PooPaw

The solution is on paw! PooPaw offers a practical and playful solution for doing your needs outdoors. Because you know, when nature calls you can’t be caught unprepared!

PooPaw was developed within the Alpine Design course (Prof. A. Faleri, R. Boni), of Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Design, in a team of two people. The research focused on the theme of mountain practice at an amateur level, with particular attention to environmental sustainability and the safeguarding of Alpine bio-diversity.

Physiological needs in the mountains are a real but little explored problem. Mountain tourism has become invasive and visitors contribute to the pollution of the landscape, often leaving used tissues on the paths, ruining the natural environment. Furthermore, faeces carry bacteria and viruses, which are transmitted in the soil. PooPaw is designed for different types of users: families and trekkers walking at medium altitudes; outdoor campers (boy-scouts), pilgrims and backpackers that visit natural tourist attractions (Way of St. James, Himalayan Temples, Mount Fuji, monasteries and others).

PooPaw promotes the “leave no tracks” approach, thus conveying a conscious and responsible behaviour while breaking all taboos. Designed to be carried around easily, the symmetrical shape makes it suitable for right and left-handed people, while the PLA Flex case guarantees flexibility in sizes. The shape is inspired by a paw to suggest an intuitive and playful gesture, helping users to get rid of inhibitions. The tool has a dual function. First of all, it can be worn by the user to easily dig a small hole in the ground; secondly, the tool contains a supply of refills, which are sheets designed to isolate the faeces from the ground.

These refills ensure the faeces insulation thanks to their composition: a film of PLA loaded with urea that allows decomposition covered by a thin layer of biodegradable paper suitable for the function of toilet paper.

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