Ecological sanitation systems seek to to create “closed-loop” sanitation systems by working to make the nutrients from the output of human feces and urine available to input into agricultural uses (which then, by providing food for humans becomes “output” again).   Ecological sanitation methods also promote soil fertility without using chemical fertilizers and work to assure food security for future generations.

According to biointensive agricultural expert John Jeavons, “Each person’s urine and manure contain approximately enough nutrients to produce enough food to feed that person,” and ecological sanitation methods aim to capitalize on this value of human “waste.”  Ecological sanitation methods also aim to reduce the amount of soil, surface and groundwater contamination due to septic or sewage based waste disposal systems.

Composting toilets play an important role in many ecological sanitation based systems, as they are able to turn human and household organic waste into humus which can then be recycled into the environment in very beneficial ways.  The composting toilets used in ecological santiation systems can be either high-tech and low-tech, and both homemade composting toilets and manufactured ones have a role to play in this system.

The homemade composting toilet system developed by Joseph Jenkins is one example of a low-tech (and nearly free) composting toilet that is integrated into an ecological sanitation paradigm.   Joseph Jenkins has also long been an advocate for using the compost produced by these toilets (which he calls “humanure”) for agricultural purposes.  (For more information about humanure, read Jenkin’s book (available online) “The Humanure Handbook.”  You can also read a short article from this website entitled “What is Humanure and What Can I Do with It?“)

As long as the waste disposal system is a closed-loop system and beneficial to the environment, there are many different ways in which ecological sanitation systems can be organized.  Other possible elements that ecological sanitation systems can include are vermicomposting (worm composting), solar toilets, and in some cases, leach fields and planter cells (such as with an earthship design).

For more information, you can read Christine Werner’s excellent article on the topic, “Closing the Loop through Ecological Sanitation” (PDF file).  There are several EcoSan centers globally, including the EcoSan Center at the  Norwegian University fo Life Science UMB and EcoWaters in the USA.

For more information on toilet composting systems and for answers about frequently asked questions about composting toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.

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This ecovillage relied heavily on Joseph Jenkin’s humanure toilet composting system, sometimes referred to the “Five Gallon Bucket” composting toilet because, as the name implies, it involves using five gallon buckets to collect human waste (along with dry brown organic matter – we used sawdust from a local mill – and toilet paper).  This was a relatively new ecovillage when I joined it, and many members were strapped for cash as they were building their homes (out of strawbales, cob and other local, environmentally sustainable materials).

Jenkin’s composting toilets were cheap and easy to make (read more about how to build a composting toilet based on Jenkin’s design here).  So during the “pioneer phase” of this community’s development, humanure composting toilets were placed in various buildings and outhouses in the community and a rotational system was put in place whereby each member had a shift for emptying and cleaning the five gallon buckets into the humanure compost bins.  It is probably no surprise that this rotation was not very popular in the village.  Many members came up with often quite elaborate excuses to get out of the humanure rotation when their turn came up, and it was a source of considerable tension in the village.

Over the two years I spent living in this ecovillage, I had the personal “opportunity” to process the humanure on about twenty different occasions.   Missouri probably is not the best of climate situations in which to have such a toilet composting system (although the lack of building codes in the region was also what made it feasible in the ecovillage).  During the winter months the composting buckets (which were stored outdoors to limit odors indoors) would freeze and we would have to bring them inside to thaw out before it was possible to carry the dozen or more (often quite heavy) buckets to the composting bins located about a quarter mile away from where they were stored (there was a cart that could be used for this chore, but it was often broken, or difficult to use during the winter months when there was quite a bit of snow on the ground).  And during the hot summer months, the compost buckets became quite foul smelling and also very liquid in nature, so it was difficult to empty them into the bins without having quite a bit of fecal matter splashing onto your clothes and body.

Besides the physical strength needed to haul the buckets, the physical discomfort experienced when emptying and cleaning them, and the social tensions surrounding the humanure rotation system, there were other considerable health issues as well.  The five gallon buckets were stored in a single location as they were filled which was also near the main water cistern for the community.  The cistern, unsurprisingly, eventually became contaminated with E. Coli bacteria.   At community dinner time, I also often wondered if some of the flies that ended up in our kitchen might have visited the humanure composting heap earlier in the day as well.

All in all, you could say my experience with this system was not positive.  However, this does not mean I discount this toilet composting system entirely.  I believe many of the problems with the system at the ecovillage was due to poor decisions made by community members about where to store the buckets, how to deal with disposing of the waste, and so forth.  I also believe the community had long outgrown the usefulness of such a system, and should have invested the time and resources into developing an easier to use system that could deal with the growing population of the village in a sanitary method (I believe the community would have benefited greatly by investing in a manufactured composting toilet system using both self-contained and remote composting toilets in their facilities).

I do still believe Jenkin’s humanure composting toilet system has an important role to play in the toilet composting debate.  For single individuals (or very small family units) with little financial resources and a strong commitment to composting their waste, I believe the system may work quite well for them.  However, for larger family units and for individuals with disabilities, busy schedules, or a general desire to minimize their contact with unprocessed humanure waste, a manufactured composting toilet model should definitely be considered instead.

If you are interested in reading more articles about toilet composting systems, including micro-flush and vacuum composting toilets, and composting toilet reviews, please visit the Toilet Composting Homepage.

What is Humanure?

Humanure is a neologism (a newly coined word becoming more popular in common speech, but not fully accepted into mainstream language) that was coined and popularized by the writer Joseph Jenkins in a book he published in 1994 about composting toilets. Humanure is a contraction of “human” and “manure” and Jenkins uses the term to refer to the end-product of the toilet composting process.

Humanure does not refer to sewage or night soil (raw human waste often spread on crops in developing countries). Instead, it is fully composted human waste (along with additional carbon materials such as sawdust).  Humanure is  a extremely nutrient rich organic matter that is safe to touch and with no unpleasant odor.  In fact, it will resemble exactly the compost you produce from household and garden composting bins.

What Can I do with It?

Joseph Jenkins is a strong advocate of  using humanure as a soil amendment for both agricultural and non-agricultural uses.  You may not be aware of this, but human fecal matter and urine are both very high in important nutrients for soil health: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous.  Humanure has the same level of nutrients as is found in many synthetic fertilizers and in animal manures that you may purchase in garden stores.  Jenkins and other argue that humanure is an important human resource (and product) that can help diminish our reliance on synthetic fertilizers, and promote safe, organic agricultural output.

However, there is some quite some debate about whether humanure should be used on agricultural crops.  Humanure certainly does not have the health risks associated with night soil, and Jenkins and others have argued that it is completely safe to use on agricultural crops.  It is probably true that fully composted humanure is safe for agricultural purposes, and that the reluctance to use it this way in developing countries probably has more to do with aesthetics (what we might call the “grossed-out” factor) than with health and safety issues.

However, there is a valid concern raised by many health and agricultural specialists about whether users are fully composting their humanure.  Those who argue we should err on the side of caution point out that it can take two years or more for certain pathogens to be destroyed, and that users may not be waiting long enough to ensure the compost is completely safe.

But even if humanure is not used on agricultural crops, there are still many important uses for it as a soil amendment.  If you are producing humanure from your own composting toilet, you can use it on your flower beds, around trees (including fruiting trees, since there will be no risk to the fruit from humanure on the ground), on your lawns, for houseplants and almost any other area where you would like nutrient rich soil.

If you have more questions about composting toilets and are interested in reading more articles about their environmental, economical and social benefits, please return to the Toilet Composting home page.

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