CNN —Consider the toilet — that humble porcelain bowl that spirits away our waste several times a day. Rethinking how we deal with waste may also present an opportunity: Our excrement can be converted into renewable heat, electricity and fertilizer. Ugo CarmeniKnown as a “Huussi” in Finnish, the dry toilet separates urine from stool and is ventilated to keep odors out — In Finland, dry toilets are particularly prevalent in rural summer cottages, Renell told CNN in a video call. Kelsey McWilliams/Point of ShiftNow a water, sanitation and hygiene consultant for over ten years, McWilliams founded Point of Shift to create circular systems for clients within the US. The humble dry toilet and a large-scale urban sewage system may be at opposite ends of the spectrum, but they are both solutions to the same problem.

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Persons: It’s, ”, Arja Renell, Ugo Carmeni, Renell, Kelsey McWilliams, Melinda Gates, McWilliams, There’s, “ It’s, ” McWilliams, ChangeWater, Diana Yousef, ” Yousef, What’s, —, Yousef, ’ ”, San, Sarah Perfekt “, Amanda Haux, Sarah Perfekt, Haux, ” Renell Organizations: CNN, Environmental Protection Agency, Venice Biennale, University of Delaware, WHO, UNICEF’s, ” Locations: Flushing, Finnish, Venice, Finland, Uganda, Panama, California, San Francisco, Swedish, Helsingborg, RecoLab, reimagining, Sweden, ”