I know I’m not alone in seeing rough-looking people combing the sides of roads for cans. A few dollars makes a difference, and they have the time on their hands. It reduces the litter on the side of the road.

Poo is a stinky, nasty problem, and it’s only one symptom of a homelessness problem that has, like a Hydra, many heads. But it’s something worth thinking about – because Hep A is no light matter, any more than other fecal-borne disease are. Raising public awareness of the harm to the environment isn’t going to impinge on the conscience of the homeless. They don’t have the time or the energy to care about the potential they have to harm others or their planet. But if we can come up with a way for them to profit from it… that’s what will make a difference. And I’m not talking about using tax monies for this project. That’s no answer at all. Although we might want to balance what it costs to clean up encampments like the one the article talks about with what it would cost to start up a self-sustaining business model that would capitalize on crap.


Comments

5 responses to “Perpetual Motion Poo”

  1. This was my very first pro rate sale: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Flushed-Town-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B00ASDS02E

    When you’re an Ecological Engineer on the Moon, you get used to the mess, and especially to “that smell”. But one night, Scott Wayne discovers “that smell” is a threat to the city of Tycho Under – and worse, to his favorite bar! Can a bunch of neighborhood barflies save the city? Or will bureaucracy win out?

    1. I have that in my TBR pile. Must bump it to the top! In the Tanager series I’ve touched on manure, and in the next book will deal with it more explicitly. It’s not a problem we can get past even with the advances in tech, but we can at least deal with it better.

      1. My brother-in-law used to advise his children to learn plumbing and piping, because we would never escape the need for those. (Instead my niece became a genetic engineer. Go figure…)

        I shouldn’t forget Ramon Terrell’s Out of Ordure: https://www.amazon.com/Out-Ordure-Fairies-Ramon-Terrell-ebook/dp/B01JVGB084

        For countless ages, fairies have existed in human lore as protectors of children, sprinklers of magic dust, and bloomers of flowers. Yeah well, fairies have other jobs, too.

        Enter Fecanya, Ordure Engineer at Fey World Maintenance Services. She hates her job. Not that anyone who processes…‘leavings’, would, but hey, you wanna trade?

        When news of an impending meltdown at a wastewater treatment facility, and a messy war between two gorilla factions (ever seen a gorilla projectile?) arrives at the office, Fecanya must use her many talents to prevent both disasters. But is there a mischievous hidden presence behind this?

        With the threat of a city covered in filth of epic proportions, and a jungle at the brink of great ape warfare, it will take more than a visit with her stuffy satyr therapist for Fecanya to prevent a disaster and unmask the hidden enemy, before the ‘leavings’ hit the fan.

  2. jon spencer Avatar
    jon spencer

    If a sewage treatment plant is running properly, the odor is almost like bread dough.
    If there is a sour smell, things are going wrong.

    1. That’s interesting! Thanks 🙂