Human Waste

[kalos72]

So...feces...urine...what to do with them in a T2k setting?

I have read you can compost human feces but it was very dangerous as it can carry diseases and such very easily. It seems like such a valuable ASSet to just discard out of hand. :P

Urine of course makes my gunpowder and fertilizer. :)

Anyone think about this before?

[pmulcahy11b]

I can't remember the process, but you can distill stuff out of urine that you can use to wash your clothes. And there's ammonia, which has a lot of uses.

Feces...well, if you spent any time stationed in Korea, you know that rice paddies are full of it, from many species, including human. Good fertilizer. Great mess on your boots and uniform.

[Matt W]

You can compost human waste, but you have to be patient - it can take a couple of years to complete the process. Alternatively, if you have enough waste, less time, and some concrete, you can harvest biogas (methane) a useful fuel

see

http://www.cityfarmer.org/biogasPaul.html

According to article above you also get a very useful byproduct

The effluent from the reactors is an odourless dark coloured slurry. The primary application of the effluent is as an agricultural fertilizer. Other applications include as a feed supplement for pigs, mushroom growing media, fertilizer for fish ponds, worm rearing media (the worms are then fed to chickens), and media for soaking seeds prior to germination

BTW, you can use methane aka biogas in diesel engines
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jan/27/biomethane-energy

[Webstral]

The big problem with feces is getting the survivors to treat it appropriately. Human beings are pigs by nature and have to be taught to manage their own waste once the flushing toilets don't work. This is going to be an immense challenge. Cholera and other related ailments are almost certainly the leading causes of death among the survivors--at least until things can get reorganized.

In coastal Maine [Poseidon's Rifles], getting caught improperly disposing of human waste earns a caning. Second offense is death. Cholera kills.

Webstral

[Brother in Arms]

It is really easy to compost human waste but it does take time before it can be used safely....as for pee...I think Id just not bother to use it for anything urine isnt a hazardous material.

All that being said there would probably be plenty of place to take a dump after the end of the world...I more concerned about the eventual loss of toilet paper. Its definitly one of the nicer things about civilization.

[Targan]

I'm glad upon reading this that this isn't a fetish thread :D

[headquarters]

I'm glad upon reading this that this isn't a fetish thread :D

I am out.

[headquarters]

It is really easy to compost human waste but it does take time before it can be used safely....as for pee...I think Id just not bother to use it for anything urine isnt a hazardous material.

All that being said there would probably be plenty of place to take a dump after the end of the world...I more concerned about the eventual loss of toilet paper. Its definitly one of the nicer things about civilization.

I read a survivalist book once , it was full of pretty useful tips -and some weirdo faaaar out rightwing religious adolescent gun fantasy babble -but still the tips were good .

Aparently good old phonebooks had a nice quality paper for the job and it was conveniently alphabetically organized (only a miniscule bonus I admit).

Hoarding these were considered prudent .

Other than that I have used my google foo and came up with this accurate and useful info :

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/572/what-did-people-use-before-toilet-paper-was-invented

ok..

I think the norse used the combination of a twigless stick and a clutch of dried out grass.( Gotta be twig-less -trust me ) .

On the other hand -so to speak - in some countries using you left hand for greetings our eating etc is considered a major no no.

It is "the dirty hand" .

As for processing the feces - I see the Chinese farmers have methane producing tanks of concrete below their pigpens etc into which they funnel the waste .It generates methane for their stoves etc and fertilizer for the fields/paddies.
Low tech -comparatively - and efficient use of resources.

Other than that I would also cane anyone shitting in the street outside my house. ( I have noticed that people tend to try and find a favourite spot when out and about -and I wouldnt want any build up in that traffic outside my domicile)..

all imho of course

[kalos72]

So composting feces isnt a problem them? I was reading articles that implied it should never be used for food production. I will look into that further then.

Whats this Poseidon's Rifles about?

[Adm.Lee]

Here's a link to a cartoon with reference to this subject: http://www.unshelved.com/2010-1-29 It's a very brief book review.

IIRC, in ancient Rome, urine was used for bleaching togas. That city also had buried sewers, fed by the river or aqueducts.

Other than that, I'd just make sure to drink upstream of everyone...

[Targan]

Urine can also be used for making cured leather.

[General Pain]

as a chemical-biological-bacterial weapon -

airdropped from airplanes - as done in the famous battle of Morro Bay,CA - by the freedom forces of GP in a struggle with the hated holnists....

Somewhere in this forum a cartoon depicting that "glorious" battle has been penned by our very own DeCorba.

[kato13]

Found this description of a composting toilet.

http://www.lut.ac.uk/well/resources/technical-briefs/63-using-human-waste.pdf

[waiting4something]

It is really easy to compost human waste but it does take time before it can be used safely....as for pee...I think Id just not bother to use it for anything urine isnt a hazardous material.

All that being said there would probably be plenty of place to take a dump after the end of the world...I more concerned about the eventual loss of toilet paper. Its definitly one of the nicer things about civilization.

Ah yes toilet paper, a.k.a. white gold. I can't believe that most people would try to do creative stuff with their crap and piss. I think most people would be smart enough to not sh-t to close to the house. Wouldn't that be good enough?

[Webstral]

I think most people would be smart enough to not sh-t to close to the house.

You'd think, wouldn't you? History shows us, though, that people regress to the level of canines whenever the social order takes a hit. Even civilized people can be careless with their feces to a degree that boggles the imagination. Field sanitation has to be enforced, even if you're not in the field. The first six months after the TDM are going to be really disgusting.

Webstral

P.S. That puddle in my avatar? That's not water. That photo was taken in a relatively nice part of Baghdad two years after the invasion. Even when people are inclined to do the right thing with their waste, city life presents big challenges.

[waiting4something]

You'd think, wouldn't you? History shows us, though, that people regress to the level of canines whenever the social order takes a hit. Even civilized people can be careless with their feces to a degree that boggles the imagination. Field sanitation has to be enforced, even if you're not in the field. The first six months after the TDM are going to be really disgusting.

Webstral

P.S. That puddle in my avatar? That's not water. That photo was taken in a relatively nice part of Baghdad two years after the invasion. Even when people are inclined to do the right thing with their waste, city life presents big challenges.

Yeah I heard that Iraq was a open toilet. Brown trot always floating along in the rivers and such. I hope it wouldn't be that bad in the West though. I mean they still wipe with their hand instead of using toilet paper over there.:disgust:

[FrankieFisticuffs]

I have a lot of experience with composting toilets. I went to an outdoor classroom school for three years. After a couple of months of wading into snowbanks to piss and shit we decided to build a composting outhouse. Basically, you do your business and add a handful of pete moss, vegtable matter or ash into the hole and turn a little crank. When the barrell underneath filled up we'd close it off and set it in the barn for...eh...maybe six months. Deposit some good earthworms in there if we could find them and leave it for another four months or so then BAM! Beautiful compost. We grew awesome veggies in our garden with it. The soil was tested by some manner of health inspector and was very clean and healthy. An important aspect of this process though, is controlling moisture content.

Also, my family cabin is equipped with one. While the compost it produces neither smells nor looks offensive we don't use it for gardening because we don't balance the moisture or give the pathogens much time to die.

Also, I have tried the dark ages method of washing clothes in urine and lye. NOT worth it. Yeah, it got the grease out after a couple cycles and actually lightened whites but the smell was awful.

[Webstral]

I mean they still wipe with their hand instead of using toilet paper over there.:disgust:

When, in fact, they wipe. Through binoculars, I've seen a few stroll down to the Tigris, drop trow, then hike 'em right back up when they're done with neither hand, nor paper, nor even a quick rinse to remove the evidence. (Shudder) There, but for the grace of God...

Webstral

[waiting4something]

When, in fact, they wipe. Through binoculars, I've seen a few stroll down to the Tigris, drop trow, then hike 'em right back up when they're done with neither hand, nor paper, nor even a quick rinse to remove the evidence. (Shudder) There, but for the grace of God...

Webstral

Just when you think it can't get any worse.....::eek: Oh well, atleast you can shake either their right or left hand without getting stink palm.:)

[kalos72]

Maybe it was just a really manly chick? :(