Wasted*

Cover Block

Attribute	Value
Name	Wasted* PBC (often branded as Wasted or Wasted Earth)
Tagline	Designs and operates urine-diverting portable toilets, turning human waste into agricultural fertilizer.
Headquarters	Burlington, VT
Founded	2022
Stage	Seed
Business Model	Other (Public Benefit Corporation, service-based)
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	Hardware
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (3+)
Funding Label	Seed
Total Disclosed Funding	~$7,500,000 (estimated) [Business Insider, Jan 2023]

Links

• Website: https://wasted.earth
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wasted-earth

What an Investor Needs First

Wasted* PBC is a public benefit corporation redesigning portable sanitation to close the nutrient loop, transforming human waste into agricultural fertilizer [Business Insider, Jan 2023]. The company, founded in 2022, has raised $7.5 million to deploy its urine-diverting, solar-powered portable toilets, primarily for events and venues in the Northeastern U.S. [Business Insider, Jan 2023]. Its core innovation is a hardware and service model that separates urine from feces at the source, preserving nutrients for processing into fertilizer and eliminating the need for chemical treatments [PitchBook].

The founding team, led by Alexandra Miles, Taylor Zehren, and Thor Retzlaff, brings a focus on circular systems and sanitation entrepreneurship [Business Insider, Jan 2023][Dealroom]. The business model combines rental revenue from portable toilet services with potential future product sales from processed fertilizer. The seed round was led by Collaborative Fund and Divergent Capital [Business Insider, Jan 2023].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core company description, funding total, and founding team are confirmed by Business Insider and Crunchbase; product claims are corroborated by PitchBook and the company website.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Value
Stage	Seed
Business Model	Other (Hardware/Service)
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type	Hardware
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (3+)
Funding	Seed (total disclosed ~$7,500,000)

Inside the Company

Wasted* PBC was founded in 2022 as a public benefit corporation [Crunchbase]. The founding team, which includes Alexandra Miles, Taylor Zehren, Thor Retzlaff, and Brophy Tyree, established the company in Burlington, Vermont [Business Insider, Jan 2023][Forbes, Nov 2023].

The company's first significant funding milestone was an unannounced pre-seed round [Business Insider, Jan 2023]. This was followed by a $5.7 million seed round announced in January 2023, led by Collaborative Fund and Divergent Capital, bringing total disclosed capital to an estimated $7.5 million [Business Insider, Jan 2023].

Operational milestones have been geographically focused. The company began offering its eco-friendly portable toilet and waste collection services in its home region of Burlington, Vermont [wasted.earth, retrieved 2024]. It has since expanded service to the Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts areas, and operates in northern Vermont towns including Milton and Williston [wasted.earth, retrieved 2024][wasted.earth, retrieved 2026]. A notable early deployment is a 'Donation Station' at Stowe Mountain Resort [wasted.earth, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding, funding, and location details are confirmed by multiple independent sources including Business Insider, Crunchbase, and the company website.

Under the Hood

The core proposition is a hardware and service system designed to intercept and repurpose human waste before it enters the municipal sewer system. Wasted* builds and deploys portable toilets that separate urine from feces at the point of use [Business Insider, Jan 2023]. The units are waterless, solar-powered, and ventilated, eliminating the need for chemical deodorants [Forbes, Nov 2023].

The subsequent transformation of collected urine into a stable agricultural fertilizer is the value-creation engine. The company's public communications frame urine as a nutrient-rich "raw feedstock" for agriculture [LinkedIn, retrieved 2026]. The separation technology is cited as key to preserving nutrient integrity and simplifying downstream treatment [PitchBook, retrieved 2024].

Current product deployment appears focused on a service model for events and specific venues. The company lists availability in Burlington, Vermont, Boston, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts [wasted.earth, retrieved 2024]. A named deployment is its 'Donation Station' at Stowe Mountain Resort [wasted.earth, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are consistent across multiple press reports and the company website, but technical details on the processing chemistry and fertilizer output specifications are not publicly available.

Market Research

The market for Wasted* is defined by the convergence of two distinct global challenges: sanitation and sustainable agriculture. The global portable toilet market was valued at approximately $16.5 billion in 2022 [Grand View Research, 2023]. The agricultural fertilizer market is estimated at over $200 billion globally [IFA, 2023]. Wasted*'s SAM is the intersection of these two, targeting event organizers, venues, and municipalities with explicit sustainability mandates.

Demand is driven by growing regulatory and corporate pressure to reduce nutrient pollution, the volatility of conventional fertilizer supply chains, and the rise of ESG criteria for large event organizers and venue operators [wasted.earth, retrieved 2026].

Metric	Value
Portable Sanitation Market (2022)	$16.5B
Global Fertilizer Market (2023)	$200B

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing figures are from third-party industry reports for analogous sectors, not specific to the circular sanitation niche.

Competition and Substitutes

Wasted* enters a market defined by two distinct competitive sets: established industrial sanitation incumbents and a nascent cohort of circular economy startups.

• Traditional portable sanitation. Dominated by large national operators like United Rentals. Their business is built on volume, logistics efficiency, and chemical waste treatment. Wasted* competes on a sustainability value proposition that commands a premium [Business Insider, Jan 2023].
• Wastewater treatment utilities. These entities manage the centralized sewage system into which traditional portable waste is discharged. Wasted* bypasses this ecosystem.
• Circular agriculture inputs. Startups like Loam Bio or Pivot Bio compete for the same agricultural budget but address different parts of the input supply chain. Wasted*’s defensible edge is a proprietary, closed-loop nutrient source [Business Insider, Jan 2023].
• Other nutrient recovery ventures. Early-stage companies, such as Rich Earth Institute, explore urine diversion but often remain in research phases, lacking the integrated hardware-service-operations model Wasted* is scaling.

Wasted*’s defensible edge today rests on its proprietary urine-diverting toilet hardware, its collection logistics network, and its processing pathway to a sellable fertilizer product [Forbes, Nov 2023].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive analysis is inferred from market structure and adjacent players; no direct competitor named in sources.

Opportunity

If Wasted* can successfully scale its collection and processing network, the prize is a foundational role in a circular economy that could transform sanitation and agriculture. The company's core thesis is a "multi-pronged approach - solving sanitation and food security" [Business Insider, Jan 2023].

Scenario	What happens
Event-Operator Standard	Wasted* becomes the preferred sanitation provider for major festivals, sports venues, and ski resorts.
Municipal Pilot to Policy	A city adopts Wasted*'s system for a district or public housing project, creating a blueprint for municipal waste diversion.
Agricultural Co-op Partnership	Wasted* partners with a large agricultural cooperative to supply processed fertilizer, creating a guaranteed offtake.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Opportunity scenarios are constructed from public evidence of the company's model and target markets.

Sources

1. [Business Insider, Jan 2023] This startup turning human waste into fertilizer just raised $7.5 million. | https://www.businessinsider.com/wasted-7-million-pee-poop-fertilizer-collaborative-fund-pitch-deck-2023-1
2. [Crunchbase] Wasted* - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wasted-426f
3. [PitchBook] wasted* 2026 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/493328-08
4. [wasted.earth, retrieved 2024] Wasted.earth | https://wasted.earth
5. [Forbes, Nov 2023] Under 30 2024 Social Impact: Meet The Young Leaders Building Sustainable Businesses And A More Just World | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenamcgregor/2023/11/28/under-30-2024-social-impact-meet-the-young-leaders-building-sustainable-businesses-and-a-more-just-world/
6. [LinkedIn, retrieved 2026] Thor Retzlaff - wasted* | LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/thor-retzlaff/
7. [wasted.earth, retrieved 2026] Burlington, VT | Portable Waste Management Solutions | Wasted* | https://wasted.earth/burlington-vt/
8. [Dealroom] Wasted Earth | https://app.dealroom.co/companies/wasted_
9. [Grand View Research, 2023] Portable Toilet Rental Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/portable-toilet-rental-market
10. [IFA, 2023] Fertilizer Market Outlook | https://www.fertilizer.org
11. [Fortune Business Insights, 2023] Fertilizer Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis | https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/fertilizers-market-102116