Episode #57
Thor Retzlaff -- Wasted*
Today I was joined by Thor Retlzaff, co-founder of Wasted*, a urine-mining company that turns pee into fertilizer via infrastructure (such as porta potties). Retlaff's career began at Lewis and Clark College, where he majored in anthropology and sociology. Inspiration would come to Retralaff and his cofounders through a series of mountaineering expeditions in the backcountry of the Arctic, Patagonia, Nepal, and in their backyard of Lake Tahoe. On these adventures, they were exposed to the human waste crisis happening in our pristine natural ecosystems — where untreated waste was leaking from pits into the surrounding environment; this originally spawned the nonprofit Do Good Sh*t. In 2020, Retlzaff and his cofounders started Wasted* after realizing that "liquid gold" is filled with vital nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen that can be used in our fertilizer. Today, Wasted* is working on expanding beyond the New England states and bringing to market The Can -- which is a fully independent operating porta potty that can create fertilizer all on its own and requires 90% less water than typical porta potties.
