When it comes to our plumbing, we usually take an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach. Once we don’t see it anymore, we don’t think about it anymore - but for the waste that we put in our drains and plumbing systems, the initial flush is only the beginning of its journey. After flowing through mazes of pipes below our cities, waste ends up at a sewage treatment site, where tanks and aerators process the waste into byproducts. But want to hear a dirty little secret? These byproducts can contain pathogens, heavy metals and excess nitrogen that pollutes our landfills and forests. And any excess byproducts end up being incinerated, putting large amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. So, the question remains: how do we sustainably dispose of our waste’s waste?

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