[Greenbuilding] fertilizer from human waste

Benjamin Pratt benjamin.g.pratt at gmail.com
Mon Jan 14 14:09:03 CST 2013


I haven't thought about it as much as RT. I would guess that -maybe-
there are regulations about using human waste because -maybe- it would
be easier for human pathogens to be transmitted than for pathogens
from other species...
  Regardless, I find it hopeful that people may become more accepting
of this kind of fertilizer, as it could be better utilized in the
future--regardless of how it's treated.

I do have a question. My friend, who is an organic farmer, said he
won't use chicken shit because it makes the vegetables taste bad. Is
this possible?  If it is, it would make more sense to make fertilizer
more smell-free.

-Ben

On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 11:35 AM, RT <archilogic at yahoo.ca> wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:45:39 -0500, Benjamin Pratt
> <benjamin.g.pratt at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Not sure if this is happening anywhere else, but I'm glad it's
>> happening here. Hope to go pick some up this spring!
>>
>>
>> http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_22367291/from-your-toilet-your-dining-table
>
>
> Not sure if I like the MinneGrow process or not.
>
> My first reaction was to think:
>
>     "Another example of the Murrican penchant for needless gizmological
> complexification of an otherwise simple, natural process"
>
> when I saw that Minnegro heats the humanure up to 1500 degF, previously
> using petro-fuel to do so but modifying the process to use methane
> off-gassed from the humanure to reduce their petro-fuel consumption by 75%.
>
> The thoughts going through my mind were:
>
>  (1) Waste of fuel that could have been directed to other uses, letting
> organisms do the work instead
>  (2) Doesn't the heating to 1500 degrees effectively render the material
> lifeless ?
>      ie The reason I like to use compost is because it is full of living,
> beneficial bacteria and hopefully many worms. The temperatures in domestic
> compost piles seldom exceed 160 degF, plenty hot enough to kill pathogens
> that might be found in some manures.)
>
>      Wouldn't pelletised material that has been cooked at 1500 degF result
> in a dead material not all that dissimilar from the synthetic chemical
> fertiliser that creates the type of dead soil that requires perpetual
> additions of chemical supplements in order for plant material to look
> reasonably healthy ?
>
> I also remember years ago when the subject of the use of municipal
> bio-solids (aka sewage sludge from municipal treament plants) on farmers'
> fields raised howls of anger from many listmembers from some US states who
> claimed that pharmaceuticals, toxic chemicals from household cleaners, and
> heavy metals (from who knows where) were present in the municipal material
> and was responsible for all sorts of undesirable health issues experienced
> by people living downstream from where the municipal bio-solids were being
> spread on fields.
>
> Perhaps those complaints from the old days were what prompted Minnegro to
> heat their product to 1500 degrees ? If so, I would think that it would do
> little to address the issue of heavy metals. Not sure what it would do to
> the toxins from chemicals dumped into the municipal sewage by unthinking
> knuckleheads.
>
> Me ? I think that if I were using municipal compost on my vegetable gardens,
> I'd stick to using the stuff that is made from composted yard waste and
> reserve the stuff made from from municipal bio-solids for flowerbeds and
> such-like. Although, if a municipality allows the  use of herbicides and
> pesticides on lawns, then I think that I'd forego the use of municipal yard
> waste compost on my vegetable gardens as well.
>
> --
> === * ===
> Rob Tom                                 AOD257
> Kanata, Ontario, Canada
>
> < A r c h i L o g i c  at  Y a h o o  dot  c a  >
> (manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply")
>
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-- 


b e n j a m i n p r a t t

professor art+design
the university of wisconsin stout




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