Dirk Wurst (not his real name), his bushy red Afro (not his real hair) bouncing in the wind, wearing his trademark pink coveralls (that'll confuse 'em), is heading out to his front yard on his ...

Just when you thought backyard composters were mainstream, along comes a composting system that could make even a rabid environmentalist balk. It's called humanure - a technique for transforming human ...

Isn’t Human Manure Taboo? First, let me give credit to Joseph Jenkins and the Humanure Handbook for introducing us to the simplicity, resilience and the wisdom of using a dry composting toilet. Let’s ...

One of the most remarkable agricultural practices adopted by any civilized people is the centuries-long and well nigh universal conservation and utilization of all human waste in China, Korea and ...

Part 3 of Grist’s special series on poop. Laura Allen, a 33-year-old teacher from Oakland, California, has a famous toilet. To be honest, it’s actually a box, covered in decorative ceramic tiles, ...

A worker cleans a toilet at the hotel where the World Toilet summit is being held in Beijing. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/Getty I've been trying for weeks to think of a way of shoehorning the eyeopening ...