Last week flattires and I had the opportunity to attend
theNESEA Building Energy Expo in Boston. After
struggling to make the bus and train schedules work
given our geographic location and complicated schedules,
we gave up and took Flattires Fat Ride. This
amazing machine in incredibly fast and comfortable..
beats the hell out of a RIPTA bus...
and soon to be Veggie Powered!
Anyhow, the show has changed a bit over the years, from
a hippy-dippy/grassroots showcase to a blend of the same
hippys but with some major brands showing up to hawk
their wares. This year there was a much larger contingent
of evacuated tube solar thermal collectors and ground
source heat pumps.
I was interested in solar thermal panels for both solar
domestic hot water (dhw) or for heat addition to the
Garn wood boiler heat storage tank. I quickly realized
that a dollar is better spent on efficiency first, then
wood fired equipment, then solar thermal, then PV or wind last.
While we were wandering around the show we came across a
couple different'interesting' technologies to be sure.
One in particular was the composting toilet displays.
For those unfamiliar, these are giant dumpster-like
devices that sit in your basement to receive your.. um...
wastes and end up turning them into compost... for your
garden. Now, I'm all for help saving the
enviroment and all, but I don't see how recycling my sh*t
will do that.
So, we asked the young intern standing gleefully
next to the display.
Here's my interpretation of the conversation:
FlatTires: "Hi!, So.... um... what is this
thing?"
B-Girl: "Its a composting toilet.
You make your....um... deposits up there, and
after 2 years you take out fresh 'compost' out
there. It helps remove valuable nitrogen from
the waste stream and puts them back into the
local ecosystem."
40oz: "Err... does the building code even
allow these things?"
B-Girl: "Yes! Mass building code allows them,
here's the excerpt"
(Hands 40oz a laminated brochure)
FlatTires: "So, you can just run a standard
4" pvc pipe to this thing?"
(pointing to the dumpster sized plastic tank)
B-Girl: "Nope you need to place the commode
directly over the receptacle, wiht a 12" pipe
connecting them"
FlatTires: " Hrmmmm.. Interesting. So, heres the
real question: Do you have one of these in your house?"
B-Girl: "Well, actually I don't, I use a bucket!!!"
(40oz and FlatTires exchange amused and bewildered expressions)
40oz: "So.. you live on a boat or something?"
B-Girl: "Nope, I do alot of, um, travelling in my
egetable oil powered pickup truck, and take a
bucket with me. I go about a week with it, then empty
it in a friends composting toilet when my travelling
schedule allows."
FlatTires: (Speechless)
40oz: (Speechless)
At this point, the wheels are spinning in my head...
let's see, in the lucrative market of composting
toilets the interns live in the truck, and use a bucket for
a sh*tter.
After that Flat Tires asked a couple more questions,
but I had a hard time keeping a straight face let
alone pay attention. Don't know how FlatTires managed it.
Note to self: Never play poker with FlatTires.
Obviously BucketGirl was very passionate about living
minimally. I have tons of respect for anyone that dedicated
to just about any 'cause', no matter how little
I understood it. Yeah...even I would probably draw the
line at a composting toilet. Maybe the civil engineers in
the crowd will comment and explain why my septic system
doesn't put nitogen back into my soil???
Anyhow.. even if i ever did get that nutty
about soil conservation, I'll just take a sh*t
on the compost pile!
4 comments:
I think B-Girl may have missed the boat on some of the features of a composting toilet. Common domestic waste produces more than enough nitrogen to provide composting-type quality....usually too much. Both the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) have promoted the use of innovative/alternative technologies for septics in order to reduce the level of nitrogen. These denitrifying systems are definitely not your traditional gravity-fed septic tank and trench leach field. These bad-boys cost 3 times the average septic, require power for multiple pumps, and a dedicated phone line in order to adjust the pump settings remotely. Not to mention they look terrible in your yard because they have so many access ports and above-ground components.
The biggest problem is that domestic waste has such a high level of nitrogen that coastal areas in particular are seeing substantial eutrophication within the coastal waters due to the combination of septic leach field waste and lawn fertilizer. I hardly believe that the composting toilet is being used for its eco-friendly solution.
I think that Ms. Bucket Girl may have missed the most common application for a composting toilet. RIDEM is requiring these composting toilets on smaller lots that have site constraints (i.e. high groundwater table, small lot area causing reduced setback between the septic leach field and well, etc.) The composting toilet takes all the solids and substantially reduces the waste concentration by separating the poopy (that's a technical term) from the grey water (laundry washer, sink, shower). The grey water then goes to the septic leach field and is much better for the groundwater supply quality and overall environmentally.
Sorry to get technical, but you asked. This composting toilet is not effective for people like Bald Boy Wonder who like to poop in the shower. So, don't buy one, BBW.
I honestly can say that I have never pooped in a shower or shower stall, or even a sink or urinal. I know this may be a surprise to some, but it is true.
GUDG! Thank you for responding.. I knew something smelled funny(hehe) with all of BucketGirl's claims of saving the world through Poo.
I was going to say everything that GUDG said (to the letter), but I figured I didn't want to show up Mr. "I-went-to-school-for-this-sh*t-AND-I'm-on-the-friggin'-conservation-committee." I'm very proud to have taken the high road.
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