Pot of gold from crock of crap? I'll drink to that!

Hachiko · Feb 28, 2004, 11:06

All right gang! Here is a WaiWai article from the Mainichi Daily News...

Pot of gold from crock of crap?
I'll drink to that!

By Ryann Connell
Staff Writer
February 27, 2004

Drinkable turds have saved the fortunes of troubled Japanese municipalities, according to Weekly Playboy (3/9).
Many Japanese municipalities like tiny Tenkawa in a rustic part of Nara Prefecture were hit hard by the London Convention, which bans the dumping of human waste in oceans from July 2007.

But, thanks to Kunihiko Yamamoto, the president of an Osaka water purification company, they can now pooh-pooh their problems with a scatological soda.

"The village of Tenkawa generates 1,500 tons of human waste a year. We used to use a tanker to carry that waste to the sea and dump it. But we can't do that any more. We needed to come up with a new method of treating human waste, so decided to treat poop biotechnologically to turn it into drinking water," Tenkawa Municipal Government Environment and Hygiene Section Manager Haruhide Morita tells Weekly Playboy.

Yamamoto was entrusted with the alchemy-like task of metamorphosing the dumped into the drinkable.

"One of the most difficult problems using microbes to purify water was the sludge left over in sediment created along the way. This sludge is made up of the dead bodies of the microbes used for cleaning. I just made a plant that allowed me to continue introducing all these different bacteria that kept eating away the dead microbes until we got water that was clean enough to drink," Yamamoto tells Weekly Playboy.

Though many may raise a stink at being presented with water made from recycled fecal matter, Yamamoto's concoction is actually cleaner than most rivers running through Japan. Under the Waste Water Law, Japanese river water is considered drinkable if it has a biological oxygen demand (BOD) of 20. BOD is the index used to calculate water pollution. Yamamoto's poop water has a BOD of just 2.3.

"Even under the naked eye the water retains some of the coloring of turds, but this is merely the bile pigment," Yamamoto says. "This water is easily clean enough to drink."

Yamamoto's bog beverages can also be made in plants that cost a comparatively cheap 100 million yen -- about one-thirtieth what it would require to build a brand new wastewater treatment center. Operating costs are also cheap, not even reaching a tiny 5 million yen a year.

Yamamoto may have the poop now on what it takes to raise a big stink in the business world, but his achievements come only after years of research that can only really be described as, well...******.

"Every day was a huge battle against poop. We didn't know the plant could only handle 120 liters of fecal matter, but were shipping in over 600 liters of human waste inside. There was **** everywhere, overflowing tanks, causing blockages and spraying back at us," the company president tells Weekly Playboy. "But, after a little while, I got used to the idea of wearing clothes covered in a bit of poop."

**jeisan** · Feb 28, 2004, 16:08

thats one of those things youd be better off not knowing about.

Hachiko · Feb 28, 2004, 16:54

Originally Posted by jeisan

thats one of those things youd be better off not knowing about

I can tell...

**Uncle Frank** · Feb 28, 2004, 21:32

People spend millions here in the states for fancy brand bottled water. All this fellow has to do is get a classy looking bottle and label it "SH*T HAPPENS" and be another Bill Gates billionare!

Frank

Hachiko · Mar 1, 2004, 13:48

Originally Posted by Frank D. White

People spend millions here in the states for fancy brand bottled water. All this fellow has to do is get a classy looking bottle and label it "SH*T HAPPENS" and be another Bill Gates billionare!

Frank

Nice pun, Frank. Or, have it branded, "Made in Sh*tzerland!"

Lina Inverse · May 6, 2004, 13:11

As it's already brown, they could also carbonate it, add lots of sugar and thus create their own brand of Coke

**lexico** · Sep 29, 2005, 14:42

Great story; I've always wondered what happened to that poop I flushed down yesterday. So is it that they flush it into the ocean after a dash of maturation in the brewing chamber ?
London Convention Protocols LC1972 & LC1996

lastmagi · Sep 29, 2005, 15:46

This article is just rife with puns, in'it?

EdZiomek · Oct 14, 2005, 05:34

Hachiko and Lexico and others on this post...

I am very interested in any updates on this project, or how to contact the small town of Tenkawa, or Ryann Connell, the author.

In the New York Metropolitan area, we have a huge problem in this area, and any improvements might be good for us too.

When I first saw the thread title, I thought the direction was like what happened to Silicon Valley in the 70s... some enterprising people wanted to stake a mining claim on the ??? Sunnyvale sewer system. Apparently with all the circuit board manufacturing at the time, the sewer system actually had trace elements of gold and silver in it. Something like, gold mines have ??? 5 parts per million leached by cyanide (or some other process), where the Sunnyvale sewer system had 10 parts per million.

So, excellent thread... and I will do some investigating on this dated story. Thank you.

celtician · Oct 17, 2005, 23:04

Other uses for poop? Building materials! Stench removed and dried of course Drinking water? only the crazy fetishistic Nipponese could think of that one.
A new sports drink....Poopari Squits, Nipnurds, E-colitogen, Diahorreah Dose etc.

EdZiomek · Oct 18, 2005, 10:01

Back in my high school days... too many decades ago... we used to remind each other that Beer is only "rented" for a short time, you don't "buy" it.

When you think about it... it makes some sense!

Feb 28, 2004, 11:06	#1
Hachiko The Akita Join Date: Jan 17, 2004 Location: Long Beach, CA Age: 25 Posts: 1,377	Pot of gold from crock of crap? I'll drink to that! All right gang! Here is a WaiWai article from the Mainichi Daily News... Pot of gold from crock of crap? I'll drink to that! By Ryann Connell Staff Writer February 27, 2004 Drinkable turds have saved the fortunes of troubled Japanese municipalities, according to Weekly Playboy (3/9). Many Japanese municipalities like tiny Tenkawa in a rustic part of Nara Prefecture were hit hard by the London Convention, which bans the dumping of human waste in oceans from July 2007. But, thanks to Kunihiko Yamamoto, the president of an Osaka water purification company, they can now pooh-pooh their problems with a scatological soda. "The village of Tenkawa generates 1,500 tons of human waste a year. We used to use a tanker to carry that waste to the sea and dump it. But we can't do that any more. We needed to come up with a new method of treating human waste, so decided to treat poop biotechnologically to turn it into drinking water," Tenkawa Municipal Government Environment and Hygiene Section Manager Haruhide Morita tells Weekly Playboy. Yamamoto was entrusted with the alchemy-like task of metamorphosing the dumped into the drinkable. "One of the most difficult problems using microbes to purify water was the sludge left over in sediment created along the way. This sludge is made up of the dead bodies of the microbes used for cleaning. I just made a plant that allowed me to continue introducing all these different bacteria that kept eating away the dead microbes until we got water that was clean enough to drink," Yamamoto tells Weekly Playboy. Though many may raise a stink at being presented with water made from recycled fecal matter, Yamamoto's concoction is actually cleaner than most rivers running through Japan. Under the Waste Water Law, Japanese river water is considered drinkable if it has a biological oxygen demand (BOD) of 20. BOD is the index used to calculate water pollution. Yamamoto's poop water has a BOD of just 2.3. "Even under the naked eye the water retains some of the coloring of turds, but this is merely the bile pigment," Yamamoto says. "This water is easily clean enough to drink." Yamamoto's bog beverages can also be made in plants that cost a comparatively cheap 100 million yen -- about one-thirtieth what it would require to build a brand new wastewater treatment center. Operating costs are also cheap, not even reaching a tiny 5 million yen a year. Yamamoto may have the poop now on what it takes to raise a big stink in the business world, but his achievements come only after years of research that can only really be described as, well...****. "Every day was a huge battle against poop. We didn't know the plant could only handle 120 liters of fecal matter, but were shipping in over 600 liters of human waste inside. There was ** everywhere, overflowing tanks, causing blockages and spraying back at us," the company president tells Weekly Playboy. "But, after a little while, I got used to the idea of wearing clothes covered in a bit of poop." __________________ Last edited by Hachiko; Feb 28, 2004 at 16:53.

Feb 28, 2004, 16:08	#2
jeisan Kongming Join Date: Feb 24, 2003 Location: san antonio, texas Age: 26 Posts: 2,848	thats one of those things youd be better off not knowing about. __________________ Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity. =[Signature Guidelines]==[User Titles]==[Forum Rules]= Last edited by jeisan; Feb 28, 2004 at 17:59.

Feb 28, 2004, 16:54	#3
Hachiko The Akita Join Date: Jan 17, 2004 Location: Long Beach, CA Age: 25 Posts: 1,377	Originally Posted by jeisan thats one of those things youd be better off not knowing about I can tell...

Feb 28, 2004, 21:32	#4
Uncle Frank You SPAM/We BAN ! Join Date: May 21, 2003 Location: State of Maine Age: 59 Posts: 6,715	I Can See The Start Of A New Trend !! People spend millions here in the states for fancy brand bottled water. All this fellow has to do is get a classy looking bottle and label it "SH*T HAPPENS" and be another Bill Gates billionare! Frank

Mar 1, 2004, 13:48	#5
Hachiko The Akita Join Date: Jan 17, 2004 Location: Long Beach, CA Age: 25 Posts: 1,377	Heheh... Originally Posted by Frank D. White People spend millions here in the states for fancy brand bottled water. All this fellow has to do is get a classy looking bottle and label it "SHT HAPPENS" and be another Bill Gates billionare! Frank Nice pun, Frank. Or, have it branded, "Made in Shtzerland!"

May 6, 2004, 13:11	#6
Lina Inverse Hentai Koutaishi Join Date: Apr 29, 2004 Location: Germany Posts: 1,141	As it's already brown, they could also carbonate it, add lots of sugar and thus create their own brand of Coke __________________ Try out the new style!

Sep 29, 2005, 14:42	#7
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	Great story; I've always wondered what happened to that poop I flushed down yesterday. So is it that they flush it into the ocean after a dash of maturation in the brewing chamber ? London Convention Protocols LC1972 & LC1996

Sep 29, 2005, 15:46	#8
lastmagi Yuyurungul Join Date: Feb 17, 2005 Age: 24 Posts: 380	This article is just rife with puns, in'it?

Oct 14, 2005, 05:34	#9
EdZiomek LovePeaceHappiness Join Date: Jun 29, 2005 Location: USA Posts: 273	Interesting thread... any updates? Hachiko and Lexico and others on this post... I am very interested in any updates on this project, or how to contact the small town of Tenkawa, or Ryann Connell, the author. In the New York Metropolitan area, we have a huge problem in this area, and any improvements might be good for us too. When I first saw the thread title, I thought the direction was like what happened to Silicon Valley in the 70s... some enterprising people wanted to stake a mining claim on the ??? Sunnyvale sewer system. Apparently with all the circuit board manufacturing at the time, the sewer system actually had trace elements of gold and silver in it. Something like, gold mines have ??? 5 parts per million leached by cyanide (or some other process), where the Sunnyvale sewer system had 10 parts per million. So, excellent thread... and I will do some investigating on this dated story. Thank you.

Oct 17, 2005, 23:04	#10
celtician Regular Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2005 Posts: 138	Other uses for poop? Building materials! Stench removed and dried of course Drinking water? only the crazy fetishistic Nipponese could think of that one. A new sports drink....Poopari Squits, Nipnurds, E-colitogen, Diahorreah Dose etc.

Oct 18, 2005, 10:01	#11
EdZiomek LovePeaceHappiness Join Date: Jun 29, 2005 Location: USA Posts: 273	You rent beer, you don't buy it... Back in my high school days... too many decades ago... we used to remind each other that Beer is only "rented" for a short time, you don't "buy" it. When you think about it... it makes some sense!

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