The toilets are maintained by a class of people known as scavengers whose job is to dispose of the waste.

CNN: New toilets, new lives

"It is apparent that many people still have complete disregard for the way they dispose of litter and waste, meaning expensive costs for the taxpayer in clean-up fees and staff having to work in a dangerous environment, " he said.

BBC: Rubbish

More than where to go to the bathroom, how to dispose of human waste is, as Auerbach points out, a primary reason that no one touches the issue of toilets.

FORBES: Who Gives A Crap? Sanitation, Energy and Entrepreneurship in Kenya

It also concluded that operators had failed to plan how to dispose of radioactive waste and some of the older facilities had "deteriorated so much that their contents pose significant risks to people and the environment".

BBC: Sellafield inspection after 'intolerable risk' report

Last year, following a request from the American Department of Energy, Dr Eastlund delivered a detailed proposal explaining how the fusion torch could help to dispose of this waste.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear waste

The Japan crisis already has led to renewed calls for the company to dispose of this radioactive waste elsewhere.

FORBES: Undervalued Utility Stock Buy

To dispose of the material, the companies must transport it by truck or rail far from their own plants to waste facilities hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of miles away.

NPR: Solar Industry Grapples With Hazardous Wastes