It is thanks to the “mains sewer”, this underground evacuation system for our organic waste, that we can keep our excrement away with a simple flush. But this system would benefit from being called into question: it consumes a lot of water and energy, it also represents a considerable loss of mineral resources. Rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, urine and feces could indeed become the yellow gold of tomorrow and constitute a credible alternative to fertilizers and fertilizers imported from a handful of States.
Such awareness, however, requires a cultural paradigm shift. In particular, it involves confronting, once and for all, what happens to our bodily waste after flushing the toilet. From the installation of dry toilets to the reuse of “sewage sludge”, innovations in this area are increasing in the countries of the North. This is nevertheless incommensurate with the diversity of alternatives proposed in the cities of the South, forced to experiment in the face of the unsuitability of sewerage in certain contexts.
The Editorial Report Listen later
Lecture listen 5 min
Focus: Toilets at the cinema: the end of a blind spot?
With Gabriel Bortzmeyer, critic and teacher of cinema and literature in preparatory classes. Member of the magazine Overflows and the magazine The remaining times. Author of The allure of toiletspublished by Yellow Now Editions, 2023.
Absent from big screens for a long time, toilets have gradually appeared in cinema, becoming figurative objects in their own right. At first discreet or simply suggested, they then became the symbol of a certain technical and aesthetic modernity. Of Psychosis has Without filterwhat does the cinematographic representation of toilets teach us about our relationship with bodily waste?
Delmas makes his cinema Listen later
Lecture listen 5 min
Sound references
- Saving water with dry toilets, Regional Natural Parks of the Southern RegionNovember 8, 2023
- In Nairobi, recycle excrement, AFPOctober 11, 2019
- Urine, the new green gold? Environment NewsJanuary 17, 2017
- Testimony of Sam Ndindi, director of the Mazingira Yetu Foundation, in Kenya, Africa NewsJanuary 29, 2023
- Farmers use human excrement as fertilizer, CGTN FrenchMay 21, 2022
- Testimony from Joanna Fernandez, environmental engineer and project manager at the ANECO association, RTSAugust 5, 2024
- Excerpt from the film “The big Lebowski” film by the Coen brothers, 1998, Movie clips
- Scene from the film Psycho, Cult Movies
Chanson : Fire! Chatterton – “ New World” (2021)
