[Greenbuilding] fertilizer from human waste

Tue Jan 15 20:30:42 CST 2013

I am mixed on this. I have friends that use composting toilets that have
been composting humanmanure for decades and using it on vegetable gardens.
On a larger scale I find it positive that a country like china does not have
a large sewer infrastructure and is relatively free of consuming
petrochemical fertilizers. On the pessimistic side though I can only imagine
the total dregs of waste being dumped into soils.

So what do we do - we have a population that is pumping so many drugs and
chemicals into their systems and also flushing every possible dilutable
product down the system. Do we want to spread that everywhere.

Actually we already are already spreading it everywhere. So the question is
can we contain it, refine it, recover all the cool chemicals and metals and
then spread what is left everywhere? Can we be trusted to do that or will we
cut corners...?

We could have 'regulations' but then that means actually following
regulations and when have we ever done that? 

-----Original Message-----
From: Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org]
On Behalf Of Benjamin Pratt
Sent: January-14-13 12:09 PM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] fertilizer from human waste

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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