This 'toilet bike' runs on poop

A female rider takes a spin on the new Toto bike that uses bio-gas from cow poop or waste water.

A female rider takes a spin on the new Toto bike that uses bio-gas from cow poop or waste water.

Published Aug 29, 2012

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Yes, this bike has a built-in toilet and, yes, it is powered by excrement, but you won't have to drop your pants and subject the world to indecent exposure in order to refuel it.

And while you're never going to escape public humiliation while riding a toilet on wheels, this machine (a product of Japanese toilet maker Toto) is at least powered by animal waste.

Billed as the world's first waste-powered vehicle, the three-wheeler has a toilet in place of a regular seat and huge paper roll at the back.

But as a young female model climbed aboard for a test drive on Wednesday, its maker was quick to point out that she would not supply the "gas".

"The biogas it uses as fuel is not made from human waste. It's made from livestock waste and sewage," Kenji Fujita, a company spokesman, told reporters in a Tokyo suburb.

"We hope to raise awareness among customers about our green campaign through development of environmentally-friendly products such as water-saving showerheads and water-saving toilets," Fujita added.

The company - which makes toilets equipped with an array of features including heated seats, water jets with pressure and temperature controls, and ambient background music - has no plans to commercialise the bike, which has a claimed range of 300km. -IOL & AFP

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