Paid to Poop - Sustainably Scaling Sanitation in Low Income Markets
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | The Mad Group AB |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 5 150 921 |
| Project duration | February 2021 - August 2023 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Challenge-driven innovation - Phase 2 Collaboration |
| Call | Challenge-driven innovation - Step 2 Collaboration project 2020 (autumn) |
Important results from the project
SDG #6 “Ensure availability & sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. The Hypothesis: "What if the human waste of today could become the ultimate renewable resource of tomorrow?" Simulate A Sustainable & Scalable Approach To Sanitation Innovation: - Test waterless toilets that capture nutrients for fertilizer. -Develop a sanitation value chain that transforms human waste into agricultural products. -Explore innovative economic models as additional revenue streams.
Expected long term effects
-Technical concepts validated, toilets on the market in Sweden and fertilizers undergoing tests in Uganda. -Regenerative economic model developed that integrates business models between actors to address systemic challenges profitably. - Physical prototypes combined with economic models engage duty bearers and provide the foundation for policy reform and innovation.
Approach and implementation
A multidisciplinary team of researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs, civil society actors and academia worked collaboratively to explore the hypothesis "What if the human waste of today could become the ultimate renewable resource of tomorrow?" Believing that the key to unlocking systemic change lies within the intersection of business, social and technical innovation, we organized ourselves in clusters around those 3 innovation areas - ensuring that the project’s operational activities were linked to the overall system change ambition.