Cob: Re: Blackwater systems, plus a humanure question

[William Lewis]

Warning: opinionated statements ahead. . .

I just read "The Humanure Handbook" (avail through amazon.com) and am
impressed with the ultra-low-tech, cheap, and effective (read safe) method
of composting human waste. The Earthship concept is impressive, too, if you
don't mind what seems to me to be an incredibly complex array of
technologies and gadgets--but perfect for the engineer-type person with
money to spend. Just read the explanation below of the myriad steps in the
grey/black water process! I for one want to get back to the land and
simplify my life, not make it more complex with systems upon systems.

But I'm just speaking for myself, and I'm not trying to knock the Earthship
people for their efforts, which are considerable--and they certainly have
their heads in the "right" place. There is a place for every eco-soul in the
sustainable building movement.

If you all (English needs a plural form of "you") haven't already done so,
you owe it to yourselves to check out The Humanure Handbook before deciding
on an expensive treatment system.

Here's a question to all humanure composters out there: what experiences
have you had with the local building code/health bureaucracies? This was not
well addressed in The Humanure Handbook.

Being that officialdom is more easily impressed (enthralled?) with high-tech
solutions for everything (a condition of the mind that affects most
Americans), I imagine it might be more difficult to win over those people to
the composting concept than the idea of building with straw. I think it's
worth the effort, though. Anyone else think so?

Bill Lewis

-----Original Message-----
From: abigail taitano <purplecloud at usa.net>
To: Coblist at deatech.com <Coblist at deatech.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 07, 1999 7:24 AM
Subject: Cob: Blackwater systems


>Has anyone thought about using or intergrating a earthship cathchwater,
>greywater, blackwater, usage and containment systems. Iam particularly
>intrested in the blackwater system. A very short explanation goes like this
:
>Water that is reclaimed from your greywater system(i.e.shower, sink)is used
to
>flush a low flow toilet which in turn goes to a septic tank that is above
>ground in a south facing solar furnace if you will, the added heat
increases
>the anereobic decomposition,from there it goes into a series of contained
and
>sealed planter box cells, the water is slowly filtered through the
different
>cells, number of cells depends on number of useres, the end product has
been
>tested very low nitrate levels and alot more pure than modern sewage
treatment
>plants drainage field water. Any comments ? Check the earthship pages for
more
>detailed info.
>
>
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