WASTE PROCESSING SYSTEM:

Collection Pit Privy:
Introduction of toilets and indoor plumbing required much more planning and expense when personal preferences allowed for a move away from outside toilets. Outside privies were closed shelters providing a wooden platform over a collection pit. Crude or well-fashioned "holes" were fashioned in the seating surface. Most were single-hole privies with a few being two-holed privies. Urinal troughs or channels were seldom provided. Covers for the holes were optional.

OUTDOOR TOILETS were more and less convenient.
If you were outside, it was unnecessary to enter the house, remove shoes and work clothes and then proceed to the bathroom. If you were sleeping indoors, it was necessary to dress or put a robe on, shoes or boots, and carry a light to the outdoor abode. The benefits and disadvantages were both greater in winter when snow, slush and mud separated indoors from out-of-doors. Rain, also complicated evening and night visits when the trek from residence to privy had to be made. Flies, and occasionally wasps, might collect in the pit and provide distraction to the seated user. This was more noticeable if the pit were somewhat open to the outer air. Otherwise, odors within the shelter would be stronger.

COLLECTION PIT MANURE (stool, paper, urine) was removed several times during the year and spread over fields together with the usually much more abundant cattle, fowl, or swine manure. The manure, cultivated into the soil, raised crop fertility and yield. In urban regions, the "outhouse" pit contents would be tilled into the garden soil. A well-planned waste pit was lined with straw to absorb waste liquids and assist in their transfer to soils for cultivation. Such soil nutrients would otherwise be lost through leaching into the soil around the privy.

Septic System or Sewage Lagoon:
Then along came indoor plumbing and indoor toilets.
Now, a great increase in waste water had to be added to provide mobility and transport the human waste outdoors. The, it either had to be collected in a closed metal tank or concrete cistern, or, the resulting flow of sludge would create an unsightly and highly odorous mess, or, it would contaminate the water table. Several alternatives developed with individual household and community advantages. Efficiency demanded good design, knowledgeable use, and self-discipline. Well, how is one out of three?

BACTERIA present in the urine-water-stool mixture will naturally --- yes, naturally --- decompose the solids in a sewage lagoon WHEN allowed sufficient air AND protected from substances which kill bacteria. A sewage lagoon is a large artificial (constructed) lake-like structure into which sewage wastes are pumped. Usually the sides are built up of soil but they can be made of concrete supported by gravel fill. Much research and experience has consistently demonstrated this. The result is a runoff of relatively clean water from the overflow.

AN EXAMPLE:
A personal experience exposed me to this research in the late 1970's when a new community was having to decide between using a sewage lagoon system, or, a municipal septic system. At the time, NONE of the municipal officials, and NONE of the townspeople --- save one fellow who was not me, knew the reality. And no one save myself checked it out. The town voted in a sewer system at a projected long-term cost which exceeded that of the sewage lagoon option by more than 400% (that is, 4 times greater). Would the awareness of your community be any different today?

SEPTIC TANKS and CISTERNS require a "breather" inlet.
It must be kept free of dust, insects, small animals and other obstructions --- usually by means of screening. This enables oxygen in to feed the bacteria and carbon dioxide and methane to exit.

OVERFLOW OUTLETS must be provided for the overflow waters and this has been best accomplished with the addition of a weeping bed. That is, a network of below ground surface porous tiles or tubes which are lain so as to effectively distribute the overflow waters over a large "bed" of soil. The size of the bed is important in that if it is adequate, the ground area involved will neither subside or become muddy from too much moisture. Essentially the water is distributed into the soil, percolates down through the soil for additional cleaning, and, enters the water table. Several difficulties have arisen with the increasing density of populations and the increasing use of chemical industry products.

LAUNDRY CONSIDERATIONS:
When laundry was either accomplished out-of-doors or the laundry waters were thrown out-of-doors, septic tank systems were healthy. Yet almost with the introduction of septic tank systems, it seemed needless to continue to throw the wash water out the back door when a drain was taking away the toilet flushings. So bath, dishwashing and laundry water, also called "graywater", were additionally funneled into the "drain" and the result was forgotten. The chemicals in most soaps act to suffocate and kill bacteria.

IF YOU KILL THE BACTERIA IN A SEPTIC TANK, the normal decomposition process stops. When that stops, the tank simply fills up, the weeping bed tile may become clogged, and high bacteria count waters may be drained off into the soil ... and may end up in the groundwater ... from which well-supplied drinking water comes. Hopefully, before the process progresses this far, the owner-user of the tank either empties their tank or calls a septic tank "cleaning" company to come and haul away the piped- and dug-out sludge.

A SIMPLE DESIGN SOLUTION would be to design a second drain into the residence to remove the wash water to a dry well (see earlier description of). Since this added some additional cost, planning and complexity to the residence --- it was foregone. The modern bandaid solution is to add a container of fresh, concentrated, powerful bacteria to the tank on a periodic basis, and hope the detergent-soap modified runoff does not contaminate the groundwater too much.

SAFE INSTALLATION of a septic tank for waste disposal is of great importance to the health conscious and hypersensitive person. In regions where their is very little topsoil, the predominant surface material is gravel, and the water table is shallow (less than 50 feet), --- use of septic tanks by a small community (30 or more families) in a small region (total settlement coverage of less than 1/4 square mile) will likely contaminate the water table with disease-producing levels of bacteria. Within the settlement area the quantity of percolation material (gravel) available for the purification of the septic tank runoff waters (which may not be from "healthy" tanks) may become inadequate. The choices then become:

1. everyone trucks in drinking, cooking and wash water (costly);

2. some people move away and no one else is allowed to settle
   (unlikely ... calls for planning and group self responsibility!);

3. modify the present disposal of one's graywater separate from one's sewage (costly, also calls for planning and group self-responsibility);

4. everyone randomly adopts one of the above, and, recurrent mini-epidemics occur;

5. install a municipal septic system (grossly expensive with high user indebtedness for 20+ years, little change in present habits, property value increases, settlement increases, pollution increases, health conscious people have to move --- most likely to succeed option).

In other words, AVOID this type of "small town" location.
Septic tanks are good disposal systems, when used with an awareness and appreciation of their limitations.

Sewer System:
The disposal of human waste by common shared drains in density populated settlements has been a reality for well over 100 years. The benefits and disadvantages of such a system have changed little since its beginning. The major change has been in the degree of user/public awareness of these factors. With the increasing evacuation of agriculturally-based populations into municipal areas, such families have forgotten the importance of the environment which once provided all their food and for many of their needs.

The disadvantages of municipal sewage systems include:

1. large quantities of water are removed from the water table for flushing;

2. over decades ... water tables drop deeper underground;

3. groundwater sources for dairy and beef farms diminish in availability;

4. fertilizer and humus nutrients are not returned to the soil;

5. soils providing urban food supplies become increasingly thin and infertile;

6. mass production urban efficiencies promote mass production farming;

7. mass production farming removes variety: disease resistance decreases, pest infestation increases, soil depth decreases, pollen and dust concentrations increase;

8. chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides are used to hide unhealthy production practices;

9. produce destined for urban areas increases in internal and external concentrations of concentrated (unhealthy) chemicals;

10. pollen concentrations increase and facilitate the growth of allergic populations;

11. urban populations become completely ignorant of food production and completely dependent upon mass production agriculture --- which faces decreasing soil depths, lowering water resources, decreasing natural disease and resistance.

12. installation requires drainage pipes which slope down to a treatment facility;

13. lack of sufficient elevation drop creates a reliance on electrically driven pumps to keep waste from backing up and clogging the system;

14. land subsidence from earthquake or lowering of the water table creates repair necessities, difficulties and costs;

15. tree root breakage of, clogging of, and movement of sewer drains creates additional unplanned expenses ... often for the user directly;

16. taxation-financed installation costs may extend for 40 years;

17. a large, costly, treatment facility demands permanent expense and taxation;

18. common septic and drainage systems encourage the transfer of cockroaches and other pests between residences.

The Advantages of municipal human waste treatment systems are:

1. enables higher concentrations of healthful populations;

2. waste which is out of sight, provides no concern or anxiety;

3. taxes paid by all appear necessary, unavoidable and uncontestable;

4. facilitates the building of larger and larger population concentrations;

5. encourages and necessitates industry and commerce to provide for wages to pay taxes created to finance sewer installation and expansion;

6. enables higher concentration housing by removing the necessity for home grown food supplies ... wages of commerce allow for purchase.

   What all this means to the health conscious and environmentally sensitive person is that whenever possible locate away from cities so that your adverse impact on the environment, and its influence on your future health, can be minimized.
   
   
   

   COCKROACH INFESTATION in particular, has been scientifically demonstrated from studies completed in the mid-1990's and now regularly noted --- is a sure indicator that you and your children will develop allergies and hypersensitivities. While these insects can assist in spreading bacteria and other parasites, their major contribution to chronic illness origin is their potential for inducing trauma in the humans they come in contact with.

   A CULTURAL MISADAPTATION ORIGIN TRAUMA can arise from the dissociation of urban populations from nature AND the expectations of North American English and European heritage. The latter has provided the authoritarian and toxic shame cultural foundation for intolerance (towards other life), perfectionism (for the approval of others), and simplistic rationalization (two-valued good-bad scale).

   THE RESULT is the likelihood of severe hate, shame, and fear at the sight of a cockroach ... while continuing to follow residence cleanliness and density practices which invite cockroach invasion. Every crumb of food litter is a basketball-sized meal for a cockroach. And many residences have many crumbs to offer.

   Avoiding municipal sewer systems is a factor of avoiding likely negative stress for which you may currently be ill-prepared and avoiding population and cultural factors which encourage the development of hypersensitivities.
   
   
   

   Composting, Revised addition:
   The recycling of food and landscaping waste has become more conventionally politically and socially acceptable. It has become an acknowledged responsible behavior of homeowners in North America during the past 15 years (1987-2002). Prior to that farmers and gardening enthusiasts were the only noticeable group of composters since the 1940's. Since 1987, specific provincial and municipal programs provide encouragement to the extent of making available mass produced plastic composting containers at cost to homeowners.

   COMPOSTING, for urban dwellers, is more than simply throwing your refuse into a covered container. Without adequate moisture, air, and bacteria ... very little will happen. The larger the pieces of waste, the longer it will take to decompose into humus (green manure). Too much water and one is likely to get a crop of mold and mushrooms rather than usable humus. Indeed, the formation of such molds may be stimulated by the production of heat within the decaying pile. Temperatures in a tight, compact, wet pile of grass clippings or fall leaves can rise high enough to kill most of the bacteria present and have even been known to start spontaneous combustion fires.

   AN ADEQUATE AIR SUPPLY for composting can be made available by providing air vents at regular intervals across the sides of the composting box. Mulching --- blending or chopping the waste --- before adding it to the pile will also enable a more evenly progressing decomposition. In many cases, the addition of a quantity of topsoil to the mixture and a turning or mixing of the compost box contents daily or at least weekly introduces more microbes and air to the waste.

   ALL TOPSOIL CONTAINS SLIME MOLDS and bacteria, and, earthworms are also welcome. Efficient composting requires some awareness, planning and self-discipline. The reward is a rich natural fertilizer devoid of high (toxic) concentrations of molds. Hypersensitive persons are often sensitive to such singular species-intense concentrations of spores. So, if you are going to do it, do it right.

   THE REALITY OF GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED EFFORTS demonstrates the difficulty of trying to raise awareness amongst the masses and motivate the masses to participate in a skilled activity. While government officials have praised the results of government-promoted composting practices, the results have largely been a matter of slightly reducing the quantity of residential plant and meal preparation wastes which would otherwise be sent to already overburdened municipal disposal sites.

   HOMEOWNERS WITHOUT GARDENS or landscaping awareness --- produce more compost than they can effectively recycle. Some municipalities have pickup programs including end use applications on municipal lands --- but these are few. The distribution of composted material to farmers has largely been ignored for lack of the will to organize a pick-up-when-ready system together with efficient distribution to the end-user. Like most kinds of garbage, the longer the delay between accumulation of organic garbage and recycling --- the greater the complications in maintaining a quality of refuse which can be effectively recycled.

   COMPOSTING REPRESENTS a potentially positive yet largely unrealized benefit, when compared to the total garbage burden of an average household. For the health conscious and hypersensitive person, composting provides a way to assist the environment while increasing the opportunity for one to home grow an increasing quantity of one's own food requirements --- organically.
   
   
   

   Burning, Revised addition:
   A considerable quantity of human waste from residences and businesses is in the form of newsprint, magazines, journals, writing or copy paper, packaging, wood, plastics, and cardboard. Together with dried leaves and grass, a large volume of burnable refuse could be withheld from landfill-garbage disposal sites.

   The major environmental difficulties with this approach include the large production of smoke (which can be reduced through Cottrell precipitation), the waste of thermal energy produced (which can be conserved), and the loss of recycling savings (through reprocessing) to additional requirements for pulpwood. Chlorine-bleached papers (done to provide whiter stock) produces toxic compounds which are difficult to filter from smoke when they are burned. Many forms of paper and kraftboard are now recyclable. Packaging remains a large volume of often non-recyclable material because of its complex multiple component construction and the fact that its mass is often as large as or larger than the item packaged in it.

   PLASTICS are petrochemical by-product produced artificial packaging. They have had a relatively short life-span due to their inherent discoloring with the influence of the sun's radiation and from exposure to air pollution chemicals. The yellowing of white plastics has been most noticeable over the past few decades of production. While there are many chemical compositions in a myriad of plastics, environmentally hypersensitive persons may react to the slowly releasing toxic gases emitted from most plastics.

   Lobbying against incineration methods, is now advised for health conscious persons --- until such time as plastics can be efficiently extracted from the refuse to be burned, and until white paper is produced by other then chlorine bleaching processes or separated from the burnable mass.

   TITANIUM, beginning in the 1990's, has been added to papers and plastics to enhance and preserve the whiteness of the product. These products should be targeted for purchase by health conscious and environmentally sensitive persons. An additional benefit of titanium is that when minimally exposed to sunlight it has the capability to respond to the surrounding environment as a bactericide.

   THIS IS A NON-TOXIC ACTION in which the bacteria are effectively oxidized --- a process similar to burning without flame or smoke. The long-term benefits are usually worth any increase in price that such articles are over plastics and papers made without titanium added. They retain their quality of whiteness by NOT combining with air pollution chemicals.
   
   
   

   Recycling, Revised addition:
   The ideal of reusing a wide range of substances from motor oil to kraftboard to car tires and plastics has been promoted in the schools attended by North American children over the past ten years (1987-1997). This is much more evident in some states and provinces than others. Ironically, a number of youth and their parents continue to have little respect for public property and continue to litter.

   Most people are now be aware of the potential and benefits to the environment of recycling --- some political jurisdictions have provided the leadership and the courage to mandate changes to commerce that would motivate the consumer to make large scale recycling a reality. The province of British Columbia, Canada, requires a deposit on many plastic containers thereby encouraging their return and recycling. A comprehensive Blue Box program is still absent from some older sections of Scarborough in the Province of Ontario, in 2003. Attempts to segregate refuse for pickup have often resulted in costly retrieval systems that have had to be given over to gross collection with sorting at the recycling terminal.

   RECYCLING DEPOTS are few and isolated.
   Many are impossible to reach without personal vehicular transportation. Neighborhood, apartment and townhouse complex shared containers are often fragile, poorly labeled and their intended use of separating classes of materials ... poorly observed. In many locations, few glass or plastic bottles and few aluminum or tin cans have any return value to the consumer. Paying a separate deposit added to the price of the consumer item has not been popular since the 1960's.

   GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP has made a difference, where exercised.
   If collection containers were mandated by government regulations to be produced in a small variety of common sizes with surcharges added into the price, a reciprocal return fee could be directly paid to the consumer. Manufacturers could be responsible for maintaining a count of the number of containers produced (already done), be responsible for submitting revenue to the government on a per unit basis, and, be liable for audit to ensure that the increases added to the retail price were not elevated above the stipulated return fee and its administration.

   POSITIVE INVOLVEMENT BY STORES could include paying the consumer for containers returned from a reserve cash float provided by the government in accord with the past claim level of the store. Private companies or profitable government concerns could be responsible for collecting the returned containers and co-ordinating their return to the manufacturer. Containers which could not be recycled could be disallowed. It is not that it could not be done. Like many cultural changes in a North American democracy, they will happen when the populace make such changes popular behind their voting policy.

   POLITICAL WILL to resist endless debate and disallow lobbying on the issue in favor of deciding for the benefit of the environment and the taxpayer (decreased garbage removal costs) has seldom been shown. Continued waste of metal resources, glass processing energies, and, the emission of toxic gases in the production of plastics only encourage the development of more problems in the future.