My article in "Local Banquet"

Yesterday I received my copy of the summer issue of "Local Banquet", a regional magazine about locally produced foods. On page 22 was my article "Human Manure: Returning Fertility to Farms and Gardens", with a big picture of me, grinning, and a composting toilet. Seeing my words in print was a proud moment for me, and I'd like to thank Meg, Barbi, and Caroline for inviting me to write the article and giving me the audience of their readers.

If you got here by following the link from the end of that article, here are the resources I mentioned that I'd make available. And if you'd be willing to leave a brief comment, I'd really appreciate it--hearing from readers is what encourages me to write, and if I know folks are benefiting from what I write it will encourage me to be more prolific. If you register to follow this blog, then I'll see your little picture up in the corner of my screen, which will inspire me even more!

So, the resources:

Joseph Jenkins' book "The Humanure Handbook" is by far the most widely read book on the topic. It is available online for free at http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html It is inspiring and humorous, and a very easy read. Packed with information, it covers the health, environmental, political, and practical aspects of composting and reusing human manure. Jenkins has an extremely low-tech system worked out which he describes in detail, and which may or may not be your cup of tea. But even if his system is too rustic for you, read the book for the comprehensive background, and to be inspired!

"Liquid Gold", by Carol Steinfeld, is a slim and engaging volume that addresses the wonderful potential of pee, with descriptions of the historical uses of urine, it's value in agriculture, and examples of people using it as a fertilizer, with tips for getting started on a small scale.

A website with a wealth of downloadable publications and resources is www.ecosanres.org. There's lots of technical information here, applicable to both the developed and developing world. The website also has a discussion group, with people involved in projects around the world.

For an overview of the wide range in composting toilet technologies, I recommend two books. "The Composting Toilet System Book", by Carol Steinfeld and David Del Porto, describes a wide range of manufactured and home-built systems, and delves into the principles that make them work. "Lifting the Lid", by Harper and Halestrap, covers an even wider range dry toilet technologies, and does a great job of being systematic about comparing the various systems. It contains numerous case studies, which include some excellent and some very poor-performing systems.

Finally, there are three manufactured toilets that I recommend to people who are looking for a system to install. Not by coincidence, these are also the systems I work with professionally! While this surely implies a bias on my part toward these products, let me point out that the reason I began working with these systems was that I judged them to be the best in their respective classes.

The Phoenix composting toilet is a large unit that is the Cadillac of compositing toilets. The composter goes in the basement, connected to toilet stools in bathrooms on the first or second floor. You can find further information on their website at www.compostingtoilet.com.

The Separett can be found at http://www.separett.com/default.asp?refid=2146&id=2181&ptid=2052. It is a small unit that fits into the bathroom and has a special configuration that separates pee and poop before they ever mix. This keeps the compost drier and alleviates the moisture issues which create problems for most other small toilets.

Finally, the Full Circle Composting Toilet is the one I manufacture myself. It is half way between the Separett and the Phoenix in terms of size, cost, and frequency of maintenance. It has capacity for full time use by a family of four, and features advanced systems for handling liquids and solids, so that the owner never has to handle anything but mature, finished compost. Though I don't yet have information about this unit online, I'd be glad to discuss it with you.

All these systems stand out in three critical ways. They control moisture well, which is critical for odor control and effective composting. They keep the fresh manure away from the finished compost, so that when you harvest compost you only get what is ready. And they make great compost!

I hope these resources and recommendations are helpful to you. If you read any of these publications or use any of these products, I would be very grateful to hear your feedback!