HUMANURE COMPOSTING

[gmendoza]

Would it take a year for you not to be full of it ?

Not really...im pretty full of "it" all the time.

 

[EweSheep]

 

[newfoundland]

This is a return to an old idea which, as far as I know, worked perfectly satisfactorily. They used to be called earth closets, and after use you sprinkled a shovel full of earth over the top, which prevented any smells, flies etc. Periodically, all the soil and waste was removed and dug into the garden. As a point of interest, there are many sewage works in UK that sell heat treated compost. The only down side is that unexpected tomato plants often appear, as the seeds are not digested. I do think that some people are awfully squeamish about things.

 

[bowen012]

We (my family & I) are currently using composting toilets; basic box and bucket homemade ''lovable loo' (plans available at humanure.com) going on 6 months now and will never go back to water wasting toilets (I even ripped the plumbing out of my RV and installed composting toilets there; our drinking water is from a ceramic dispenser/5 gallon water bottles (2 of these). We do our showers at a local community center/gym that we are members of, or during the summer we use a solar shower occasionally. It's sad how much water we waste in the U.S. and doing our part to not contribute to that. Does a single person or family really make that much of an impact by this sort of reduction? I don't know, but sometimes all you can do is be a hummingbird.

Seeing that it's only been half a year, we've obviously not used it in our gardens but anxious to try it out when it's ready. We're vegetarians so the meat hormones and antibiotics isn't a concern there; we try to grow and shop organically, but I don't know that 100% organic 100% of the time is possible. We avoid GMOs but sure some slip in here and there. Overall, I think our humanure compost is as 'clean' as it's likely going to get.

I was concerned over the potential smell before I tried it, but like has been said before, there is zero smell if used correctly. Pee/Poo then cover with whatever material you choose (saw dust, peat moss, etc); when the bucket is full, add to the compost pile and cover again (we use straw, hay, dead leaves in the outdoor pile and again, no smell outside of the immediate moments after dumping the bucket into the pile and before being covered.

As a curiosity, I'm wondering how much waste people make in a year and we'll eventually get to see with this method. Other oddities and novelties of using a composting toilet... Flush toilets are almost foreign after 6/7 months of using the lovable loo; habit forming I guess and you really have to make yourself remember to flush when using the public restrooms out in the world. Seems like an odd thing to have to focus on, but after so long of not doing it regularly, it's surprising how alien it seems. They're also very portable, so you can take your bucket and box style compost toilet with you camping and such; or for a bit of serene randomness - out in your yard, under the stars. <- Obviously not recommended for urban dwellers, those with visible neighbors, or during daylight hours else awkard social moments may arise.

 

[oldrooster]

There are pharmaceutical drugs in sewer water that cannot be filtered out that will kill you if not taken with the proper companion drugs and ones that are lethal with what you may be taking and it does not need be much. The Bible says to bury your waste.

My brother attended college and for a while afterward lived and worked in the same town, and they had their sewage treatment plant UPSTREAM! of where their wells where sunk along a river, same water table, treated sewage water dumped in the river, and wells along the river down stream....

needless to say he drank lots of bottled water and cooked with it too..... in fact he was given a dish washer (his house never had one and someone had remolded their kithcen and wanted to get rid of their portable unit) they where on city water too, and he had to use 5 bottles of CLR to make a dent in the water scum that was in the dishwasher, he thought perhaps the people before was a little "dirty" perhaps but using it 1x a week for 3 months, he noticed it was getting icky again and he knew it had to be the water....

 

[oldrooster]

This is a return to an old idea which, as far as I know, worked perfectly satisfactorily. They used to be called earth closets, and after use you sprinkled a shovel full of earth over the top, which prevented any smells, flies etc. Periodically, all the soil and waste was removed and dug into the garden. As a point of interest, there are many sewage works in UK that sell heat treated compost. The only down side is that unexpected tomato plants often appear, as the seeds are not digested. I do think that some people are awfully squeamish about things.

A little lime does wonders on odors too....

 

[bowen012]

A little lime does wonders on odors too....

If you're using a composting toilet correctly there should be zero smell. Same for the compost pile; if you're managing it properly, there is no smell from the humanure/compost toilet. As the entire pile composts, you'll get the same earthy smell that comes with soil, but no 'odor' really. The only time you'll have a smell if using a compost toilet that is a box and bucket style; is when you add the bucket to the compost pile; in the moments it is dumped and before it's covered, you'll get about 3 seconds of odor. After it's covered, nothing.

 

[gmendoza]

Well its been a year or so and I've piled on my own "it" pile. I can come out and really see what a mess I can make. DW says I was always full of "it" and here is the proof.

When this was being "created" it was sort of a curiosity so see the waste build up of my own body and how "it" broke down. Then when the pile got bigger, I started to attract possums and raccoons at night, trying to get into "it". I found myself fending off my own compost empire from the vermin and making a cage-top so my "revenue" wouldn't be broken into. I was protecting my out-vestment with all the zeal of a gold hoarder. Once when I found myself yelling at the vermin" get out of my s*** pile!". After this I knew I lost it.

So now my humanure empire is covered over and I am starting a new one.

Wish me luck.

 

[cassie]

Nobody asked my opinion here, and I know I should keep my mouth shut, but it seems to me this comes under the heading of "just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should" and "more trouble than it's worth". But if it makes you happy, go ahead. Who am I to rain on your parade? Plus I have done things my friends and relatives thought were just as harebrained as I think this project is. Good luck. Maybe you will get it right next time around.

 

[oldrooster]

I am glad your pile is being put to good use, I had to re=type this a couple of times to keep dirty minds from reading something other than what I intended to say from being taken out of context. I wish people wouldn't always read something else into it but they will.