Re.Source
Re.Source provides container-based sanitation services to low-income urban households in informal settlements, offering portable urine-diverting toilets on a subscription model with waste collection and compost recovery, piloted in Shada, Haiti.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Re.Source does
Re.Source is a container-based sanitation (CBS) initiative that designs, deploys, and operates portable urine-diverting household toilets for low-income residents in dense informal urban settlements. The system combines a 20-L bucket toilet with a sealed liquid container and a western-style seat, packaged into a portable, aspirational unit that can be carried when households relocate. Re.Source's flagship pilot, deployed on October 30, 2012, installed 25 toilets in the Shada neighborhood of Cap Haitien, Haiti, in partnership with SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods), which handles waste transport and composting. The company is led by co-founders Kory Russel (University of Oregon) and Sebastien Tilmans (Stanford CODIGA Resource Recovery Center), with roots in Stanford's d.school and the "Fertili" / Design for Extreme Affordability course.\n\nThe technology stack centers on a urine-diverting cartridge-based toilet engineered for low-cost mass production (blow-molding, injection molding, vacuum forming), supported by a smartphone-based service-tracking platform built on Open Data Kit (ODK) and RFID-tagged membership cards. The two-step collection process removes full containers from homes via carts/dollies, transfers them to trucks, and delivers waste to SOIL's compost sites, where it is converted to agricultural compost. The integrated operations dashboard allows service operators to monitor waste collection, customer payments, toilet installations, and service alerts. Adjacent outputs include the publicly shared "Encyclopoodia" design compendium and two peer-reviewed evaluations in Environment & Urbanization.\n\nRe.Source's business model is a zero-upfront-cost subscription service for households, cross-subsidized by compost sales to agricultural and reforestation customers. The go-to-market motion is community-led: partnerships with local organizations such as KOSS (a coalition of nine CBOs in Shada) drive household identification, installation, and ongoing service. The company has been entirely grant-funded since inception — by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the US EPA P3 program, Stanford SEED, Stanford Woods Institute, UPS, and SOCAP — and operates as a university-affiliated research initiative rather than a venture-backed commercial entity. No formal corporate registration, revenue figures, or institutional investment have been disclosed.
Re.Source firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Re.Source
- Legal name
- Re.Source
- Website
- https://resourcesanitation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Re.Source provides container-based sanitation services to low-income urban households in informal settlements, offering portable urine-diverting toilets on a subscription model with waste collection and compost recovery, piloted in Shada, Haiti.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Re.Source industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sanitation Services
- NAICS
- Waste Management and Remediation Services (562), Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)
- SIC
- Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Portable Toilet Rental & Servicing (BPALAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Reusable Packaging & Container Return Programs (On-site) (BPABALAJ), Reusable Packaging & Refill Systems (Returnable Transport Items, Deposit/DRS Ops) (EUAIANAE)
Keywords
Re.Source business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Sanitation Subscription Service: Customers subscribe to a household toilet service with no upfront investment. Full waste containers are collected and replaced regularly with clean ones. The service includes toilet provision, waste removal, and composting.
- Compost Sales: Collected human waste is processed at composting sites (partner SOIL's facilities) and converted to valuable compost sold to agricultural and reforestation customers, helping to finance the sanitation service.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Household subscription service with all-inclusive pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Re.Source product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Re.Source provides a container-based sanitation (CBS) service for low-income urban households in informal settlements, installing portable, urine-diverting household toilets at customer homes and collecting the waste on a regular schedule as part of a subscription. The company operates the full service loop, including door-to-door collection, a two-step process that separates urine and solids, and downstream composting into agricultural product, with operations tracked end-to-end via RFID-tagged buckets and a mobile/ODK data system.
Product overview
Re.Source offers container-based sanitation (CBS) services for dense urban informal settlements. The core offering consists of portable, urine-diverting household toilets combined with a subscription-based waste collection and composting service. Full containers are regularly removed from homes, transported to processing facilities, and converted to compost. The company has also developed an internal tracking system using smartphones and RFID technology to manage operations. Additionally, they have published the Encyclopoodia, a reference document on toilet designs, as a resource for the sanitation sector.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Container-Based Sanitation (CBS) Household Toilet Service A subscription-based sanitation service that provides a portable, urine-diverting household toilet installed at the customer's home, designed for aspirational aesthetics and modular mass production. The toilet is provided with no upfront cost to the household, and the service includes regular waste collection, replacement, and end-to-end operations tracking. It is intended for individual low-income households in dense urban informal settlements that lack sewerage access, with a pilot in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
- Waste Collection and Composting Service An operations offering bundled with the CBS toilet service: a two-step collection process in which waste is picked up door-to-door, urine and solids are separated, solids are composted into an agricultural product, and urine is processed into fertilizer. Operations are tracked via RFID-tagged buckets and a mobile/ODK data system, and the resulting compost supports a downstream sales stream.
Quantifiable outcome
- CBS service dramatically reduced the share of feces that were unmanaged in the service area
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Re.Source
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Re.Source technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Re.Source partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods)corePrimary operational partner in Haiti providing ecological sanitation services. SOIL established Haiti's first waste treatment sites and container-based sanitation service. Re.source partners with SOIL to deliver household toilets in Cap Haitien, with waste transported to SOIL's composting facilities where it is converted to valuable compost for sale.
- KOSS (Koordinasyon Ot Jan Si)corePartnership of 9 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in Shada, Haiti. KOSS provides community coordination, quality-checking services, and helps with household identification, toilet installation, and ongoing service monitoring in the pilot area.
- Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED)coreSEED is Stanford's incubator for entrepreneurs addressing poverty in developing economies. Re.source participated in the XSEED incubator space (2013-2016) at Stanford, receiving mentorship, resources, and support for developing the sanitation business model.
- Stanford d.schoolminorCollaborated with Stanford's d.school for design methodology and user-centered design approaches. The company was inspired by the Fertiloo project developed at Stanford's d.school in the Design for Extreme Affordability course.
- x-runnerminorFellow container-based sanitation enterprise in Peru. Re.source shared toilet prototypes with x-runner for feedback and collaborated on developing the integrated service monitoring platform, with x-runner providing continuous field testing feedback.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Re.Source competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sanergy: Kenya-based container-based sanitation company building out a network of Fresh Life toilets with waste-to-compost/feed conversion. Directly comparable CBS model in East Africa targeting the same urban informal settlement customer.
- Loowatt: UK/Madagascar-headquartered container-based sanitation company using sealed waterless toilet cartridges. Comparable CBS model targeting urban informal settlements with mechanical cartridge-based waste capture.
- Sanivation: Kenya-based container-based sanitation operator that uses solar treatment to convert waste into briquettes. Re.Source explicitly shipped prototypes to Sanivation for feedback, indicating direct peer overlap in product design.
- CleanTeam: Ghana-based container-based sanitation operator referenced by Re.Source as a peer in the CBS Alliance. Provides household toilets with scheduled waste collection in dense urban Kumasi neighborhoods.
- x-runner: Peru-based container-based sanitation venture explicitly cited by Re.Source as a peer. x-runner provides household toilets with scheduled waste collection and was an early collaborator providing field testing feedback to Re.Source.
- SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods): Haiti-based container-based sanitation operator and Re.Source's core waste-processing partner. Both organizations deploy CBS toilets in informal urban settlements and convert waste to compost; SOIL operates its own household service, making it both partner and competitor.
Broad incumbents
- WaterAid: Large international NGO focused on water, sanitation and hygiene in low-income countries. Operates broadly across the WASH sector and overlaps with Re.Source's target end-beneficiaries, though it works primarily through infrastructure grants rather than subscription services.
- PATH: Global health nonprofit active in WASH innovation with Gates-funded Reinvent the Toilet program involvement. Larger institutional player whose sanitation R&D portfolio overlaps with Re.Source's container-based innovation track.
- iDE (International Development Enterprises): International development organization that builds market-based sanitation and water supply solutions for the poor. Operates across multiple countries with sanitation products and supply chains, a broader incumbent compared to Re.Source's focused CBS approach.
Others
- Container-Based Sanitation Alliance (CBSA): Industry alliance chaired by Re.Source co-founder Kory Russel that convenes CBS operators including SOIL, x-runner, Sanergy, and Sanivation. Ecosystem-level peer and convening body for the same market segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Re.Source social profiles
Digital presenceRe.Source financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Re.Source leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Re.Source funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Re.Source M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Re.Source
What does Re.Source do?
Re.Source provides a container-based sanitation (CBS) service for low-income urban households in informal settlements, installing portable, urine-diverting household toilets at customer homes and collecting the waste on a regular schedule as part of a subscription. The company operates the full service loop, including door-to-door collection, a two-step process that separates urine and solids, and downstream composting into agricultural product, with operations tracked end-to-end via RFID-tagged buckets and a mobile/ODK data system.
Is Re.Source a public or private company?
Re.Source is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Re.Source founded?
Re.Source was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does Re.Source make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Sanitation Subscription Service is the primary driver. The others are compost Sales.
Who are Re.Source's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sanergy, Loowatt, Sanivation, CleanTeam, x-runner and SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods). Broad incumbents are WaterAid, PATH and iDE (International Development Enterprises). Container-Based Sanitation Alliance (CBSA) is listed as an others.
Does Re.Source have an API?
No public API is recorded for Re.Source.
What industry is Re.Source in?
Re.Source's product category is Sanitation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPALAMAF, Portable Toilet Rental & Servicing, with a secondary code of BPABALAJ, Reusable Packaging & Container Return Programs (On-site). Its NAICS code is 562 and its SIC code is 4950.