My opinoin is. First we need to become a chemical free society. The amount of chemicals that find their way into the sewer systems is mind boggling. Next, human waste is safest when it is themphilically (I likley spelled it wrong)composted. The heat kills the pathogens. optimal temperatures are 131F to 170F.

I have been composting my excrement since mid 2005, with no ill effects. The Hunzas compost their humanure. Hunzas are known to be one of the longest lived people on the planet.
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It's not nice to fool mother nature.

I rather think that the Hunzas are long-lived because of what goes INTO them, rather than what comes OUT of them, though.

That is true but, have you ever heard of the life cycle. Plants pull nutrients out of the soil. Everytime a crop is hauled out, the soil looses nutrients. If those nutrients are not replaced, the soil become nutrient deficient, and the food grown in the soil also is less nutritious, leading to nutritional deficiency diseases. There are 84 essential minerals in our soil and about 20 vitamins. Plants can make vitamins but, cannot make minerals, the minerals have to be in our soil.

Hman excrement is very rich in minerals. When humanure is decomposed and returned to the soil, the nutrients are returned to the soil as well. When these nutrients are constantly added back in, the life cycle goes on like a wheel. The plants always have the right amount of nutrients therefore, the food is not nutrient deficient, leading to reduced nutritional deficiency diseases in the people who eat this food.

In America, we only add three nutrients into our crops. Nitrogen, Phosporous, and Potassium. We are literally flushing the other 81 minerals into the sewer, along with our health.
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It's not nice to fool mother nature.

Unfortunately we've become so 'civilized' that we are losing touch with nature. We take food from the earth and ingest and digest it and of course our bodies "naturally" want to return back to earth the deficit. Poop is good if treated properly and returned to earth in the right way. Unfortunately we Americans are a very ignorant lot. The earth is where all our food comes from. Let's give back to the earth what we took from it. Even the highly processed foods have their origin from the earth. We just messed them up... Hamburgers and fries etc.

In composting humanure, there is a right way, and a wrong way. We can't just throw our hands in the air and conclude that human waste is dangerous to use as a fertilizer.

Look at it like this, there is a right way and a wrong way to cook chicken or can foods. If chicken is cooked the wrong way, the result is salmonella. If food is not properly canned, botulism is the result. We don't throw our hands in the air and conclude that chicken and canned foods are dangerous. Why humanure then?

We spread cow, pig, and horse manure though. These animals are all mammals, just like us, so what is the difference?

I think that it is the fact that as children we were all taught to think of poop as a gross and dangerous monster, that must be banished from the earth and is virtually of no use.

Human excrement will kill and spread disease if it is mixed into a water supply, improperly composted, or used as night soil (raw).
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"-55F, a new record low? Nope, thermometer went bad. Looks like -50F still stands"

Very interesting, H1. You've obviously spent some time thinking about this. How do you propose that we go about this? Should we (1) shit in a pile of leaves and wait until it breaks down, or (2) shit in a hole, throw in the seeds and then fill it up?

Lol Deja Poo.

I feel that the sewage plants should adopt a safe system of composting sewage.

My system utilizes a flush toilet/motorized and heated underground composting unit. I still flush everything down a toilet. But instead of everything going to the sewage plant where the solids are incinerated and pollute the air, and the treated water is dumped into a nearby river causing massive fishkills, my waste simply is collected in an underground box. Grass, leaves, and kitchen waste is added. Temperatures are kept at 131F of higher. This system works surprisingly well.

Some Mid Western communities are composting humanure on an industrial scale. Most of it is used to fertilize fruit trees.
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"-55F, a new record low? Nope, thermometer went bad. Looks like -50F still stands"

my neighbors have a raised garden area over there septic tank which on occasion bubbles up to the surface of this garden but not necessarily when they have vegetables in it . They gave us some veggies out of this garden and I'm not sure if they are safe to eat. Ant comments??

From when I was born in 1924 to 1945 I ate fruit and vegetables fertised by composted human waste. Our house had no sewer. The waste (shit)was mixed with bonfire ash. My father dug a two spade depth trench filled it with leaves and plants with compost on the top. Potatoes were planted on the compost, and covered with soil drom the next row. For other plants the compost was covered by soil for a few inches and the seeds planted. The roots soon penetrated into the compost.

I am almost 84 snd have always been very healthy all my life.

Human sewage has been composted on an industrial scale for a long time now. Because of lingering fears, most of it is used in commercial applications such as golf courses and plant nurseries. One of the first sewage authorities to market the waste was the city of Milwaukee. Their product (Milorganite) is widely used today. Other authorities have also gotten into production, but I believe Milwaukee claims to have the best due in part to the amounts of waste products coming from the brewerys that enters the sewer system.

I have been wishing to enter composting on an industrial scale of Human sewage a long time now to get a source of affordable fertilizer for our farmers, and to cut down drastically the polluting of our streams, oceans as we normally dump these wastes in into the water ways and sea in Africa. any Idea on how to go about it?
Thanks.

I am trying to find out how to simply and safely turn my own poop into fertilizer for my own garden. I'm not very scientific (so please no intricate stuff - just the laymans version)...i just want to know how to do it easily.
Can someone please point me towards some simple instructions? A website?
Thanks

don't know.......Go to the following website and you might find some useful information.

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/234/1/Composting-human-waste.html

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

I read somewhere long ago that human poop is not good fertilizer because of the additives that we eat. We ingest so many extra chemicals that go right through and end up in our b.m.'s that adding all that to the soil would be a problem. I have trouble believing that; certainly in my own case, I eat lots of fresh veggies, fresh-baked bread, etc., and I can't imagine much extra chemical being in there. In any case, if my digestive juices break down the food, they should break down most of the chemicals, too. I say, if you have it and can incorporate it into the soil safely, do it. (I don't think crapping directly into the soil is good, though; too many bacteria are still there and can contaminate what you plant. The manure has to be composted, which kills the bacteria.)

PoopScoop you might want to ask Dave if the vegetables are safe.
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Russell the shitting queen

I should like to add to this discussion that I lived in Japan for eight years back in the days when untreated poop was commonly used as a fertilizer. I lived mostly on the Japanese economy and totally spurned the military advice to eschew the local produce because it was grown with untreated human waste. I recall the healthiest period of my adult life and the fact that most of the Japanese I met in my daily life were exceptional specimens of good health.
There are probably dangers involved in eating veggies produced this way but I can't help but think they are probably blown out of proportion.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

i remember asking my dad when i was younger about using our own poop and he said something like that the japs used it and i think he said something like you will get the chitters but not real sure if it was chitters or something sounding like that.

Well now ralph rosporski.....First of all the average Japanese likes being called a Jap about as much as you enjoy being called a bohunk or a dumb Polack. The more acceptable term to use is 'Japanese' or 'Niponese'. Now that the formalities are out of the way human waste is an acceptable fertilizer once it has been composted.

I ,personally, will not worry about contracting the 'chitters' until I know what they are.

PS: My Japanese wife is pissed off at you.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

Beacause some people have crappy dispositons and others are full of crap and because a few do not give a crap while others have shit for brains, we simply should not consider all humans as being a good source for fertilizer.

Yeah, that was me until I had an eyeondectomy, thats where they cut that cord between your eyes and your asshole that give you such a shitty outlook on life- since then,it's all good! As for fertilizing the soil, do ya think that mother nature is really that sophisticated that it can determine between human shit, dog shit, ape shit, pope shit etc. when selecting adequate nutrients?? Asses to asses, turds to turds.

RRS, you mention the eyeondectomy.
I've heard that referred to as an "optrectomy". Its a delicate operation that severs the nerve that joins the eyes to the arsehole.
This is one that I would whole-heartedly recommend to many of Sydney's rail transport employees.
(Obscure? Not from my perspective).
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The white zone is for loading and unloading only- FZ.

On a different note, I am currently working on understanding how septic systems work. I've just moved house to a place that does not have the sewer connected, and has a septic system. It has a main tank, underground, which dribbles into another tank (also underground) further down the back yard. This second tank might be some kind of grease-trap or something; I'll have to do some research.
I've noticed that the grass grows very green in this village, so I think theres something to be said on the benefits of humanure.
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The white zone is for loading and unloading only- FZ.

This link might help some of you make up your minds.

Shits On Tomatoes has a link to a book on composting, posted directly above, that will give you the straight poop. You can read the book online for free.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

The most prominant problem with the use of human waste as fertilizer is that the present known processess of filtering and treating human waste DO NOT remove pharmasuiticals. Many people both flush unused drugs and urinate them on a daily basis. Heat alone does not nuetralize the drugs. therefore we will be transfering these drugs into out food. bad idea..

Health Guy.....Water purification plants also do nor remove these drugs...we are already drinking them so we might as well eat them too.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

Hi Folks
Seen your questions on proper composting of human effluent.
Oddly enough the book by Mr Jenkins 'Humanure'
a very wide selling title does NOT give the fastest or safest way to compost human effluent. Whuile I was in the States I called him up to tell him this. '....Sorry Mr. Jenkins.....'

If we want to save our food source from being depleted as many of you mention please keep watching this site as we will shortly be able to give you the link to our new Web Page which will be released very soon.

Or in the mean time you can write to me. We are about to launch a seminar facility in London for this which is aimed at raising interest for Jobs in the industry in Africa and other countries as we wake up the world to where our nutrition is going.

We currently have orders for 3,000 sustainable homes and 60,000 toilets.
Our system originates from the Albert Howard works on THE LOST SCIENCE OF ORGANIC CULTIVATION. This title is available from me priced at $30.00 including postage. I am setting up a pay pal account to make it easy for you guys.

Also One writer said please tell me the easy way to deal with human waste. Other than shitting in the woods and covering it up you can't. The composting has to be done properly. That is what this book is all about. It is easy when you know how, but it is not for idiots or people who don't know what a toilet is.

Richard Higgins. email: rhigginsdg2@yahoo.co.uk
World leading technology on how to compost obnoxious wastes for use as fertilizer for food plants. The system will be known as the HOWARD-HIGGINS system.

How is it that it's O.K. for all the other species of inhabitants on this planet, shitting in the woods, and covering it up (or whatever their particular behaviour may be) works as "natural"; but when it's human waste, it needs to be "done properly"??
Beings have been shitting and contributing to the natural "organics" of our world since the beginning.
All of the things that are created are a product of this natural evolution; the real issue is that it is in an imbalanced state. Too much of it is human (overpopulated), and at the same time, many species disappearing and becoming extinct (a result of human interference)- I suppose we could create a new world economy based on remanufacturing our waste, but this time, lets not choose things like gold and silver to back our currency; lets use something more in abundance such as Dandelions!

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It's O.K., We just have to smell it; He's got to sit in it!

The idea of using a ready and inexpensive source for fertilizer would be great, especially in this time of economical crisis. Worm casting and Horse Manure, is getting pretty pricey. Plus the adding of other nutrients is kind of tedious. Nearly 85 minerals and three of which we add consistently are in the waste that we flush away. Why not save that hassle of re adding of these nutrients and use a source of which they are already available. And besides , apparently "Humanure" has been used for centuries with no ill side effects, except longevity.

I must agree with Fred.....We can't be protected from virtually every possibility of disease in the world. Just like taking controversial medicines, the benefits must be weighed against the risks. When I lived in Japan they were still fertilizing crops with uncomposted human waste, they still looked healthy and had longer life expectancies than we did.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

It's not the enemy. Both piss and poop will work with fantastic results in your lawn and garden. As long as you are not on chemotheraoy or ingesting phamacuticals that contain trace elements of toxic chemicals (ask your doctor)there is no reason you can't start a whole new regimine. You may still want to use your toilet from time to time both for convienience and to keep your plumbing from rusting up. Collect your droppings in a pail with a quart of water, ashes from that last bbq or bon fire, & a small (tbsp) of lime. Dump it into a small trough or hole in the ground near the area you like to work the land. Add soil and other composting nutrients like leaves and grass trimings. If your lawn is looking weak, add some 50/50 (sand to mixture as earlier described) and spread it on a 10' x10' test area so it adds 1/4" of Top Shoile. Water it in with a light sprikling and wait 3 days. If that zone is way greener and growing big-time, you are on to it. Work the pp thing into your citrus and pepper plants. Works well with tomatoes too. Just add water at 3 or 4 x the amount of wizz you caught in a jar. I use rain water...(free). Use a plastic cup to wizz in if you are prone to dropping glass items. It takes a little practice to get good at this stuff, but you can "do" it. It's free, it's a "Green" compliant action, and it will save you a bunch of water down the drain. As for tp, use as little as possible, compost friendly types are better than the kind that are hard to dissolve. Test a few sheets in a pail of water to see if they dissolve within a minute of soaking, followed by a stirring action with a stick. If they break up into little paper fragments, you have the right stuff. Once you get a feel of how much area to commit to this activity, it gets faily easy to take care of business and "do" some gardening while you're at it. Happy Harvests!

I have thought many times of using my own poop as fertilizer; have done it only very rarely. I wonder: does used toilet paper burn well? I think it might; just put it in a burn barrel (where and when it's legal to burn, of course) and see what happens. Burning sould surely kill any bacteria left on the paper.

It's amazing to me how plants and animals depend on each other. We eat plants that produce oxygen for us to breathe. Then we exhale the co2 that they breathe, and shit out the nutrients that they need. Talk about 'circle of life'.

Well, since my last post here, I've learned a bit about the septic system and the grease trap idea.
The runoff pipe from the grease trap is busted/blocked, so the previous owners were pumping it out down the yard.
Turns out the water from the shower and the kitchen sink and the washing machine all empty into the grease trap. Anywhere I move the pumpout hose to, that area turns greener than where it hasn't been. There must be something good in that water...
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The white zone is for loading and unloading only- FZ.

BM.....Most soap contains phosphates which are very good fertilizers. When I lived in the country I had a drain going from my washing machine to the portion of my garden where I grew tomatoes. It was strictly illegal but you should have seen the tomatoes I grew.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

Human poop MAY be ok, but the problem with large scale human fertilization is that the "fertilizer" comes from big city systems and contain a lot of other stuff (including hypodermic needles, condoms, etc). Also, with the average American diet the way it is, there is no telling what is contained in other people's poop!!

Pansies would be pretty growing out of the toilet tank. I think that I would end up making a big mess and a toilet that won't flush. Cute idea though.
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...And their flesh like dung. Zeph. 1:17