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140 Grow Food Northampton Plans ZgQTO 7R-r-nalJ s awry-4w Of c'O1 flv-y d'od 000, cnol-‘) ' k �Od �AAs 1-3R1aI 9ry11.50dVN6f( 3-.39 &&sOteyA, '-z' Y vvi tt9 539vd s: do{ Pith 3(f001/00 air id itit r '" ; :At ` is y � ^ D J 0 , �• . xr . • sESa, Y q *•" yyggWW``,� • ' h 0 rtl {a S Directions for Use and Maintenance Tiny House Composting Toilet 12-19-2011 Full Circle Compost Consulting compostingtoilet@agmailcom (802)-387-5357 iew: y e under thestoilet seattThe diverter had incorporates small funnel-1 ke which is the the frorttand plastic insert opening in ck. The bowl is for catching urine,which is then sent nttout ng the colorful name pi but Thetherang of back is for the other stuff, which goes by many ses of this formal manual we will call it"solid human waste".These solids,along with some shavings, fall down into the compost container under the house,where they begin to compost. dors are removed by a low-powered fan,and vented through the roof. This fan also acts as a e-house ventilator, (moving about 15 CFM of air,) and should be left on whenever the house is pied and all the windows are closed. p: Ilion the container: Place an empty compost container er(o ehof the black c dew 20-gallon fd m)below Loilet, underneath the house, (beneath the 12" plastic aoom. tened to the bottom of the chute you should find a flexible rubberized fabric boot, with a wide stic ring along its bottom edge. (If the boot has been removed for transport, find it and pull the edge he fabric up onto the chute.Then rotate the whole boot until the eriii j can hang horizontally without ng shoved up against the wheel. Secure it with the clamp provided.) the compost container beneath the boot and fasten the ring in place e Acing u that hiclampg ooaroundboth the container and the boot ring. if the band clamp p ut in pl ace upside-down, it will take excessive force to close. If the band seems very hard to ose, remove it from the container,flip it over,and try again. a good idea to create a solid and secure spot for the container to oo it.Small the height ncr to pavers rs container o sit. S concrete pavers make e an isy and inexpensive base. Depending on your site,you may y building up the base,or lower it by removing some soil. Once you are in the right ballpark for of the eig ,you can loosen the clamp that oo and ring by a few inches. When everything fabric adschute, juted, the bootwill onlyJbe slightly gwrinkled vhen the ring is fastened to the container. that exits the floor of the Connect the urine drain: Urine from the diverter is plumbed to the 1 'pipe house imple underground drainfield. Because urine contains the greatamajoritysof the fertilizer value of on-site in a simple our waste and is free of intestinal pathogens, it makes an excellent fertilizer. The most ecologically beneficial use for collected urine is to dilute it and use it as fertilizer where regulations permit, or donate it to an organization like the Rich Earth Institute,which reprocesses urine for agricultural use. s for Daily Use: down when you use the toilet.This ensures that urine is caug ht properly by the urine anything to use the urine diverter just sit normally and it will 'ri e. not need m n any g the back opening into the compost container. If this is the case,you .uine. (Some women may find that they need to sit a bit farther forward to make sure urine bowl,l and not down plastic diverter extender that came with the toilet.)It is not a to some into place into oblue p ' F some urine falls into the compost container,but if too much does it will make the compost ;low the composting process. pine shavings 1 stores) down the opening to cover your deposit. Take are isit to the toilet has included a solid contribution, also add about a cup of P ie in bales from agricultural supply paper,but don't add anything do not fall into the urine bowl.It is fine to add toilet pap ose. nonce: goes beneath the toilet and is the filet system came with two 20-gallon compost containers. One g container,filling gradually over a period of many months.The other is the resting container,and order the house and composts. When the active container fills,it is time to remove it and age it for an empty one,using the following steps: Loosen the metal band around the top of the container by pulling out on the metal lever. Lift the lid and band up off of the full container and slide the container out from under the house. (with the short plastic vent stack) on top of the container and re-clamp it. 1 There the other lid ( of so (or operate the optional hand pump, There is a clear hose coming up along the outside of the container from a fitting at the bottom. equipped)this pipe you can n to then any ingliqu' ( P an RV dump station,liquid or id and equipped) until you can drain any standing liquid out of the container. Collect this ligwd and of it properly (into a simple soak pit, a septic system, and remove area.) hose.This lets oxygen more freely enter the o container. else is legal and convenient lamp, in your area.) 5) Loosen lac et the the nt i clamp, or in another convenient location tot let it with the band 7) Place the empty nor under the house,r the 7) Place an empty container under the toilet,reposition the lid,and clamp it securely, and point the clamp clamp. 8) Place the hose on the fitting at the bottom of the new container, hose straight up. t container on hand to put under the house. ie first time you change containers,you will have an empty aereafter,you will need to empty a resting container first. the container has been resting for a year or more,the compost may be mature and ready to use. especially if the edible portion does of ft the appear plant Duches t, experts soil and will recommend raw. it it on food crops, P t it into an outdoor compost bin to compost further. ouches the soil and will be eaten raw.If it has been less than a year,or if the compost nature,you can empty note that laws and regu lations surrounding dry toilets and the compost the produce be legal restrictions on how you utilize the compost. It is nsibiliTy to understand and comp hour loeatiou, rs may I y with the relevant regulations. *** t maintenance: take off ,your ventilation fan will need cleaning, and eventually replacement.To remove it, d access hatch on the left side of the toilet. Then remove the fan from at which point you its housing y with diluted soap and let it sit t dust few all four nuts,and removing one bolt.This will ia low the fan to slide out, it with a damp rag. If it o hard fan clean,spr ➢ against the t dust may sound from the f may indicate that the blades are rubbing first. A scraping the housing, in which inside of the housing. If it still makes noise after cleaning in which case the fan needs replacement. See contact info below if you need a replacement. reading: urine as a Gold"by Carol Steinfled—a fun and informative little book on safely using r- ourself composting toilet umanure Handbook"by Joseph Jenkins—the"bible" of do-it-yourself Full Circle o restions,maintenance adve , or compstingtoilet@gmail.com¢ contact Abraham Noe-Hays ost Consulting: (802)-387-5357 Fwd:EW:Draft proposal for urine compo... httpsa/mail.google.comimail/ulOrnn—Le‘ ° Daniel Wasiak<dwasiuk @northamptonma.gov> Draft proposal for urine composting _ Man,___ 29,2014 at 12:39 PM <adele.franks @gmail com> ,siuk<dwasiuk @northamptonma.gov> for the email I received in response to sending our urine composting proposal to Mr Ferris. irwarded message-- state.ma us> ite,Ronald (DEP)<ronald white@ i, Jul 23,2014 at 9:32 AM composting :W: Draft proposal for urine comp mail com> Om c ferns @sks@gmaii.c "Slater, Alan (DEP)" <alanslater @state.ma.us> i , David D Pl com" <adele franks @9 is, David(DEP)' your request below. After discussion with David and Alan Slater to 5 The specific a and Al ernati to :le, David Ferris asked me�crespond r Piloting Approval under the Title 5 Innovative and Alternative pursue this proposal. �termined that a formal app Approval application which can be found on the of those DEP would regulations be the R the avenue Piloting App to MassDEP w be theo8 dew type if it is seasonal in nature, is just for the workers and EP web site,www.mass.9 application of this typ oss the garde l entertain v pap otential cross contamination from fecal sources is access and of the 9ardenlfarm and evaluation of potential require regular monitoring, or in case ny approval id. approval would most likely requir if regular is excess product a nd maintenance issued under a Pil eats app ling and maintenance requirements and a holding tank for the product is discontinued. f you have any questions feel free to call me at 617-292-5790. )riginal Message—-- mail com] r. Adele Franks[mailto.adele franks @9 r: Sunday, July 20, 2014 8:21 AM Ferris, David(DEP) Catherine Bryars composting tject: Draft proposal for urine comp ar Mr. Ferris, for a pilot project to explore a beneficial use of and colleague, Catherine Bryars, spoke with Alan Slater determine m wilting to request your review of the attached draft proposal reliminary proposal to you e asella through composting.and they 1 and my and they recommendedothat ate to submit a approval. hat administrative mini about this project would be most app P hat administrative pathway to your office. you in more detail once you have reviewed this he proposal is attached and I am also mailing a hard cop his Ne would like to have the opportuniuYeSOions ihattar seroject with y craft proposal, and to answer any q 9129/2014 1:38 PM Fwd:FW:Draft proposal for urine compo... https:/Finail.google.comlmail/u/0/7u=<a n- advance for your review. S ton.com doron advancing local sustainable agriculture http://growtoodnorthampton.com promoting food security by Northampton b advancing sustainable agriculture to promoting food security y toodnorthampton.corn 912912014 138 PM F9-01 ,RTIIAMPI ON, INC. n 5t, 11207 ON, MA 01060 301-5099 I RTHAMPTON_COM Cl ORS nt rer cecutive Director robrams&Administration nteer Coordinator TON V FARM ,ver CSA nic Community Garden -arm Collective Farm acation Collaborative Uo 61 Jvj FIIo. aci .-k; CtIvAA Lt ti LI a � f Ms (u , cby' ov `l Slwif C; Proposal to Compost Human Urine at the Florence Organic Community Garden in Florence Massachusetts To that would show the feasibility of using si the sir seek approval man urine for a demonstration project ost while also diverting panted human urine to produce nutritious come er stream. comprised of 7 acres of protected agricultural land, und: Inc. ned in Organic n Community 14 e Garden, C by Grow Food Northampton, ton This site in the Florence section of the city of Northampton.nod in 2012 on a 14 acre site owned by septic system is not owfooenr flood Plain n.of m) ear flal pp year the garden was open (2012), but it was 100-y lain of the Mill River where construction of a d chemical port-b-potty was used and an y esore to the neighbors. Therefore a Board the gardeners and he sy approved by the Northampton,red objectionable by specifically for the site and app ling toilet was designed spy th prior to opening for use in 2013. Front View Urine-Diverting Composting Toilet Outhouse a conventional composting toilet was not feasible to construct bin was not feasible). he land is of fat constraints of the nits, toilet bowl (see disgre). below) he land is flu and excavation as created thatuliz d a urine-diverting to h hat alow a urine Brattleboro es. hat inswsdrbeh wbe ork rk diverted from thamuchsmal smaller REI) ib eatiby whbsdesign was inspired by the work of the has been worlldng (REI) in oearby (httpalricheanhi nstitute.erg) local wastewater treatment facilities and ddedl le s to oironmeetbl Consal use n, arated urine .of near heendro beneficial uses of source-separated El has fo P years been studying the of urtheo h of this to document). Revalufof several of urine to hayfields compare the value of human urine with conventional fertilizer healthy hay production. I faecal through — 1998) ram of urine-diverting toilet,from Drang ert composting toilet forms the basis for the composting toilet system installed at toilet seat re-diverting lorence Organic Community Garde'in Florence s--uri e Mk The d venting toilet urine-diverting directs the urine to 1 www p separately in a bin.Toilet paper se area-use comllndez.p P shavings/toilet paper mixture is wing tank(see photo so add while the bin.The feces/wood d she wood shavings accordance with MA 310 CMR 15. The source- s are also added to the bin.The lestered in an oxygen-rich environment in acco arated urine is currently being donated to the Rich Earth Institute r.11richearthinstilute.org)for use in ongoing field trials for EPA and USDA-funded research. compost that could be 15,000 on site foot hedgerow post that ofd be sever, in the future we would like to use the urine on site to create corn :d as a nutritious soil amendment on our 15, shes,fruit and nut trees. low. area will be designated along the perimeter of the 17 acre field (see urine composting ittached diagram in the Appendix). smposting area will consist of several bin structures, each approximately 3'x3'x3' larger version in the Appendix),with a synthetic rubber EPDM pond of urine into the soil. Above the pond liner'floor' a m below and larg composting area to allow any urine below p to prevent any leaching Ae pallet will serve as the bottom of the ceand reapplied to the pile.accumulate e p pallet and be pumped out regularly attached r ed to wooden or i aof the com under the p pl ewoode e of the comps' bin structure will consist a of metal solid to ethyl sufficient duty polyethylene mesh) �s,These'walls'will be lined with a combination of solid material access and excessive and the screening composting inch welded process why reventing insect acce s andr tx slow for t her to a post pil . One sideg f e sq while preventing pile. One side of the square bin will consist of a hinged the finished the compost accumulated leachate and eventually tone beyond the y hinged door to .pass to pump out any panel will be secured just bey out when the external hinged door Is opened for regular An internal removable screened p Como removal. The from angled roof of composting strudure will consist of atsosolid top,while remooad The angled rsoc or the comp opening Bing solid material (plastic or metal) on a hinge to allow oP rainwater from saturating the pile. Compost Structure A combination of hardwood sawdust and planer shavings will provide the carbonaceous base material to stimulate thermophilic composting when nitrogen-rich urine is poured into the pile. We will layer soil and leaves in with the carbonaceous material to provide bacteria,fung , and other microorganisms necessary for optimal decomposition. I in the 20 under the I toilet will i into ntainers carted to the ig area on a Isis. People and lg urine will res and a clothing to tired skin with the urine. Urine Tank Beneath Composting Toilet ideally with pilot accordance with research findings (expected by autumn 2014) :10 of the dry carbon material to the liquid urine will be determined empirically a ed i in h research of ut small son, Extension and in ofeo compost with optimal Extension Professor at the University of Maine. comp k Hutchinson, we expect ire co en . Based reds of carbonaceous r iming conversations with Professor Hutchinson, and porosity repminary adequate absorbency ire cement. Based on P )goer shavings will provide adeq ratio of 1:1 sawdust andz 14 ie conversation April 22, 2014). gardening approximately 200 gallons of urine over the course of the g plan to oniclhetc collecting top the winter) and therefore we P bo (the composting bitoilet structure is closed n, each containing one cubic yard of compost lay two composting bin structures per season, h year additional structures can be installed while the previous year's compost continues to composted for at least one year, or until fully decomposed,the lamed 15,000 square foot ompose.be m having d used (see diagram 0 the the street the side of the garden ( hedgerow terial will be moved and used as a soil amendment for a recently y applied. The hedg pendix).x 15') hedgerow this co bordering pe On top of this compost, a mulch of wood chips would be app intings include berry bushes,fruit and nut trees. compost for fecal coliforms at a local laboratory. e antidpate Dr.. David the urine and cto of finished has indicated Water ter interest in twi urine Engineering ng addition, Dr. David Reckow (Director of the Environmental and Water Resources ogram at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst) ipost for sterols(as a measure of fecal contamination) and for pharmaceutical source-separated human urine to Managers of FOG have the immediate nee to demonstrate the feasibility of beneficially using and useful compost for ed on-site use.and the oducin of sitar produced with nutrients and is py ducedton-ste presents an exciting Producing sanitary compost with nutrients p to more conventional solutions to these needs. rger societal perspective we hope to demonstrate to a that human use.can nalarge scale, phosphorous contamination of coastal waters, ponds, ely diverted from the wastewater stream and put lams. :ands could rs, and nitrogen and p e treatment plants.rivers, and lessen the burden on sewage phosphorous will • as the wood's phosphorous supply is depleted, new sources of p hos p crucial to support agriculture. Human uri urine recycle can bee rnutrientenewable in and inex human uha e is blethe Therefore, exploring a variety of ways • of society. rting Research 3s Fertilizer'. history in human societies, and urine- use of urine as an agricultural input has a long in human n loci and andtul ne- ng technologies are today reclaiming this established practice 2007). technologies have been implemented and studied in sites across d ;It this diversion has been slow though emer teems practice pas been nd produced the most rresearch on the topic though imp and produced Numerous studies tries are beginning projects umerous studies the latest tries are the hg tr ent value this of urine..(Fewless eW World al.Health ate latest in high nutrient v euf of heine.e U Wof Wastewater, Excreta, and Greyw �nstrate the hig 41en1 This resource on tt of the manual"Guidelines for the Safe Use in Volume . his res and who.inUwater_sanitation_healthlwastewaterlgsuweg )� to ma report, a person eating a Western diet excretes awat r use agriculture.information on human excreta recycling rs neater use ii eand 0.365 365 kg phosphorus each year in their urine alone. could r s high kg of nutrient content and leads xg P global replace s htha n30% o content lglob l experts to estimate that human and about 25% of 9 re than 30% of current global nitro`gMeinfertilizer 006).censump Dsphorus production from mining pathogen risks Me as Non-pathogenic: re health concerns associated with human excreta populations, s not urine. In fact, urine is known to be sterile in healthy pop ta result from the d has• e even human feces, antiseptic.This overlooked facto f research recently y been ad has rie been as' by as a emergency en the inspiration for a surge ailed'urine blindness' by academics and has be separation of human urine for sanitary reuse (Drangert 1998). While urine alone iegligible pathogen risk, source-separated urine can contain fecal contaminants as a toilets separate urine from feces at the al cross-contamination.nine ito afront t portion diverting deposited behind. When unneling urine into the a front portion of the toilet, fecal pathogens is dap thetained of :les contaminate the front portion of the toilet,fecal pathogens can be contained in (Hoglund et al. 2002).The same study concludes that health risks of rine (Udert et al. 2006). Even when fecal cross-contamination occurs, very row (Hog be safely reused as a crop �araied urine are low and concludes that urine may roject,we expect that two processes will additionally mitigate these low periods health times. e urine collected at the composting toilet will be stored for variable ammonia treatment meet compost pile. During storage, a natural, passive Ho tune et e. i ammon a to the comp P including H o 9 (Hoglund human >ammonia levels rise and increase the urine environment's ahsms,pH to 9 9 sitim many organisms, of the compost human will further nis Secomely,base ermenvironment c decomposition many th. low the trisk of et al. 2002). In addition,the the low pathogen risk be the plied to urine human food crops s that grow dose to the soil, and urine compost will not soil appliedm nt and covered ed b wood chips. The possibility of eliminated by these combined processes and post will be used as a soil amendment and covered Y pathogen ingestion will be practically ;s. ample body of research into the reuse of human urine,few studies have is Compost n there is an ems compost production One scientist currently investigating Ls of Leo urine's omformngis Professor in oomp P an extension professor at the rsty ofinecomProfe sis HutchioMatri Hutchinson,the proper ratios of urine to carbonaceous roily of Maine. Professor Hutchinson's trialso proper moisture content. atonal will inform our practices to assure p P ro ed is part of a larger surge of activity and progress in )ro used Current Projects )roposed demonstration sanitation p 1 i erect' levels has inspired local projects that are alternative sanitation systems throughout our region. Growing interest in the topic Ise ng recycling at the implementation community and schemes Bering research and ileme schemes for more sustainable systems. This project es to join with these other innovative projects to test the viability of alternatives for the future. )w are brief introductions to some examples; c 3 nonprofit organization based in .h Earth Institute:The Rich Earth Institute (REI) is a 501(c)3 based e of human n waste (s a resource. Since 20.12 it. Its implemented the first field promote of human e of as a fertilizer waste the resource.States. ver 150 it has imp lied to the hay fields of family farms in southern ne as a fertilizer in the United States. Over 150 volunteer community members in Brattleboro rate their urine ni be rtnershi and include app Brattleboro Washing ;rmont. Community partnerships include colaareor Sept the Wastewater .eatment Plant, a local septic services come y (Best t of Windham County, local farmers, EPA scientists, and the Vermont Department of ttal Conservation that has supportively permitted all a tiiabes of REI. The this n has received funding from the EPA and the USDA, lichis persistence of pharmaceuticals in soils and plant materials after urine app rrch partners include the University at Buffalo, and the University of Michigan. Eco-Toilet Demonstration Program and the Cape Cod Eco-toilet Center One of ausesof the nutrient tleachate from sleptic systems. Identifying more sustainable approaches nuent as. In management 1 he town of Falmouth allocated funding to otestaa series lof alternative lies ls.to reduce expensive system has been contested as too exp li to reduce the environmental nutrient load from human excreta because the es option Significant installing u ding municipal sewer sy �esidents. Significant funding has supported an Eco-Toilet Demonstration Program to to public receptivity to composting toilets and urine-diverting toilet systems local residents to educate the public about the vw falmouthmass.uslwaterglweb/o20sitelpagesleco-toilets html). At the Game time the to fern toilet Center swas founded by r, Dco-ctor the Department par meat of Health andtthe Environment According fecal unty, er,been testing of the a 'compost t t Health and byproduct from the eco-toilets), fecal County, colif ; been le, wh et the nitrogen and a' (liquid bop electable, while the nitrogen and phosphorous levels are high (telephone tal beneficial as ), prompting interest in combining this with other material for potential r. He envisions future testing of source-separated urine from the e These projects have e on onsulting with him on the current proposal to compost human n u and public advocacy cta for ;od have demonstrated an impressive degree of public hive methods of human excreta disposal and reuse. ng research at the test center located on Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod is achusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center: (http:l/buzzardsbay.orgletimain.htm g the feasibility of subsurface drip irrigation systems for human excreta disposal and ficial reuse. Mr. Heufelder, is overseeing these trials in which irrigation tubes installed art of the Commonwealth to evaluate and consider new v the earth surface disperse human excreta at the roots of plants.This state-funded arch points to an openness on the p ins for sustainable human excreta disposal and reuse. )avid Reckow, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the is collaborating with the Massachusetts oAludnatii tee tic Sy oem T s t Centers deverst) ' rtic System Test Center to develop methods to test for pharmaceutical byp tan excreta, proposed human urine composting project, and in the soil into which it has been dispersed. As mentioned above, r. cats g interest n expressed interest the in the currently srof° compost for pharmaceutical byproducts well for a in terolsgxe measure ea and the cal contamination).on come well as for fecal sterols(as beneficial freuse of human urine Such testing will advance the d of knowledge about potential ad: and Lestel, L. (2007) The Nitrogen Question: Urbanization, Industrialization, and city in Paris, 1830-1939. Journal of Urban History, Vol. 33, No. 5. J.0. (1998) Urine blindness and dd the use of nutrients from human excreta in urban GeoJournal Vol. 45, p s K.L., Sharvelle, S., Roesner, L.A. (2011) Source Separation and Treatment of genic Urine. WERF Research Publication. w.werf.orglalka/Sea rch/ResearchP rofile.as px?Re port I d=1 N F R4SG09b C., Stenstrom, T.A., and Ashbolt, N. (2002). Microbial Risk Assessm 0 of Source- d Urine used in Agriculture. Waste Management and Research, 20, ng, C., Leeming, R., and Stenstrom,T.A. (2002). Fecal contamination of source- ad ad human urine based on the content of fecal sterols. Water Research,n Source-Separated 6, CM., Larsen, TA., and Gujer,W. (2006). Fate of Major Compounds Water Science&Technology, 54(11), 413-420. World Health Organization). (2006). WHO guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, a, and graywater. Volume 4: Excreta and graywater use in agriculture. World Health ization, Geneva, Switzerland. vww.who.intlwater_sanitation health/wastewaterlgsuweg4/enlindex.html Tonal Resources: men-Tanski, H. and van Wijk-Sijbesma, C. (2005) Human excreta for plant fiction. Bioresource Technology 96(4): 403-11. rer, M., Pronk, W., and Larsen,T. A. (2006) Treatment processes for source-separated Water Res. 40, 3151—3166. X , K , . , r o al IN CD - 0 o 3 . . , 3 ......... 0 4amon YCommunity Ga.am , a) Potent O.liana:: Composting Toilet ill Proposed Urine Compost Bin 3ram of proposed urine composting structure Udnt will be etled over JoyerS Layers or Sawdust and woad Shavm9S P2 &apw7kne Mesh Po Polyethylene Mesh EPOM i'enal..w