Converting "Waste" into Nutrients - Treating Household Organic Waste
We are making plans for moving into our new digs this fall, a 1000 sq. ft. highly insulated log faced home. We have decided to forgo a "sewage" system by not producing sewage. Instead, we will produce Humanure and Graywater. We read a wonderful review of various composting toilets that are on the market:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/features/mr/waste.cfm
Given our experiences with a variety of composting toilets, we have decided to use the Joe Jenkins Humanure system for our new home.
This report looks at how to best handle human biological waste, graywater, and food waste. The premise is that the current systems in predominant usage are both causing pollution and squandering potential nutrients. The focus is on composting toilets as a solution which is applicable at scales ranging from single family residential to cohousing developments to medium size commercial/institutional buildings. Sources for information presented include: Sherwood Reed, PE, a designer of constructed wetlands, and an expert on on-site disposal systems; vendors Tad Montgomery, David Del Porto, Bill Wall, Don Mills, Glenn Nelson, Allen White, Fraser Sneddon; Environmental Building News; writer Carol Steinfeld; Gap Mountain Permaculture Mouldering Privy Technical Bulletin; The Humanure Handbook, by J. C. Jenkins; various references and users. The report was commissioned by South Mountain Co., Inc. and Island Cohousing.. Its purpose is to assess the various manufacturers of composting toilets and decide which would be appropriate as potential suppliers for the 16 homes and Common House at Island Cohousing.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/features/mr/waste.cfm
Given our experiences with a variety of composting toilets, we have decided to use the Joe Jenkins Humanure system for our new home.