--- title: Bill Gates: What Happened To The Machine That Turns Feces Into Water description: The machine that turns feces into water that Bill Gates backs is now in Dakar. canonical: https://time.com/3996253/bill-gates-feces-water/ author: Benjamin Snyder/Fortune article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-13T15:46:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:09:28.119Z article:section: Science og:title: What Happened To Bill Gates' Feces Water Machine og:description: Here's an update to the machine that turns feces into water. og:url: https://time.com/3996253/bill-gates-feces-water/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d0b44e93dca6f00/6987ec02cd6848496a09d9cf/ap752774065262-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3147 og:image:height: 1770 og:image:alt: Bill Gates during an interview in New York City on Jan. 21, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Happened To Bill Gates' Feces Water Machine twitter:description: Here's an update to the machine that turns feces into water. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d0b44e93dca6f00/6987ec02cd6848496a09d9cf/ap752774065262-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Happened To Bill Gates' Feces Water Machine > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ad599f48-2e5e-4d53-abbf-92d20286090e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Benjamin Snyder/Fortune](https://time.com/author/benjamin-snyderfortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder/Fortune Aug 13, 2015 3:46 PM UTC  Bill Gates during an interview in New York City on Jan. 21, 2015. Bill Gates during an interview in New York City on Jan. 21, 2015. Seth Wenig—AP by [Benjamin Snyder/Fortune](https://time.com/author/benjamin-snyderfortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder/Fortune Aug 13, 2015 3:46 PM UTC Remember that time Bill Gates took a swig from a seemingly normal glass of water, but it turned out to be made from feces? Well, that’s a thing that happened a few months ago. Now, the machine, dubbed the Janicki Omni Processor, is in Dakar. And Gates wants us to know what happened to the machine, which has the potential to provide clean water to areas of the world struggling with having enough clean drinking water. “Earlier this year, I shared a [video](http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Omniprocessor-From-Poop-to-Potable) where I drank water made from feces. (My review: It was delicious.) Today the machine that produced the water, the Janicki Omni Processor—or JOP—is in Dakar, Senegal, as part of a pilot project that could ultimately save lives and reduce disease in poor countries. Here’s an update on where things stand,” he wrote in a blog post. “You may recall that the JOP takes human waste and turns it into drinking water, electricity, and ash. (It is actually one of several Omni Processors being developed that treat human waste and produce something of value.) It’s tempting to focus on the drinking water, for obvious reasons. But the goal is not to provide water. The goal is to dramatically improve sanitation for all the cities in poor countries,” he explained. Gates took to Twitter to remind his followers of the machine: > [](https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/631602128574881792) He posted a video updating people about it, too: “So it is great that we are now on the learning curve with a unit in the field. So far, the results on all fronts have been promising. The JOP is working as predicted. The partners in Dakar, especially the [national sanitation utility](http://www.onasbv.sn/en/), have been fantastic—you can see in the video how energetic and optimistic they are. At every step, we’re learning and will incorporate what we find in future designs and operating plans,” Gates added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3996253/bill-gates-feces-water/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3996253/bill-gates-feces-water/"},"headline":"What Happened To Bill Gates' Feces Water Machine","datePublished":"2015-08-13T15:46:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:09:28.119Z","description":"Here's an update to the machine that turns feces into water.","url":"https://time.com/3996253/bill-gates-feces-water/","keywords":["Bill Gates","Africa","International","philanthropy","senegal","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d0b44e93dca6f00/6987ec02cd6848496a09d9cf/ap752774065262-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Benjamin Snyder/Fortune","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/benjamin-snyderfortune/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d0b44e93dca6f00/6987ec02cd6848496a09d9cf/ap752774065262-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bill Gates during an interview in New York City on Jan. 21, 2015.","caption":"Bill Gates during an interview in New York City on Jan. 21, 2015.","creditText":"Seth Wenig—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/bill-gates/","name":"Bill Gates"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3996253/bill-gates-feces-water/","name":"What Happened To Bill Gates' Feces Water Machine"}}]}] ```