Giving Compass' Take:

• Global Citizen reports that Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering has developed new technology to turn human waste into clean water in seconds. 

• How can donors invest in technologies like this? What might this mean for the evolution of WASH funding?

• Here's more on how we can use technology to solve the world's clean water issues. 

Poop can now be transformed into clean water in four seconds thanks to a new invention, the Chronicle reports.

Researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering are introducing a reactor that could revolutionize how waste is handled around the world.

The team has been working to perfect the technology since 2013, as part of the Reinventing the Toilet challenge sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which aims to encourage invention in water and sanitation.

The reactor works by putting organic waste under high heat and pressure, and then converts it to clean water almost instantly.

A single unit is designed to treat waste from up to 1,000 people.

The reactor could provide a more sustainable and accessible solution for waste management, which typically requires 3.5 acres of land to treat waste from just 1,000 people. The Duke-developed reactor has a much smaller footprint and can process just as much poop within a 20-foot container.

Not to mention, waste management tends to involve costly and pollution-heavy transportation. In the US, cities like New York ship their waste off to other parts of the country or world. And this waste, which can be harmful to human health, often ends up in communities where poverty is prevalent.

Read the full article about turning poop into clean water by Sophie Maes at Global Citizen.