
We're all in this together, aren't we? We all poop and pee. How about joining PHLUSH as a donor or volunteer?
Hurricane Florence is upon us. She is predicted to bring excessive rainfall (over 2 feet) and dangerous storm surge (up to 9-12 feet) to North and South Carolina. While some are rejoicing that wind speeds have been downgraded, NWS continues to predict life-threatening storm surge and unprecedented rainfall. As an organization focused on safe...
All citizens who pee and poop, that’s everyone, need to know how to safely take care of toileting when the luxury of a ‘flush and forget’ mentality is no longer an option. Natural disasters, such as recent Hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria, alter our world in unpredictable ways. One thing that we can anticipate...
“The restroom thus becomes a tool for figuring out just how a society functions – what it values, how it separates people from one another, and the kinds of trade-offs that come to be made,” says sociologist Harvey Moltoch. While we at PHLUSH believe in safe and accessible toilets for all people (families, children,...
By Chris Canaday. Ecuador-based researcher Canaday generously prepared this in response to our inquiries. He invites feedback via Inodoroseco or email canaday2 AT gmail.com Shifting from wasteful, expensive, contaminating, water-based toilets to decentralized, environmentally friendly, dry toilets should be more a matter of paradigm shift than capital investment. This is especially true for those who have little...
This week the Portland Hilton is buzzing with the energy of hundreds of impassioned volunteers and salaried colleagues who manage the nation’s most important disaster response agencies. It’s the annual conference of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster a coalition of hundreds of organizations – faith-based, community-based, and other non-governmental organizations – and 55...
Preventable illnesses – often termed “waterborne diseases” – kill 2.2 million kids under the age of five each year, more than three kids a minute. These diseases could be more accurately described as “excretaborne”. They have everything to do with poop. Poop is rich. Living within each of us in our gastrointestinal tracts are more...
PHLUSH partner organization MDML (once known as Cloacina.org Project) created an informative and life-saving guide that shows you scientifically-proven methods for human-waste composting in an emergency. Don’t miss the opportunity to download it for free or purchase it for 10 bucks on their website. This illustrated guide presents a series of graduated responses you can do to...
Lately, we’ve been checking out what other West Coast cities at risk of earthquake-induced water and sewer system failure and non-functioning toilets are recommending to residents. Some cities propose that residents bag, bleach, throw away, or bury human waste in the event of an emergency. Such proposals could have dangerous consequences. Portland, however, has...
Portlanders will join folks from around the globe on Saturday, March 24 to commemorate World Water Day with a convivial morning of exercise on the waterfront and learning activities at OMSI. Portland’s Fourth Annual Walk for Water features a non-competitive 5k fun run as well as the simulation of a typical water-gathering experience for...