Hey Tony -- I'll bet I can "out earthy" you.
We save the urine instead of putting in the waste stream in the first place. We store it in 5 gallon pails and then use it for fertilizer. It is far better to spread it on top of the ground than to put it into the groundwater as nitrates via either a septic system or so-called sewage treatment plants because it ends up where roots can access the nutrients and microbes can have at it as well. I read in Organic Gardening magazine some years ago that the typical American produces more than enough nitrogen in their wastes to grow all the food they need. That has been my experience. Saving the urine avoids the health issues with fecal wastes (which I still resent losing to landfilling, but that is another story). Urine is the excretory route for most of the nitrogen not used by the body, which is processed into urea by the liver and filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. There are a lot of other useful things in the urine as well, as well as some that are agriculturally limiting (like salt). Most of the nitrogen in animal manure is from the urine, which in most handling gets commingled. We tend to do the same thing with ours, but source separation here at least lets us capture some important nutrients. So, save the toilet for the fecal wastes. Save water and nutrients at the same time! Joel At 06:21 PM 2/27/08 -0500, you wrote: >Reducing water consumption, whether in the "wet" Finger Lakes or the Mojave >Desert, is one of my goals. Besides taking relatively short showers, how I >wash my dishes, do laundry, etc are important areas to pay attention to. >Composting toilets, if you can afford it and zoning permits, is a big one. >Besides, in most of our toilets, at home & work, ( this may be earthier than >some might like) my flushing rule is: "if it's yellow, let it mellow (at >least a couple before flushing). If it's brown, flush it down." >Tony > > >On 2/27/08, Deb Eichten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > It seems to me the real issue is reducing water consumption, not > > necessarily the frequency of performing hygienic tasks. > > > > One simple option is to shower (or wash dishes) with the mindset of > > someone with limited fresh water reserves. As they say in the Navy, > > "time to give up the "Hollywood style" luxury shower." Instead, turn > > water on briefly to get wet, turn off while lathering, turn on for > > brief rinse. I found this to be a very effective technique when living > > in Mexico's high dessert where pure water is in very short supply and > > thus very expensive. My family also found the technique works well > > when camping; many campers use a "solar heated water cube" which > > usually holds only a gallon of water. Kids learn the value of water > > very quickly when you make them fetch 'n carry the fresh water supply > > from pump , or they have to wait for water to cycle through a filter > > before it is potable! > > > > Another tactic is to rethink the volume of water American toilets use. > > Anyone who has traveled internationally has seen that in many > > countries (even other Western countries) one deposits tissue in waste > > cans rather than using several gallons of water to flush. Dual flush > > toilets are increasingly available for those doing new construction or > > remodeling as are low volume flush toilet models. I have not done an > > ROI model on replacement costs, but am confident updating your > > existing fixture is worth the hassle. > > > > > > > > On 2/27/08, Simon St.Laurent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Another option, which may not reduce bathing but might reduce water > > > usage, is to collect your shower/bathwater in the tub and use a bucket > > > to grab it for flushing toilets. > > > > > > My sink also has an access port on the bottom of the U-trap, and > > > sometimes we put a bucket under there to capture water going through. > > > > > > It's super-simple greywater use, and not always convenient, but we think > > > it helps. > > > > > > Thanks, > > > Simon St.Laurent > > > http://livingindryden.org/ > > > _______________________________________________ > > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > > > [email protected] > > > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > > > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > > [email protected] > > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > > >-- >The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the >individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion. >Albert Einstein >_______________________________________________ >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >[email protected] >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
