The humanure thread

[Dunkopf]

It must have something to do with not being allowed to play with the stuff when you were a kid. I'm sorry but the idea of collecting the solid stuff is gross. Your own wouldn't be too bad, but collecting other family members would be.

The urine would be ok though. I could handle that one. I guess that means that I can use the greenhouse when the need arises. Don't tell my DW though.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

It must have something to do with not being allowed to play with the stuff when you were a kid. I'm sorry but the idea of collecting the solid stuff is gross. Your own wouldn't be too bad, but collecting other family members would be.

The urine would be ok though. I could handle that one. I guess that means that I can use the greenhouse when the need arises. Don't tell my DW though.

Well, with a bucket system, you do not actually handle it at all
Once its actually dirt again, no problem!

 

[Bethanial]

One thing I've always wondered about humanure: what if you or a family member is sick? Do you compost the liquid #2? Or make sure (how?) it goes in a different container/spot? I guess even though we think of vomiting in the toilet, that could be done in a separate spot quite easily. (Or should it be composted in there anyway?)

Humanure is something I've considered, but 1) I've got to be in my own place first, and 2) I couldn't get past the above questions.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Well, considering that the compost is aged for a year (at minimum) and goes through a heavy thermolithic stage for about a year before it begins aging, I don't see a problem with composting it.

If you do worry about it, then yeah, put it in a different spot. But then you have to worry about where to put it so any diseases aren't spread.

We will end up with 1 sawdust toilet and 1 flush (until/unless the utilites go out, then I'll be on rainwater and will NOT be flushing) Any squeamish guests or sick folks can use the flush.

As far as the liquid part, that wouldn't bother me a bit, sawdust is absorbant Just keep it covered.

If you are worried about what is in your compost, you can always have it tested.

You can also use it on fruit trees & berry plants without worries, because there is no contact with the edible portions. Or as was said before, bury it under a layer of clean mulch.

And yeah, Dunkopf, you aren't playing with it when its fresh, that'd be gross! 2 years after collection, you won't be able to tell it was poop

 

[animalfarm]

One thing I've always wondered about humanure: what if you or a family member is sick? Do you compost the liquid #2? Or make sure (how?) it goes in a different container/spot? I guess even though we think of vomiting in the toilet, that could be done in a separate spot quite easily. (Or should it be composted in there anyway?)

Humanure is something I've considered, but 1) I've got to be in my own place first, and 2) I couldn't get past the above questions.

The operative word here is COMPOST. A properly cooked compost will take care of any issues. The one thing you don't toss in the pile is meat. I wouldn't worry about vomit as you should be in a hospital long before you could produce enough to screw up the ave. pile.

When your compost reaches the dirt stage its all good. All that vomit going down a flush toilet is likely being processed somewhere down the line as well.

If you aren't comfy with the idea of "sickies" in the pile then by all means separate it out and dispose of it in a way that makes you feel better. Absolutely no doubts then, and your intentions are honourable.

 

[saraltx]

I also don't think being sick should be an issue, provided you let it sit long enough. Many infectious diseases can be spread by the fecal-oral route, that's why you're not supposed to play with uncomposted poop. It has plenty of bacteria that you don't want to ingest no matter if the person producing the poop was sick or not. But once it is fully composted, it is simply fertile soil.

As for smell, it's day#3 of my humanure project now, and I found out that as long as I cover it adequately, I indeed don't notice any smell. The dry leaves seem to work just fine. I imagine once temperatures get warmer again, it might require a bit more cover material to avoid smell. I'll find out eventually.

 

[Bethanial]

Thanks y'all! That's about what I had decided would be the case (heat in compost pile would kill bad germ bugs), but I wanted more opinions.

 

[animalfarm]

Many roadside and village toilets in non-tourist China are nothing more then a chicken roost on the edge of a field. You perch and your donation is collected for the fields.

The point is, that many food crops in China, are grown with humanure. North Americans are already partaking of the process and are simply unaware of it.

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Yeah, night soil, icky icky icky... Not a good thing and not at all the same thing as composted. Spreads disease and really doesn't do as much for the soil as composted manure. Runoff from raw manured fields is nasty.

This is one of those issues where you will always have people on either side of the line No worries, its what makes us human

Oh, but animalfarm, the folks at the humanure hacienda (Jenkins family) compost meat all the time. If they have a dead critter, they throw it into their one compost pile. They rotate through 2 piles, 1 per year for a family of 4. Their thoughts are that if it died from a disease, instead of leaving it for another critter to eat & get sick, compost it and kill the disease. They keep a wire cover over their compost to keep critters out.

Think about the forest floor. Birds & small mammals die, they fall the leaves and get covered by more leaves, branches & such. Bugs come in, eat what they want and the rest...rots. Nature doesn't even heat up her compost, she just ages it Isn't the best soil you have ever seen under old trees, where stuff has been piling up for years & years? There were dead critters in there at one time.