[Pil-pc-oceania] Human nutrients & Toilets & greywater systems

[Colin Endean]

Hi Julie, Tim, Len and Steve and all,
I suppose for the Pc Drylands Institute you're looking to the  
demonstration of functional systems that can be legally installed and  
hence the compost toilets.
 From the perspective of cycling the nutrients from humanure there  
are lots of much lower energy and lower tech solutions that can be  
safe, if you have a basic understanding of infection control  
principles and biological/microbiological systems.
Worm farms have worked well for me for many years, and some simple  
'hole in the ground' systems from my most recent desert gardening in  
Blackstone, WA.
We've recently (9 mths ago) installed a Biolytix system, at home in  
Burra, which is essentially a giant worm farm, receiving both grey  
and black water, separating solids from liquids on entry into the  
tank (via gravity) and then utilising the filtered water for  
subsurface irrigation.
Because from planning regulations we would have had to install a  
septic tank anyway and connect to the common effluent system of the  
town, the ability to capture the water and nutrients, and cycle them  
into our garden systems is delightful. It has been strange flushing  
the toilet again at home after so many years of not doing so and  
knowing the nutrient and water are going to a good use.
It was rediculously expensive and are fair bit of burocratic delays  
and an insistence on a totally unrealistic infiltration field (for  
our climate and soils) of 200 sq metre.
As a 'pioneer' I guess I was accepting the cost and believe these  
systems will come down in price considerably in the future. It cost  
about 2.5 times the septic tank option and less than installing the  
compost toilet which would have involved the building requirements as  
outlined by Tim.
So for a retrofit of urban or rural household, where sufficient  
garden & orchard area potentially exists (200 sq m) then I would  
recommend considering the Biolytix which has no heating element, uses  
biological systems for filtration and decomposition, aerobically,  
with a submersible pump for irrigating and a small fan for  
circulating air.

I know my sister (Kangaroo Valley, NSW) likes her Clivus multrum as  
do the Brookmans (Food Forest, SA) but both are in purpose built and  
designed installations as Tim outlined.

Happy nutrient capture and cycling!
Happy water capture and nutrient cycling!

And then a few months later,
Happy eating!

Cheers
Colin