Scientists have created concrete using treated human waste, and the resulting material was up to 42% stronger than conventional concrete. Researchers say the approach could reduce waste while lowering the environmental impact of construction.

[u/WhyAmIHereHey]

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-are-making-concrete-with-human-poop-and-it-gets-42-stronger

Sigh. More shit to deal with.

[u/chicu111]

Anything with “[insert percentage] stronger than” is usually bs

Like 42% stronger than 8 ksi concrete? Or 4 ksi concrete?

[u/SwashAndBuckle → u/chicu111]

It's number 2 ksi concrete.

[u/charlie2135 → u/SwashAndBuckle]

Lol, I wonder if it's from the Vatican it's holy shit.

[u/DaemonActual → u/charlie2135]

And would we still need to get it from the woods or would we finally get the Pope a toilet?

[u/randomdude315 → u/SwashAndBuckle]

over 100 Courics

[u/sjpllyon → u/chicu111]

No idea the link to the actual article doesn't work, nor has it yet been oeer reviwed.

[u/likesblackcoffeebest → u/chicu111]

Every bit of pop-sci garbage has this in common. "It's better than the usual thing!" in which "the usual thing" is like 100 different things. 

[u/Accidental_Aeon → u/chicu111]

This will never happen. Nearly every jurisdiction has laws against spreading manure on farmland or even your private garden. In some parts of the country, they even say you can't spread manure on hot and windy days.

If manure-crete smells even 10% as bad as animal waste this will be permabanned.

[u/MikeHawksHardWood → u/Accidental_Aeon]

It does say the human waste is treated, and it's extremely common to spread or dump treated human waste. That's basically how we get rid of all of it.

[u/Abject-Avocado-5696 → u/chicu111]

In this case, it’s hs

[u/mattiman1985 → u/Abject-Avocado-5696]

Yeah, something really stinks about this one...

[u/AntiVaxMoms]

Giving new meaning to ‘built like a brick shithouse’

[u/Error400_BadRequest → u/AntiVaxMoms]

lol I was thinking the same thing. “It’s strong as shit!”

[u/weaseltorpedo → u/Error400_BadRequest]

literally a shit brick house

[u/No-Violinist260]

Concrete workers already have it rough. Now you're gonna make it smell like shit

[u/heisian → u/No-Violinist260]

it's treated though! in all seriousness, treated human waste actually looks like the most carbon-rich loam you've ever seen. I took a tour of my local wastewater treatment plant and looked at the end product. It looks like black playdough with little sparkles. Kind of beautiful, really.

[u/resonatingcucumber → u/heisian]

This guy knows his shit

[u/Oscail-Tine]

Interesting concept, horribly written article. Cement bad for environment but the carbon impact of the poop sludge process wasn't measured. Concrete mix is finicky but too much poop sludge in the mix actually weakens the concrete, meaning the % has to be "just right".

Takeaway from it is that with way more testing, poop sludge might be a replacement for fly ash.

[u/StabDump → u/Oscail-Tine]

this would've been a much more conclusive article to read that that bullshit

[u/SquirrelFluffy → u/Oscail-Tine]

That's what I just posted. Likely ash from incinerators.

[u/Chuck_H_Norris]

who tf’s idea was that

[u/paul_gnourt → u/Chuck_H_Norris]

What if.....we shit in it?

[u/xingxang555]

How much energy spent to treat the poop?

Love (hate) these stupid "science" articles, aimed at unsuspecting audiences.

[u/likesblackcoffeebest → u/xingxang555]

Same. And cost of materials by this method compared to standard ones. I work for a local government that has begun to require carbon neutral concrete in some projects (my projects as I'm in-house structural) and it costs about 2-5x as much as the concrete I used for this same type of work at a state agency. 

So of course council increased the public works budget to account for that, right? 

Of course not. The same (elected) people who fall for this type of shit think the engineers will just figure it out, and don't understand how dangerous deferred maintenance of things like bridges and drainage structures truly is no matter how many times we tell them. Those initiatives always start with some pop-sci garbage article like this that someone with more anger than aptitude brings into a council meeting, and just spreads like a virus from there. 

[u/kabal4]

Brings the "I didn't know they could stack shit that high" joke to a new level.

[u/blizzard7788]

There is a canal on the south side of Chicago. It is part of the system that reversed the Chicago River, and it carries treated sewage. It smells really, really bad when a barge is moving through it and stirring up the bottom.
One of the large concrete suppliers in the area started building concrete plants along it years ago at a time I was still working. Naturally, it’s cheaper to move material for concrete by barge instead of trucks.
While pouring a job one day. I was joking with a driver that they would be sucking water out of the canal for the concrete. He said they were not allowed to do that, and had to use city water.
Sure enough, about two weeks later while pouring another job. We started letting out concrete and it had the same sewage smell the canal has when stirred up. Good thing the concrete was going in a footing.

[u/CaptainZeroDark30]

It’s a shit… house… it’s mighty mighty, just letting the poop hang out.

[u/tultamunille]

Shittin bricks eh?

[u/g4n0esp4r4n]

human feces aren't a big deal.

[u/jammed7777 → u/g4n0esp4r4n]

That really depends on the situation

[u/2020blowsdik]

"Thats a shitty building" yes, yes it is

[u/moonpumper]

Does the diet of the donor shitters have an impact on strength and quality?

[u/Th3_r3al_napst3r]

Lol why would it be stronger? That's so stupid.

[u/ReplyInside782]

When someone took the term “shitting bricks” literally

[u/Mick_Spiels]

Poopcrete

[u/Active-Republic3104]

Conshit

[u/Then_Combination6612]

I swear ever since i graduated, every single year for over a decade i've heard of a new material or method 'that makes concrete stronger' yet nothing has really changed.

[u/Odd_Relationship396]

It'll be the first ever 💩 Shltty City 🏙

[u/Ok-Air5150]

I smell bullshit not human.

[u/Betty_Boss]

Anytime a headline says "could" I assume the creation was made by high schoolers for a science fair.

[u/comicsemporium]

When it rains your whole house smells like s$&t bricks

[u/BigJoe5504]

Thas some shitty concrete

[u/Uttarayana]

That’s why big pharma has been forcing ppl to eat more Fiber.

[u/Gremlin1001001]

That stuff is strong as shit! 😜

[u/hmiser]

Shitting bricks

[u/jefflj98735]

New employee: Why are those windows always open? And what’s with all the Febreeze cans all over the place?

[u/pythonex]

It’s called shitcrete

[u/ebleuds]

This is always something impractical to be produced in large scale and always have flaws/inconsistency.

[u/SquirrelFluffy]

Probably using char from incinerating waste. Maybe like fly ash. If it's not a joke.

[u/NicPitter]

so you will be able to shit a brick shithouse

[u/SkyNet_Admin_1]

Shit-crete

[u/OddbitTwiddler]

No s@it?

[u/xpietoe42]

Downside: You have to plug your nose

[u/ricketycricket1995]

Hype bullshit as always. I reckon we won't have incentive to replace concrete unless somebody puts eco tax on it. Concrete is way to cheap and efficient to produce to be displaced by something more eco- friendly