the humanure handbook

The flush toilet is probably one of the stupidest ideas that civilisation has ever come up with. Instead of a valuable resource, human waste is now deemed a ‘waste product’ It is mixed with drinking water, pumped down long pipes to a treatment works,
in the process getting mixed up with all kinds of contaminants (toilet paper, cleaning ‘products’, industrial waste etc), and then has to be cleaned. The water has to be poisoned with chlorine to make it drinkable again, and the sludge is often sprayed on fields and crops, or dumped at sea. Either way it is a toxic mix that does not benefit the sea or the soil.

Composting toilets are much more sensible, recognising human manure as a useful resource, for the gardens. The Humanure Handbook explains the basics of composting, and the specifics of composting human waste to create a healthy nutritious growing medium, free of pathogens and contaminants.

Regardless of the benefits or the hindrances of one’s education, we still find no waste in nature. One organism’s excrement is another’s food – it’s that simple. Everything is recycled through natural systems so waste doesn’t exist. Humans create waste because we insist on ignoring the natural systems that we are dependent upon. We are so adept at doing so that we take waste for granted and have given the word a prominent place in our vocabulary. We have kitchen “waste,” garden “waste,” agricultural “waste,” human “waste,” municipal “waste,” “biowaste,” and on and on. Yet, our long-term survival as a species requires us to learn to live in harmony with our host planet. This also requires that we understand natural cycles and incorporate them into our day to day lives. In essence, this means that we humans must eliminate waste altogether. As we progressively eliminate waste from our living habits, we can also progressively eliminate the word “waste” from our vocabulary. We can start with the term “human waste.”

Finally, I don’t understand humans. We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental problems like incinerators, waste dumps, acid rain, global warming, and pollution. But we don’t understand that when we add up all the tiny environmental problems each of us creates, we end up with those big environmental dilemmas. Humans are content to blame someone else, like government or corporations, for the messes we create, and yet we each continue doing the same things, day in and day out, that have created the problems. Sure, corporations create pollution. If they do, don’t buy their products. If you have to buy their products (gasoline for example), keep it to a minimum. Sure, municipal waste incinerators pollute the air. Stop throwing trash away. Minimize your production of waste. Recycle. Buy food in bulk and avoid packaging waste. Simplify. Turn off your TV. Grow your own food. Make compost. Plant a garden. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If you don’t, who will?

The Humanure Handbook is a ‘must-read’ for everyone. It is one of those reference books that will keep you reading, cover to cover – the topic and the authors style is that interesting and easy to read. And will teach you the amazing-ness of composting and the ridiculousness of the idea of using drinking quality water to flush away your excrement!

It can be read online here.