So we've done family cloth... next, does anyone compost humanure?

[laohaire]

Just curious if anyone here has tried it, and if so, what your experience was.

I just finished reading the Humanure Handbook. As I knew full well I would, now I feel guilty every time I flush the toilet (goodbye gallons of pure drinking water). I mentioned to my DH that I was kicking myself for reading it knowing I'd feel that way, given we're not exactly going to start composting our crap, but he replies, "Why not?" LOL, so apparently he's open to it - minor reservations, but open to it.

We're not yurt-livers, we live in a small city with 1/3 acre. We have a small tumbling compost bin for veggie scraps, but if we do this we'll have to build a proper compost heap (which would be a relief, because the bin we have can't keep up with my scrap output anyway). I am considering adding privacy curtains to the back porch windows and putting a minimalist toilet there (5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat!). DH said it would be cold in the winter. I said that we could decide to move it into the bathroom in the winter if we want, or maybe we won't care - the porch is enclosed, just not heated. Not as comfy as the bathroom, but not bad at all. If there is an odor, even a faint one, we might prefer to just keep it out there. Then I don't have to carry it through the whole house to get it to the back compost pile to dump. But on the other hand, a minimalist toilet is VERY portable! We could move it inside. As a third option, I'm willing to use it less in the winter if it's a problem. I don't think everything has to be 100% - if we compost our crap only half the year, hey, that's a GREAT step. (I generally only use family cloth for #1, but I'm already happy since I've greatly reduced my toilet paper use).

So, anyone doing it? Anyone thinking about it?

[MoonStarFalling]

I'm interested in hearing experiences. I've been trying to talk DH into getting me a composting toilet for 10 years. It's been a long time since I read Humanure though.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by MoonStarFalling

I'm interested in hearing experiences. I've been trying to talk DH into getting me a composting toilet for 10 years. It's been a long time since I read Humanure though.

Definitely re-read. He's not against composting toilets but they aren't ideal. Do you have yard space for composting? If so, you don't need to spend money (and hence get DH's permission) on a composting toilet. Just a 5 gallon bucket (well, a few of them) and a toilet seat. Would he object if you did that and just used it yourself? Then he can still use the regular toilet. Who knows, he might even switch if he wasn't pressured, and if he sees it works pretty good.

For us, I think the biggest question is building up a proper compost heap. We can do it, I just mean it will be the biggest project for us.

I think we're really going to do it Just not sure when. Maybe in a month or something. (We have a number of other projects and such going on now).

[laohaire]

Bumping this up since there was interest in humanure on another thread.

For bcblondie -

"how do you "collect" the humanure?"

Sawdust toilet. The easiest way is to take a 5 gallon bucket (which you can buy at a hardware store, or, even better, score for free at a restaurant or grocery or something) and put a toilet seat on it (not the long style but the older and smaller style - and I guess you have to kind of turn the little things that go between the lid and the actual toilet so they fit the bucket right). Or, if you want to put in a little effort, you can build a nice looking box around the pail and mount the toilet seat on the box.

Then you need some material that will cover what you put in it - fine sawdust being the usual recommendation. I've heard of people using shredded leaves and such too. Apparently if you use enough sawdust, there's no smell.

"can you just assume that if it's been aging for a year that all pathogens are dead?"

Hmmm. I think you'd want to have some evidence that your pile is hitting a certain level of heat. Once you have some experience I doubt you'll have to be meticulous, but when you start you'll want to make sure you have a good enough size and composition to hit the magic temperature. BTW, the book goes into some interesting detail about how the goal isn't to kill every bit of pathogen, since in some cases that is counterproductive (opens a vacuum of sorts that other pathogens can move in on) but definitely to control the nasties and have a nicely balanced ecosystem going on in there. But all you really need is a thermometer and test it every now and then. The author of the book The Humanure Handbook did a fair amount of testing himself to ensure his process worked.

[bcblondie]

Very interesting! The temperature thing would be a hurtle for us for sure though. I'm in Winnipeg MB and it's below freezing for half the year. Minus 25 right now.  Our compost doesn't look frozen but I'm sure it's not at the temp it would need to really break down the pathogens... In which case I might have to let it age twice as long... and I just don't have the space for that.

This toilet also would be tough. Our main bathroom is small. No real room to have a 5gallon pail. And too cold outside, although it would be fine in the summer. Where's the privacy?! Lol. Poopin outside...

It would be easier to put some sort of bucket IN the toilet and bring it outside every time... I dunno.

[laohaire]

Hmm. I really don't know. I do know that Alaskans and Canadians compost their humanure, but I don't know if they tend to age it longer or what.

One thought is that a hot pile - and humanure piles apparently get hotter than the standard kitchen scrap pile - will be active for longer into the cold season. But yeah, at a certain level of cold it's going to go dormant.

I've heard of people converting their regular toilets to sawdust toilets, but I'd want to be 100% committed to that before going that far :) I've heard of people also draining the water from the toilet and lining it with a garbage bag. But that's for emergency measures and not for composting - and that sounds messy (I'd rather dump a pail of crap than a garbage bag of it) and then you have to dispose of the bag (you can scrub your pail but a bag? Eh.).

Well, the thing about humanure is - same with family cloth. It's not all or nothing. You can just do it in the summer if the pail doesn't fit your bathroom inside. If you only have space for two compost piles and want to age 2 years, you can do it 2 summers and then not the following summer. I'm just saying, if it really interests you, there are ways to go partway.

For me, I don't really have any hurdles left. I should just go for it. I have the composting space. I have the pile. I have a 5 gal pail and a place to put it. I have a husband who, while not excited about joining the project himself, won't complain about me doing it (and, honestly, if it works for me he'll probably be easy to convert). All I need is a toilet seat and sawdust. But I probably won't start in the middle of winter. Will revisit the topic in spring I guess.

[bcblondie]

My dh is pretty open to my wackiness lol. He thought family cloth was nuts too at first but he's come around. (specially since guys don't really need TP and I only use it for number 1's) It does save an insane amount of TP just using it for pee. Still, I wouldn't want to convert my toilet because I do enjoy having guests over and I don't REALLY enjoy defending all my weird crunchiness to everyone lol. A select few hear the extent of my wackiness. Like my one friend was saying just plain toilet paper clogs her toilet! Crappy toilet... So at that point I did suggest family cloth. But she was like uhh... Lol. Her sister was there too... like uhhhh... haha.

Anyways. I guess if I could be sure the pathogens are dead (as much as they should be) Id be willing to do this but with the cold I just can't be sure. Otherwise I'd add some this month and then just add regular stuff until next year... But then I'd still be nervous whether it's all dead. And I do intend use it on food plants... eep.

[laohaire]

Well, all I can say is - read the book! I had fun reading it. There are, naturally, a lot of crappy (yup, pun intended) jokes in there, lol. But also some very convincing science. The author does not use regular toilets in his home, not even for guests. Ya gotta admire a guy who stands behind his convictions. I worried about my extended family seeing the family cloth at first, but then I stopped caring. Last time my mother was here, she finally noticed it and said "oh, I get it, little wipes for DD's face and such?" And I was like "yeah, stuff like that" lol. But I do get a real chuckle picturing having my parents over and telling my father "ok, here's the new toilet" bwhahahaha! Yeah, not gonna happen. Anyway, I found the book very convincing.

[bcblondie]

Ok thanks. I will see if I can find the book.

[Smithie]

OK, my extended family has quite a bit of experience with this, as we own a camp together that is not plumbed and is heavily used in summer. 

Compost toilets are revolting. A bucket of poo on the porch is revolting. Composted human feces should never, ever be used on veggies -it's simply not worth the risk, not when you have flower beds to fertilize! We just fertilize the trees out in the woods, actually, and we're very happy with that. 

To live odor-free and not waste water disposing of your excrement, you need a full-on old-skool outhouse. This is, truly, the only way to keep children, pets and feces sufficiently separated at all times and avoid having your house smell like poo. The pit can be dug by hand in a regular-sized backyard. 

If you are not going to poo in the toilet, then you need to put on your boots and go poo outside. Period full stop end of story. 

[bcblondie]

Wait. What are you trying to say? Lol. Jk.

[SleeplessMommy]

We visit an organic farm where they compost humanure from the visitors (it goes on lawns not farm fields).It does use a fairly large amount of sawdust.

I don't think it will work in a city - you need a fairly huge compost pile to get the temperature right for safety, AND a field you can apply it to that your kids won't be playing on.

If your neighbors find out about the humanure pile.... well, you will be getting some knocks on your door, from officials of some sort.

[bcblondie]

Scary. Good to know.

[Smithie]

Another great feature of an outhouse - you can call it a "tool shed." When my parents put plumbing in our house the year I was 5, they actually converted the outhouse to a tool shed. 

[Momsteader]

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/742996 

Recent article mentioning humanure composting in a cold climate. Also talks about a single mama living in a yurt!