Human waste safe as a food crop fertiliser: DPI

[apothecary]

I always thought that the reason you don't use human poo for fertiliser is because the food input is so different from grass or grain as to make it useless...

=================================================

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200609/s1746303.htm

A researcher with Queensland's Department of Primary Industries (DPI) says it is environmentally safe to use processed human waste as a fertiliser on food crops.

The CSIRO is coordinating the research as part of a four-year nationwide project.

Queensland project manager, Dr Mike Bell, is preparing his final report.

He says the processed waste is the by-product of the water recycling process and can be used safely.

"As we run down the natural fertility by removing grains and forages from our land, we're having to increasingly rely on fertilisers to replace or maintain that productivity," he said.

"Now we're starting to see potassium decline and we're seeing trace elements decline, so it makes sense."

One of the leading campaigners against water recycling in Toowoomba, Rosemary Morley, says farmers will find it difficult to sell their produce if they use recycled human waste to grow food.

"People are just not prepared to go anywhere near using their own excrement, whatever treatment's gone to it, because people know that you usually don't go near that," she said.

[transDiMenTional]

This is very interesting to me. I remember seeing something awhile ago on a doco. It showed how a 'shanti' villiage of many thousands of people in india i think use only the local reeds as a sort of filter for their sewage. Tests were done that showed a low level of toxcity at the end of the 'filter' where it then became used as fertalizer for their rice crops. I'll see if i can dig up a link..

[devance]

As I vaguely human waste has some heavy metal content.

Mercury, and other suff.

Top of the food chain.

Some other stuff as far as pharmacueticl that a biological reactor

or chlorine can't manage.

I sure your could all the fert for free if that problem could be solved.

The heavy metals can be bonded into organic chelates, otherwise simply laying there and hope the clay subservice is barrior for the drinking water is the only hope.

Hoooooooooooope.

[_e_]

a good friend whom is an australian bush gnome uses composted human waste as starter for new veggie patches... swears by it, but he always lets the beds prepare over a long period of time...

[nabraxas]

where it then became used as fertalizer for their rice crops

i thought it was common practice for rice growers to shit directly into the flooded paddy fields across the whole ov asia.

[Torsten]

Properly treated effluent is of no danger. Even in western countries it is possible to install systems that will produce water clean enough to use in above ground irrigation. We are planning to install such a system here. These can be overdesigned compact little units or they can be crude reed bed systems.

Composting toilets can also be used in any home and they too are safe to use. I presonally prefer an ozone or other secondary treatment before putting sewage near food plants, but that is probably more semantics rather than science.

I really don't see why we can't use sewage on things like sugar cane or fruit trees though. That way there is no danger of any food contamination (sugar cane is boiled for a long time). It's about time we used this resource properly.

[CaptAmazing]

From this site: http://www.patbrit.com.au/project_shoalhavenReuse.asp

"The preferred option was developed to maximise the land application of treated effluent from Nowra, Bomaderry, St Georges Basin, Huskisson and Culburra Sewage Treatment Plants, with discharge of excess effluent to the ocean.....When complete, this project will be the largest effluent reuse scheme in Australia. The overall capital cost of the scheme is estimated to be $72 million."

I think that's pretty interesting cause my dad lives there.

[SaBReT00tH]

I was in Vienna, Austria last year and remember them telling me about how they were thinking about filtering sewerage to use as drinking water and that the CEO of the filteration company did a PR campaign where he drunk a glass of the 'filtered' shit water on camera. But apparently some of the locals believe that glass of water didn't really come from there and was from a bottle or something.

[Green Osiris]

I can't be that hard to make a device that turns food into shit. Once we do that, we can reverse the mechanisms (ie shit into food) and feed the world !

Um, tangent sorry.

[apothecary]

I can't be that hard to make a device that turns food into shit. Once we do that, we can reverse the mechanisms (ie shit into food) and feed the world !

Um, tangent sorry.

I'm pretty sure the 'device' you refer to is called an animal

[Bongchitis]

I did my thesis on on-site waste treatment systems (evapotranspiration beds etc) and visited Rouse Hill sewage treatment plant West of Sydney to look at there treatment of water meant for re-use. Understanding the science behind this dispells many concerns...but it is hard to overcome the fact that you are drinking effluent. Rouse Hill actually supplies a seperate recycled water line, coloured purple, for people to wash cars etc but are not supposed to drink it........but in all honesty, I would have no problem, except for directly after rains where the volume of effluent spikes dramatically and treatability of such volumes is deminished ie. less residence time in the post treatment wetlands etc (nature provides the final cleaning step).

Treatment at home, although not as clean, should be fine for any gardening exploit except root vegetables, any non food contact use really. I can't remember who said it earlier, but it seems its all about 'time' for nature to deal with the undesireables ie preping your patch early.

How many people have chucked some dog shit into the compost heap, or had a cat shit at the base of your newly planted tomato. How many 'natural' interactions are going on in your veggie patch that you are not aware of. How many people test the soil before they grow veggies?......worry about some percieved risk in the water whilst growing veggies in a toxic waste dump. What do your neighbours do on the other side of the fence next to your garden? All of these potentially having far greater impact on health than some relatively clean water!

It is something that the nation needs to get its headaround fairly quickly. We need to educate with the facts as our water issues are only going to get worse...and we are already in trouble.

[foolsbreath]

As long as the biological contaminants ie. bacteria and viral loads are low enough, poo is an excellant fertilizer. The grades for waste use as fertiliser are directly related to this. Previously, fermentation could not remove some of these loads from meat eating animal waste, that problem has now been overcome.

Human bodily waste should definetly not be used in your garden unless you have a very good waste treatment system. Simple fermentation will not do, maybe a double anaerobic fermentation would suffice using both malolactic and acetobactor ferments post yeast ferment. Remember, all sorts of things come in contact with this waste and can spread disease. Household waste can be single fermented and used in the garden no worries, minus the poo!