18 Comments
User's avatar
Jim Bourgeois's avatar

Thank you Jessica (and Joseph). 👍⭐️👍

Anthony's avatar

Excellent article

Jessica's avatar

Hope it helps!

Jim Bergquist's avatar

Valuable info, Jessica. Is the separate urine meant to be poured on the outdoor compost pile?

Jessica's avatar

Yep, you separate it to dry out solid waste and start composting in the bucket. Once it's in the hot compost pile outside, you can add the urine back in and let it absorb/evaporate naturally. I should clarify this. If you're just getting a compost pile started and/or have no other way to get rid of it, I've read that you can let urine evaporate in direct sunlight. Not ideal, but during an emergency, it beats pouring it down a storm drain, etc.

dj ellafine's avatar

Add the urine back into the bucket? Or into the outdoor compost?

Jessica's avatar
3dEdited

The compost. You can add urine to hot compost piles to help it stay moist. Or you can let it evaporate in a shallow outdoor pan, tub, etc.

You separate liquids and solids at first to help with smell and initial management. Once it's shrunk and mixed with cover material, and outside in your pile, it can handle moisture--even needs it.

Human Doing Being's avatar

Something for everyone to consider, Anti-depressants/ Anti-anxiety / Anti-Psychotics, etc, Chemicals that we're given are given in Massive doses just so that yhe Miniscule amount needed Can be absorbed & work. That means you're Urinating and Defecating out Massive amounts of those same drugs.

Birth control med overages cause problems with Reproductive Cycles in the eco systems into which they're released. Lower Birth Rates, Lower Conception, slower metabolozing in fungus' and microbes...

Same w Psychoactives...

Same w AMR's....

Start adding that up.

Source: ScienceDirect.comhttps://share.google/UVHNEkMhVm7aYPxY4

Pharmaceuticals in the Environment | UNEP - UN Environment Programme https://share.google/2RGbDMBkdDdWb6z1t

So, before you go jumping for joy about it all, Do be aware that if you're someone who's on Any of these, or someone you know is, that using your Humanure to garden with, or even just dispose of as extra bulk on the lawn, is going to have consequences that are damaging, and could make things Far worse.

Try watching "Connected: The Science of Everything, Episode Poop"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12816818/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Netflix's CONNECTED Explores Science in an Enlightening Way - Nerdist https://share.google/im38LjTodlRDcuJTV

Anita's avatar

When they say you can’t use human compost in the garden, I assume they mean a food garden.

crypldpunk's avatar

Hi! I have. so much to say about this, I've been thinking about this since this was recc'd in a covidsafe discord I'm in! It's comforting to have a sources to look to to try to keep our feet on the ground.

I'm scared and stressed as someone who's survived homelessness as a disabled person and is still clawing my way to stability, but I've always managed to survive by planning ahead and with research research research.

I'm really grateful..

I must also (maybe clumsily) bring up at the end here, I have a concern with the link to download Survival Illustrated - sadly isn't working on any of my browsers (brave, safari), saying "uses an unsupported protocol" + "ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH", even after taking down various shields and blocks. I would really love to have that guide and I worry about it not being accessible :(

Anyone else having this issue?

Jessica's avatar

I recently updated my domain and forgot to update the link down at the very bottom. Here's the new one: https://www.groundedaf.io/p/survival-illustrated

H M's avatar

I see the updated link to your site here but download link for the guide is not working

crypldpunk's avatar

same thing here! I wanted to give it a day or so..

Leslie Butler's avatar

And yet…..server farms……..

Janet Phillips's avatar

Great info. El Niño is about to hit. After tomorrow there isn’t a dry day in sight.

Eric Lortie's avatar

The time to pivot a bunch of things into doing things better was a while ago and now it's time for a variety of punches to the face by a variety of collapsing systems

Patrick Durack's avatar

Sounds practical. Hope we are a way from these problems in Brisbane Australia - but you never know. We have had droughts with severe water restrictions. "If its yellow let it mellow" ie. don't flush too often. Brisbane went from about 300-400l/person/day to about 140l/person/day. Mostly by cajoling not threats and fines etc. Egg cup timer in the shower. Low-rate fittings. No filling pools. Run AC drains into the pool. Bucket in the shower for watering. A lot can be done. Low sewer flows were becoming a problem though.

We are all a bit sensitive about dunnys. We have one in the bush (a yacht's head) with just a pipe down a steep hill for 25m or so. Flush with a hose. Been using it for nearly 10 years. Not full time - more a camping place but hardly any trace where it comes out. Nearest neighbour is about 1.5km though.

Ken Nikolaisen's avatar

Plumber here. Enjoyed the article. By every toilet there is a vent somewhere. There isn't always a window. Use the vent when you can. A pipe going through a window is not preferable if you have the vent pipe option. As a last, at first resort, just run the vent outside through the wall behind the composting toilet.🤟