One man's trash, another man's treasure?

A toilet rescued from the dump as part of a practical joke between friends is now being used to raise cash for local charities.

It's called the 'Love Loo' once it's dumped in a yard the homeowner must pay $100 to get it hauled away.

Friends Sally and Todd Fonner, Chase and Caroline Toogood, Andrew and Maria Marsh and Kirsten and Geordie Wardman came up with the idea over dinner one night.

"It started out as a prank on one of our friends and the toilet wasn't so pretty back then," said Mr. Wardman. "We took it from the dump and it was covered in dirt and was not very attractive. We put it in their front yard as a joke.

"We have been playing pranks like this among ourselves for several years. We were all out to dinner one night and we decided that our mischievous energy could be put to good use. The first person who had the Love Loo at their property received a lot of attention we put two and two together and decided to use it as a fund-raiser for charity."

The loo has been made a lot prettier since then. Today it's painted pink with yellow flowers and has real flowers planted into its top.

After the upgrade, the friends decided to offer the toilet to anyone who wanted to participate, thereby improving the potential ante for two charities The Coalition for the Protection of Children and Save Open Spaces.

Added Mrs. Wardman: "After the Love Loo has been placed on a person's lawn, they decide who to pass it on to next. We suggest a donation of $100 or more and we will come pick it up and deliver it to the next person. So far we have kept it within a pretty close group of friends and it has been a lot of fun and quite successful."

The group hopes to eventually raise $10,000.

"We hope to keep the Love Loo going for as long as people remain interested and keep participating," said Mrs. Fonner. "We hope we can inspire people to do something similar to help Bermuda. A lot can be achieved with some work and creativity. We want to highlight that Bermuda is full of good people who do good things despite many of the recent newspaper headlines."

To learn more about the Love Loo and how to donate, visit www.loveloo.org or e-mail passiton@loveloo.org.