Green Revolution: Fertilizer from the toilet – Start-up Finizio turns feces into money

Clean water is one of the world's most precious resources. Toilets consume vast amounts of it and generate wastewater that requires complex treatment. Furthermore, nutrients in human feces are barely utilized. Instead, they are disposed of, leaving their ecological and economic potential untapped.

innovation

Finizio dry toilets operate without water or chemicals. The contents are treated in a closed loop and processed into a recyclable fertilizer. Pathogens are first killed by heat. Each toilet is designed to be hygienic and odor-free—ideal for use in public spaces or areas without sewage systems.

In practice

So far, the dry toilets have been used primarily at large events in eastern Germany. For example, at the European Football Championship in Leipzig last year and at three concerts by the rock band "Die Ärzte" in Berlin. Organizers pay around €400 per system, including delivery, cleaning, and collection. The resulting fertilizer is intended for use in agriculture or horticulture in the future. However, this is not yet approved.

“Farmers would have the greatest impact”

Florian Augustin, founder of Finizio

What led you to study excrement? A degree in forestry. The human nutrient cycle is an important lever for addressing ecological problems. It enables simple, highly effective solutions – for resource efficiency, soil fertility, and CO2 storage. Finizio is a business model for this.

Your fertilizer is still illegal. When will it be legal?

Contents from dry toilets are not currently on the positive list of the EU Fertilizer Regulation. We expect this to change by 2030 and are in dialogue with political stakeholders. However, initial series trials are already underway.

And at some point your fertilizer will be available in hardware stores?

That would be very attractive commercially. But our vision is to sell the fertilizer to farmers. That would have the greatest ecological impact.

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