Turning Human Poop Into Nutrients (YouTube)
If You Want Clean Water, What to do with Human Waste
Recycling human waste is a challenge in every hunting camp or beginning homestead. How do you have relief and sanitation without hassle?
Here are some lessons learned applying the Humanure Handbook by Joe Jenkins. What am I learning about human waste composting on the homestead?
- Human waste as fertilizer. The right human waste composting system captures nutrients. Every day you pee and poop out surplus nutrients that could be feeding plants.
- Locating your humanure compost bin. Before I knew how little humanure compost smells, I put it a long way from camp. It's a good five-minute walk from Basecamp to the dump each week.
- Large humanure compost bins are better. I'm using hardware cloth inside a cattle panel—about two cubic yards of space. You need at least one cubic yard of material for composting.
- Humanure is a low-water solution. This human-waste composting system uses no water, except for handwashing. Save your fresh water for drinking.
- Recycling human waste is easy. You can start with a bucket, a toilet seat, and sawdust. No expensive equipment required. There are no excuses for the cost-benefit.
This is the first time I've done humanure composting at scale. It's amazing how much waste is produced each week. With two people producing four five-gallon buckets a week, you don't have time to invent.
It's important to follow instructions. Joe Jenkins, author of the Humanure Handbook, offers a science-based approach that works.
Human waste composting systems are safe, clean, and effective. After a year of rest, you can use human waste as fertilizer without disease.
Human health sanitation is important; dry composting toilets are a valuable key. Have you tried humanure composting? What works for you and what doesn't?
