Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet

by Chelsea Wald

Finalist for the 2022 NASW Science in Society Journalism Award
Longlisted for the 2022 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books

From an award-winning science journalist, a “deeply researched, entertaining, and impassioned exploration of sanitation” ( Nature ) and the future of the toilet—for fans of popular science bestsellers by Mary Roach.

Most of us do not give much thought to the centerpiece of our bathrooms, but the toilet is an unexpected paradox. On the one hand, it is a modern a ubiquitous fixture in a vast sanitation system that has helped add decades to the human life span by reducing disease. On the other hand, the toilet is also a tragic less than half of the world’s population can access a toilet that safely manages body waste, including many right here in the United States. And it is inefficient, squandering clean water as well as the nutrients, energy, and information contained in the stuff we flush away. While we see radical technological change in almost every other aspect of our lives, we remain stuck in a sanitation status quo—in part because the topic of toilets is taboo.

Fortunately, there’s hope—and Pipe Dreams daringly profiles the growing army of sewage-savvy scientists, engineers, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and activists worldwide who are overcoming their aversions and focusing their formidable skills on making toilets accessible and healthier for all.

This potential revolution in sanitation has many benefits, including reducing inequalities, mitigating climate change and water scarcity, improving agriculture, and optimizing health. Author Chelsea Wald takes us on a wild world tour from a compost toilet project in Haiti, to a plant in the Netherlands that salvages used toilet paper from sewage, and shows us a toilet seat that can watch users’ poop for signs of illness, among many other fascinating developments.

“Toilet humor is one thing, but toilet fact, as digested by skilled science writer Wald, is quite another…[ Pipe Dreams is] a highly informative, well-reasoned call to rethink the throne” ( Kirkus Reviews ).

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Audiobook, Technology, Nature, Environment

304 pages, Hardcover

Published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Anita Pomerantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know I never gave much thoughts to toilets. They were just another every day convenience that I took for granted.

Until in 2019 when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. As a long distance runner, I suddenly was hyper aware of where bathrooms existed on my running route just in case. And then the pandemic hit and suddenly, there were no accessible bathrooms. Like anywhere.

So this book was actually very fascinating as it basically tells you everything you want to know about toilets and a lot of things you never thought you wanted to know, but are quite interesting to learn about. From the public health aspects to the psychology of their use to the engineering to the environment (and of course, the political), the author captures it all. She has a great voice and combines education interwoven with anecdotes and best of all her own, often witty, personal interjections.

I am not a person who really spends a lot of time agonizing about environmental issues, but if you are such a person, I would characterize this book as a MUST. But for the rest of you, who just have curiosity about the world and how it works . . .you'll find Pipe Dreams to be educational, engaging, and even entertaining.

[Wen Zeng · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't get this shit out of my head.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the shit!

Most people reading this review likely have a flush toilet and probably pay more for water than gas at the gas/petrol station. That's some crazy shit, and I have been bitching about it for ages. I've also spent an undue amount of time looking into systems using anaerobic digestion (my partner is not stoked about the idea), so yeah... this book was right up my alley.

"Pipe Dreams" is an interesting story of toilets; their history, the current state of, hrhm, business, and what the future might hold. It's a bit superficial at times, but maybe that's a good thing for an introductory dive into, well, excrement and what to do with it,

After a brief history of toilets and waste management mega projects, while leaning heavily into shitty puns and potty humor (just look at the chapters list with beauts like: "Pipe Down," Taking the piss," Eating Shit," "Giving a Crap," Potty Talk," and "It Hits the Fan"), Wald focuses the book on the need for new ideas and new solutions for a world of either old and crumbling or non-existent infrastructure. Succinctly, it's a bit of a shitty situation.

The world has gotten too big, too fast, is too poor and expanding too fast for the old toilet solution with state/city built and controlled sewers. Never mind the huge environmental damage the resource-depleting system of yesteryear does. The solution, according to Wald, is perhaps multiple solutions deployed simultaneously. New and to some extent locality dependent solutions that solves the health hazards of waste management, minimizes water use, and capitalize on the valuable resources normally flushed down the toilet or (sometimes and) dumped in waterways across the world.

One of the greatest obstacles, says the author, can be found in ourselves. We are way too squeamish and our disgust reflex is getting in the way. That rings true for me, and if it doesn't for you, try these dinner conversation-topics on for size: human waste being used in agriculture, dry toilets, excrement pellets or briquettes for grilling, toilets that separate pee and poop, and (as in the anaerobic digestion systems I mentioned earlier) cooking with the gas from your own toilet.

The book is very much meant as a conversation starter and/or as a gateway into further readings, but if the author's own ignorance (pre research for this book, and kudos to her for sharing) of some of the very basics of waste management and its issues and challenges - or, frankly, about how to use a toilet - is any indication of the general state of things, this book is desperately needed. We're heading for Shit's Creek in more ways than one, this particular way is totally solvable.

I clearly endorse this book, but a warning is in place too. The book leaves a bit to be wished for in terms of organization and structure. The writing is a bit jerky and the author jumps around a bit too much for my liking (think: trying to provide history, context and solution without clearly delineating between them, and trying to squeeze cool factoids* or shitty puns into the narrative that don't quite fit). I'm not pooping on her parade here, but as you can probably attest to yourself reading this shitty review, too much jumping around and too much potty humor can be detriments.

Regardless, the book is so worth a read, and I - for one - would love a day of shooting the shit with the author.













*On the topic of cool but unnecessary factoids, did you know that there's a game called "Shoot the Poop" - whaaaat!? Here's the game description:
Hi folks, meet Tank! He's the talking toilet who loves to play. It's up to you and one other player to get your fun flingers and form a doo-doo duo! Be the first player to launch all six of your poopy projectiles into Tank's mouth. [...] Tank will cheer you on as you take aim, ready, and fire away! This family dexterity game helps children develop fine motor skills, and it's finished in a flash. Sink your last floater and win the game! Don't forget to flush!

Or maybe don't flush, as it were.
And yes, the game was bought and may have ended up with a nephew or two...

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Oh, what are you reading today?" A book about the history of toilets..

People around me are used to me reading weird things, but this got me some extra funny looks.

An entertaining read, focusing on the history of toilets and plumbing, but also on the future and how developments can ensure safe toilet situations for everyone on Earth. No gory stuff, well written, and very insightful.

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly interesting and eye opening book! Cutting edge science from places as diverse as the Netherlands, Indonesia and Quincy, MA examining the issue of human waste: how to manage it, how to stop using drinking-quality water to sweep it away, and the revolutionary uses to which that waste might be put!

I love the nod science journalist Wald gives to my favorite (Australian) toilet paper company, "Who Gives a Crap," which is famously devoted to both sustainability and cheeky humor. I love the research she cites (often from the Dutch, extraordinary engineers that they are) exploring composting systems and other alternatives to expensive underground piping. She shares research about better ways to manage what we do, plus ways of re-using human waste, even as bio-fuel or a source of heat energy.

Wald also notes that while toilets are in one sense a great equalizer ("everybody poops, after all"), they are also a metric for inequality in any society. While billions of people worldwide still don't have a single adequate toilet . . . the percentage of newly built single-family homes in the U.S. with THREE or more toilets rose from 19 to 62% between 1973 and 2019." That's a revealing look at power relations isn't it? The need for toilets may be universal, but their availability and distribution provides an everyday lesson in who matters.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought Provoking and Informative. I consider myself a well read guy, a guy that has thought through a lot of problems and who generally knows a lot about a lot. Admittedly, I did *not* know much about toilets and related plumbing, though I had read bits and pieces in other books. (Such as a more in-depth look at John Snow and his work during the 19th century London cholera outbreak in Dierdre Mask's The Address Book.) But I had never read up on the general history of toilets - apparently because there are scant details about historical toileting beyond the last couple of hundred years or so - much less the bleeding edge issues and technologies of this field. And that is exactly what Wald provides here, a look at everything from the history to almost to-the-day bleeding edge issues, including the Great Toilet Paper Outage of 2020 during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Very well written and mostly reasonably documented (about 15% or so is bibliography), this truly is a fascinating read. Very much recommended.

[Susan Tunis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you, like me, find yourself thinking, "Man, it's been a while since Mary Roach published a book," then this is the book for you! Like Mary Roach, Ms. Wald finds the sweet spot between informative science and humor. And she adds an additional layer of current affairs and social issues. Because, much like death and taxes--as the old saying goes--everyone poops.

If you are of an especially delicate nature, easily offended or grossed out, you may want to pass. But for the rest of us, you may be surprised how interesting and wide-reaching the subject matter is. The topic will have relevance as immediate as your own health, body, city, and home, to social justice across the globe.

I doubt I'd have given this book a second glance, had I not read my friend Anita's review singing it's praises. Thanks, Anita. I owe you one!

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely learned a lot from this book - about sewers, water conservation, waste management and recycling - but my main challenge was trying to follow the organization. It may be that the overarching scheme is less evident from an audiobook, but I thought it jumped around topics a lot and would then later return to a previous topic, and I wish the related stories had been together (e.g. this is the section on toilet innovations, this is the section on alternatives to pit toilets...). I did like that it had a list of action items...but then there were still two whole sections after that, which threw me for a loop. So it's good for learning about completely new ideas, but maybe just one little section at a time.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This looks like it took me forever to read, but really I just took looong breaks between reading this
to read other things that were more time sensitive. I picked this up because I read just a short chapter in a book years ago that convinced me that the need for good sanitation (in other words toilets) was actually a more pressing need in most of the world than the need for water, in part because improving the sanitation would immediately help with the water situation. This book expands upon that topic and even makes a pretty good argument that sanitation in the wealthier regions of the globe is just as much in need of a overhaul. This is also a fascinating and fun book to read.

[Camille Brule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an important topic (global sanitation) written about in a funny, interesting, and urgent manner. Highly highly HIGHLY recommend!! The more you know 🫡

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book with an underwhelming title and subtitle. In a macro sense it's about social justice and natural science. The social justice portions appear throughout and are generally very thoughtful and thought provoking. Overall they're very good and mesh well with the rest of the material.

Wald gets off to a bit of a slow and awkward start largely due to the obligation of discussing an inherently difficult subject: toilets and bodily functions. It impacts every living being but that doesn't mean it's an easy theme to broach. And here Wald struggled as much as anyone else.

Ostensibly this is a book about toilets and she begins with some weak obligatory bathroom humor and some meandering talk about different types of facilities. Fortunately she's an excellent natural science writer and she covers a very wide range of topics ranging from the items you'd expect to environmental impacts. Drinking water, gray water, fertilizer, sewers, septic systems, energy, disease, disease surveillance, innovation. Lots of interesting topics written in an accessible, informative and interesting style. Recommended for all readers.

The highlights are public and a good representation of the book.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is truly a book for the stronghearted. . . .sh*t is thoroughly discussed throughout. If you don't mind getting your bookspace filled with the lively consideration of this very important topic and product, then lay on, Macduff, I've got my shield handy.

The topic of the book is right there in the title and on the cover, and the author flatly states that this was not the book she ever thought she'd write. However, having been on the global health beat journalistically, she'd been to a number of countries observing and testing (a la "when in Rome") the many ways our ubiquitous need to rid ourselves of used fuel every day in every country, in all parts of the world, regardless of politics, creed, religion or culture - finding herself gaining an odd expertise and perspective that is not afforded everyone. Hence, her sharing this wisdom - and it is just that - wisdom. We need to listen, learn and make changes. Or we will p**p ourselves out of existence!

I'm glad she wrote the book, and I hope folks who know what they are doing in that industry start to listen. . .

I must admit, I had to stop now and again, and found I could not listen to this book in the kitchen, after meals or if I had a sense of urgency myself. Other than that, I was able to make it through. Funnily, enough, it was interesting and has remained in my thoughts far longer than I expected it would.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow, the subject was given a clinical enough treatment that I was able to eat and read the book simultaneously without being too affected. A little disorganized due to lots of brief anecdotes about a technology or phenomenon, but not really the author’s fault. Because there were so many discrete chunks, not all were memorable but all were very interesting while I was reading them. It was a perfect blend of science and sociology. I was heartened to see that innovations are being made and tested in literally every part of the world (maybe even your hometown), from major western cities to third world country towns to the remote scientific research part of Alaska.

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot with this one, a lot of things I wish I didn't know - especially when it comes to how common it is to have sewage just out in nature. We've just been pushing our luck as a species because we probably should have died out thousands of years ago, yet here we are wasting water and polluting daily.

I would have liked more on homelessness and lack of toilets, in places like San Francisco it's very noticeable that public toilets are for "paying customers" only - if you can find one at all. Also would like some insight on people with disabilities and toilet usage and modifications.

Overall I recommend. There are a lot of people out there doing good work and/or what they can with what they're given. We need more government involvement. I hope things change and quick.

[Sam S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of nonfiction I like to read. Narrative, humorous micro history.

I don't think you have to have a strong stomach to read this, even given the topic lol

It did help me realign my perspective of thinking of a toilet as "flush and forget".

Would recommend.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flush with wicked puns and information on the history of toilets to looking to the future for more sustainable toilet methods, this is one intriguing book! Science journalist Chelsea Wald knows her...stuff. She walks us through vocabulary origins (loo, water closet, necessary house...), sanitation, hygiene, inventions and experiments in a frank way and doesn't waste words. She even describes the volume difference between omnivores and vegetarians.

Wald describes ancient Roman pit latrines...whenever in ancient cities I like to visit the underground including sewers if possible as well as above ground latrines. Riveting! She explains night soil workers' grim jobs and those who in modern times still collect and dump using large pails. Plus we learn that animals including bees and racoons defecate away from their homes. And then there's the mysterious German toilet...on my first trip to Germany I wondered at it but then realized the brilliance behind it. Wald goes on to explain the benefits of squat toilets (I just can't get the hang of them!) and urinals and the leading science of today, She even details the first toilet paper inventors. So many memorable bits of information and stories here...one of my favourites is of the octopus. Not only that but loads more including urine potential and its past uses.

As humans we are curious beings and this book will satiate your appetite. This is the ultimate scoop on poop so don't be shy, just pit in and get ready to have your eyes opened. Much of the book is scientific and based on science but it does not read like a textbook, not at all.

My sincere thank you to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this enthralling eARC!

[Dan Seitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

We rarely think about toilet, but Chelsea Wald makes a compelling argument to why we need to think more about them. You'll never view sanitation, or water, the same way.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet
Author: Chelsea Wald
Read by: Lisa Flanagan
Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio
Length: Approximately 8 hours and 8 minutes
Source: Review Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio. Thank-you!

If there ever was a book written just for me, Pipe Dreams is it. Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet is a fascinating look into sanitation. It covers all aspects from how toilets work around the world, to how sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment plants are designed, to current problems and new ideas on how to deal with them. I am an environmental engineer and work in the wastewater industry. This was the perfect book for me to listen to while I drove around to wastewater treatment plant inspections. This book was very interesting and was correct on the technical information. If you’ve ever wondered what happens after you flush the toilet, author Chelsea Wald does a great job explaining everything in this book. She is factual, but also full of humor which made it so fun.

I enjoyed that the policies and psychology of toilet use were also discussed. It’s interesting how different parts of the world differ on how a toilet is used (squat versus sit) and whether to use toilet paper versus water. She also talks about testing of the wastewater. The single most interesting fact to me was the doing testing around the United States for drugs, it’s been found that drug use is consistent among all socioeconomic levels and within different races/ethnicities. The rush for toilet paper during COVID was discussed as well as newer items in the wastewater field such as PFAS chemicals.

Items near and dear to my heart were also discussed including the American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card and the sad state of infrastructure in the United States and world. I worked on the wastewater section for the state of Wisconsin. She took me out of my hard infrastructure bubble and got me thinking about other solutions for sanitation around the world. Wald visits wastewater plants worldwide, which I thought was fascinating besides being a life goal of my own. She also mentions the Milwaukee wastewater treatment plant and their inventive reuse of biosolids with their milorganite fertilizer product.

Wald does an excellent job of explaining a lot of information in a fun way. This type of information is often overlooked as no one likes to think about what happens after you flush the toilet. It’s important to know for health reasons and for making prudent political choices to update infrastructure. I could wax on about my great love for this audiobook for eternity, but I’ll stop now. Listen to this book and be prepared to learn and laugh. Lisa Flanagan is a great narrator.

Overall, Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet is a fascinating and humorous look into toilets and sanitation.

This review was first posted on my blog at: https://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2021...

[Nalini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really took toilet/waste processing technology for granted until I read this book, and now I notice interesting things in different restrooms all the time. Roach strikes a good balance in explaining how two somewhat contradictory things can be true: 1. toilets have radically improved human health by reducing our exposure to various toxins and waste and 2. toilet technology has been stagnant for a very long time, and we need to reinvent the waste management process to be more globally accessible, environmentally friendly, and informative about community health.

The writing is entertaining, easy to read, and informative — I couldn’t believe how much I learned from reading this relatively short book. Some interesting notes below, hidden under spoilers in case anyone is grossed out:

- Since people in different countries have different diets, there are physical and chemical differences that affect how their waste is optimally processed
- A big challenge in designing waste processing technology is finding realistic test material representative of what gets flushed down the toilet — there are entire research projects on generating synthetic sludge for this purpose
- The flush mechanism flings pathogens throughout the room, so it’s good to keep the lid down when you flush
- Excreted antibiotics can make their way into wastewater systems, contributing to antibiotic resistance
- Analyzing wastewater can be useful for monitoring community drug use — especially because you can distinguish during consumption from unused drugs which are just being disposed of
- There is an interesting idea that poorer countries could “leapfrog” over the imperfect sewer technology currently in developed nations to better ones (eg decentralized waste processing facilities, which require less waste transport), similar to the way that many third world countries skipped landlines and went straight to mobile phones
- A big open problem is how to separate urine from poop in the toilet bowl — doing so would make it easier to streamline processing of each, but it’s really hard because people urinate differently. It’s particularly hard for women to control where their urine goes
- People dump all sorts of stuff (e.g., oil and grease) down drains and toilets which coalesce into “fatbergs” which can block sewer systems. Flushable wipes, even though they are labeled flushable, seem to contribute a lot to this
- Researchers have worked on creating fragrances specifically designed to neutralize the smelly molecules in human waste to make bathrooms more desirable to use, in areas where they weren’t previously adopted by locals
- Public toilets used to be pretty common, but people had to pay for stalls (as opposed to urinals), which was argued the increase inequality between men and women. The result is that most public toilets disappeared entirely. Some cities are investing in systems where the government pays a stipend to businesses which offer for their toilets to be public

[Akhilesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chelsea Wald went on a bunch of daily podcasts that I listen to (Fresh Air, On Point etc) and described her passion in the field of sanitation and her interest in trying to solve the world's sanitation problems and this piqued my interest in the contents of this book. I'm also lucky to have found this book in my local library.

Chelsea divides this book up into easy to understand sections starting from the history of the toilet to modern wastewater treatment solutions. She travels to many places around the world where innovations are being tested in this space but I found that most solutions currently are very localized and don't have a universal appeal which is surprising considering that most humans pee/poop the same way. I learnt a bunch about toilet inequity which doesn't seem surprising considering that everyone needs to use the restroom a few times a day and not everyone might have the resources for it and it's definitely something that needs solving.

Chelsea does a great job researching and explaining the various efforts to universalize the toilet and the wastewater treatment system but it looks like we are still same ways away in hitting the most efficient and cost effective solution.

Overall, I don't regret picking this book up and it's a good read to understand the state of sanitation throughout the world.

[Harry Harman]

100 pounds of poop and about 140 gallons of pee per person each year

English acronym WC (water closet)

Henry VIII installed a House of Easement at his Hampton Court Palace

San Diego’s homeless community, then the fourth largest in the United States

Loo-topiary future

more than a hundred trillion microorganisms —bacteria, as well as other types called archaea and single-celled fungi—in the human gastrointestinal tract

The primary odor of feces comes from an aptly named compound called skatole, a by-product of the digestion of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that you get from foods such as seeds, nuts, eggs, meat, and dairy

Black women pee less than white women—go gure!

the “cradle of civilization” where complex cities

Fowler of Manchester, England, and his colleagues developed what’s known as the “activated sludge” process, which harnesses naturally occurring microbes to clean the wastewater. In a typical activated sludge plant today, sewage owing in rst encounters screens and settling tanks, which remove large objects, grit, and a lot of the organic matter, including mushed-up poop. After that, the liquid travels to an aeration tank, where microbes, fed oxygen in air that’s constantly pumped through the tank, break down the remaining organic matter in the liquid and clump into agglomerations called ocs, which then settle out in a clarier tank. Since these ocs are rich with active microbes, some of them get recycled back into the aeration tank to help the process continue. What’s left is clear water that’s nearly—but not completely—free of pathogens; today, it may undergo at least some additional treatment to disinfect or lter it to remove nutrients and contaminants before owing out into a nearby water body.

the latest vacuum toilets—the same kind that I used—and the garage is getting an upgraded anaerobic digester

All people come with cultural and psychological baggage around toilets, and that baggage can interfere with their willingness to accept new ideas

In 2003, at age twenty-eight, he was living in New York City when he developed ulcerative colitis, a chronic autoimmune condition. “It was awful,” he says. “Bleeding and weight loss, going to the bathroom fteen times a day, very unpleasant.” The usual drugs didn’t work, and he faced a surgery that would remove his colon. Unwilling to accept that outcome, he attempted to hack his gut. Guessing that his gut microbiome might be messed up, he tried transplanting fecal bacteria from a healthy person into himself. It didn’t help. Then he landed on what’s sometimes called the hygiene hypothesis, which lays some of the blame for an uptick in many autoimmune diseases at the foot of, well, hygiene.

they bred a parasite called Trichuris trichiura, or the whipworm, which Kashyap sourced from the poop of an eleven-year-old girl there.

The origin of the term cholera isn’t known with certainty, but it may come from the Greek word for “spout” or “gutter,” which describes what the bacteria make of the gut: once inside, they secrete a toxin that forces the intestine to release water and salts rather than absorb them. If people rapidly lose 10 to 15 percent of their body weight through this diarrhea, they won’t have enough uid in their bloodstream to keep up their blood pressure, which means their blood can’t deliver oxygen and nutrients to critical organs. This severe dehydration kills, even within hours.

[Evelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Забележителна книга, обхващаща всичко за тоалетните от тяхната история до тоалетните на бъдещето, но определено не бих я препоръчала за четиво, докато човек похапва нещо. Хареса ми, че научих толкова много любопитни факти не само за тоалетните като физическо тяло, но и за всички процеси свързани с тях. Например от историческа гледна точка беше интересно да науча, че древните елини са използвали урината в селското стопанство и по-точно за подобряване на плодовитостта на наровите дръвчета. А пък римляните при обработката и почистването на кожи, след което те ставали по-меки. В наше време жените проверяват дали са бременни като уринират върху тест за бременност, но това изобщо не е това концепция, защото още от древността жените уринирали върху растение (беше казано точно, което но докато довърших книгата ми изскочи от главата) и ако покълне, означавало че са заченали, а ако не, ами не са. Съвременните учени са доказали, че този бабин метод, реално върши работа и си го обясняват със завишените нива на естроген по време на бременност.
Разбира се голяма част от книгата беше посветена на фекалиите, колко са опасни с всичките болести, които разнасят, но и всичката информация, която съдържат в себе си. Любопитно беше да науча, че Ким Чен Ун си носи лична тоалетна и то не без основание, тъй като се носят слухове, че по времето на Студената война САЩ, многократно се опитвала да се снабди с твърда материя от Горбачов, но до последно не успявали.
Харесваше ми как тоалетните се разглеждаха не просто от тяхната социална гледна точка, но и от културна. Защото макар всички да ходим до тоалетната всеки ден, то не гледаме на това по един и същи начин. В Индия на септичните работници се гледа като на най-долната и бедната каста и те дори не смеят да излязат по улиците през деня от срам. Работата е там, че те са гръбнакът на обществото и подобни многомилионни градове и държави тяхната работа е изключително опасна, но и съществена за едно здраво общество. От друга страна в Кения същите тези, същите тези работници вървят с гордо изправени глави през деня. Макар да вършат тежка и мръсна работа, хората виждат как те не просто им осигурявам по хигиеничен начин на живот без болести от външните им препълнени и миризливи тоалетни, но виждат как почвата се облагородява на местата, където тези работници оставят всекидневните дарове на кенийците.
Съвременните варианти за тоалетни добавят редица ползи за нас и обществото като цяла. Една от тези машини на бъдещето за отделяне на човека от природата е тоалетната на Гейтс, която работи без вода, но успешно отделя твърдата от течната материя, пречиства течната до такава степен, че да може да се пие, а от твърдата биват убити всички бактерии и се превръща в пепелообразна субстанция. Другата е тоалетната в Дания ( поне така аз я наричам ). Тази тоалетна е доста по-голяма и шумна, но успява не просто да пречисти твърдата и течна част от процеса в съответната наторителна или напоителна форма, но и превръща газта в процеса в енергия за било то готвене или отопление. Честно казано аз никога не съм се и замисляла, че може да се произвежда енергия от моето ако, но в тези смутни времена нищо не се знае, може скоро да ми се наложи да се отоплявам на ако.

[Elisabetta Fitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting to read as a Civil Engineer. Maybe it takes a certain type of weird to be in the wastewater field, because reading about how uncomfortable people are discussing sanitary treatment surprised me; of course, no one wants to talk about their own shit at length, but I always felt wastewater treatment was less of a touchy subject. Coming from a large city with a tough regulatory water and sewer division, I have had a very different experience than most of the world with sewer systems. I was very surprised that the USA has a D+ score for sewer systems, but given the presence of combined storm and sewer systems and differing regulations between cities, counties, and states, I suppose it makes sense. I struggle to think of concise solution for sanitation worldwide. I think the biggest issues just come down to money. Land developers cheap out and overworked, underpaid junior consultants make subpar plans that get signed off by overworked senior engineers. Perhaps with less leniency for developers and more balance for engineers, some progress could begin to be made. For cities, funding is also a major problem. Major capital improvement projects cost millions of dollars and grants are near impossible to obtain unless a whole team is dedicated to environmental assessments and reports. As sanitation is my career and something I am (weirdly) passionate about, I hope to see standard engineering practices developed worldwide and increased education, recruiting, and funding for sanitation workers (engineers, contractors, plumbers, everyone). It is a human right to have clean water and no sanitation systems (in good, working conditions) infringe upon that right. Governments need to make the conscious choice to invest in health and safety before anything can change.

[JournalsTLY · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Rome, do as the Romans do.
Well, the ancient Romans built a sewer system (Cloacca Maxima) with vaults that are higher than 3 metres. Though advanced for their era, they still faced blockages and "fatbergs".

Many of our cities have extensive sewerage systems but we still have not overcome the fundamental pollution and our lack of focus to solve the problem. Perhaps we have not understood the idea that "pollution is nothing but the resources we have nor harvested" (pg 3).

This book tells us that since the Roman days, human societies have not come up with much innovation in handling our poop systematically . Many communities still lack proper functioning systems or have poor sanitation with feaces being discharged into rivers or lakes.

The cities with fairly good systems are struggling with under capacity, and with toilet users who throw plastics, condoms, dental floss, tampons and everything else into the WC - in addition to the pee, poop and paper that the sewerage system is designed for. So trouble ahead.

Will we ever get to the "loo-topia" of Green Sanitation?
There is a 29 page "Reading List" at the end of this book . This alone is a hint that we have a long way to go ?

From what little I know, Singapore seemed to be developing an extensive sewerage system though not mentioned in this book ( Deep Tunnel Sewerage System https://www.pub.gov.sg/dtss/about)

Excellent book to read.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pipe dream is a page turner about toilets and sewage that was hard to put down. I had no idea that reading a book about toilets would be so interesting. Its been awhile since I read it. I will try to remember what I liked about it.

I had never considered that saving water might cause problems with a traditional sewage system. Chelsea said that south Africa had residents all flush their toilets at a specific time because the sewage system needed more water one time where there was a drought I think.

If I remember right a similar thing happened in Germany because one of their sewers systems did not have enough water because people were trying to save water. And the sewer smelled.

One fascinating fact was that women spend I think it was 9 billion hours a hear trying to find a toilet. I don't know if that was the exact number but, it was a lot of time.

Those are only two things from Pipe Dreams. There is a lot more fascinating information in this book. I had never given toilets or lack of toilets much thought before I read pipe dreams. I thought oh, they are only toilets. Not that important.

After reading the book I realize that toilets are important because everyone has to go to the bathroom.

If you like books with lots of interesting facts pipe dreams will not disappoint.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For something so important in our daily habits and in the prevention of disease, those of us privileged with modern sanitation think surprisingly (alarmingly?) little about where our bodily waste goes once we flush it away. Journalist Chelsea Wald, on the other hand, has thought about it a lot, and in this informative work provides research on toilet and sanitation history, chemistry, and current and experimental technology around the world, as well as what future toilet innovation could look like.

To its credit this is probably as interesting as a book about toilets, plumbing and sewage could be. That said, there is an upper limit on interestingness in this field, at least for me (thus 3 stars). Wald provides lots of info about developing technologies and introduces us to the folks behind the ideas and execution. I found the history of sewage disposal and past crises some of the more interesting sections, as they demonstrate pretty starkly how essential sanitation is to civilization itself, making the development of improvements in waste management essential as populations grow, develop and migrate globally.

[Hayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve ever wanted the poop on sanitation and we’re curious about what challenges are being faced currently - this book is for you! If you were curious about how much one could write on the subject and how in depth it would be, like yours truly, this book is also for you! Just note that it’s very dense with information.
That’s not bad at all, but I see that it’s being marketed as “similar to Roach’s books” and based on reading both, I found this one to have a lot more information in each paragraph. They are similar in witty section headlines, however.
I loved how the author tackled why the reader should give a crap about the topic and listed some ways to make more environmentally friendly choices. I also was pleased to see the inclusion of 2020’s pandemic and TP shortage received a mention, though it was very strange to read it in past tense as it is still going on when I read this.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Thanks so much to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

[Eline Bakker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us don't think about what happens when we flush nor the infrastructure behind it. We would like to believe that conventional Western wastewater system functions efficiently and effectively, but does it? In this book you learn about dry toilets, biogas, vermicomposting, vacuum toilets, bidets, smart sewers, fatbergs, reuse challenges, phosphorus, pollution, manual emptying, social and environmental justice, and so much more. Even for veteran wastewater and sanitation experts, this is captivating read with many different perspectives distilled. Wald takes you on a journey of the different systems; a journey that takes the reader around the world, including Haiti, India, South Africa, USA, the Netherlands, the UK. It's a fascinating journey with personal reflection and a few toilet jokes. While a deep investigation with sobering facts, it is cleverly written and easy to read. You certainly don't need a science degree, just a curiosity in how one of society's fundamental systems works. I truly enjoyed reading Pipe Dreams!

[Yofish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had it in my mind that this would be about transforming the technology of what I (as a rich American) think of as a toilet. There’s a little of that, but that’s not really what it’s about. It’s more about trying to provide at least a modicum of hygienic waste removal to the 2 billion people who don’t have it.

There’s a good discussion of why such hygiene is necessary (mostly for disease avoidance), and a lot about what the most basic toilet should look like. But there’s also how first-world sewage treatment works; how the human body creates #1 and #2; how one might use human waste (safely) for fertilizer or energy; the problems involved---like dealing with garbage that people throw down toilets, and separating poop from pee to more efficiently process them; how some cultures sit and some squat; some wipe (toilet paper) and some wash (bidet). And so on.

There is a lot of interesting info. And part of her point is that it’s hard to solve these problems---there really are serious problems to solve---because people think it’s too icky to talk about.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The toilet is a modern miracle but also a tragic failure. Less than half of the global population can access a toilet that safely manages body waste. Toilets are inefficient squandering clean water.

Poor sanitation can contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistant pathogens which could kill 10 million people by the year 2050.

Every day people worldwide use 40 billion galloons of fresh water to flush toilets. That is six times the daily water consumption for the entire continent of Africa.

Humans produce 100 trillion galloons of waste water annually, which is five times the amount of water that passes over Niagara Falls annually.

Nothing says you don't belong here more than having homeless encampments without toilet or having prisoners eliminate in a dirty toilet without a door.

it is hard to find a public toilet these days as many businesses require you to purchase something if you need to use the restroom.