Ya know, ya never get too old to learn somethin' new. Thanks Joel. Tony On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 1:02 PM, Joel and Sarah Gagnon < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 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 > -- 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
