Japan toilet maker unveils 'poop-powered' motorbike

Source:AFP Published: 2012-8-29 23:15:08

A female rider drives Toto's eco-friendly motorcycle Toilet Bike Neo, which uses biogas from discharges of livestocks or waste water, during a demonstration run for their domestic green campaign in Omiya, on Wednesday.  Photo: AFP
A female rider drives Toto's eco-friendly motorcycle Toilet Bike Neo, which uses biogas from discharges of livestocks or waste water, during a demonstration run for their domestic green campaign in Omiya on Wednesday. Photo: AFP



Japan's best-known toilet maker Toto on Wednesday unveiled a "poop-powered" motorcycle that can travel as far as 300 kilometers on a tank filled with 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 Wednesday, toilet giant Toto 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 Omiya, suburban Tokyo.

"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 commercialize the motorcycle.

AFP

 



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