The past, present, and future of poop

[marmar]

The past, present, and future of poop
In “The Other Dark Matter,” Lina Zeldovich surveys the history and science of how human sewage is handled

By JENNY MORBER
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 21, 2021 8:15AM


In Osaka, Japan, in the early-1700s, neighboring villages fought over rights to city residents' excrement. Much of Japan's soil, sandy and poor in nutrients, produced feeble crops and supported few animals, so farmers depended on human fertilizer to grow food. And they were willing to pay for it. Often in exchange for a fee paid to each household, farmers collected what was called night soil at regular intervals to fashion into fertile compost. Poop was precious. Defecating at a friend's house was considered an act of generosity — a gift. Landlords earned extra income by retaining collection rights from tenants: Often the bigger the household, the lower the rent. As the city of Osaka grew, so did the value of residents' waste, until prices climbed to such extremes in the early 1700s that some desperate farmers resorted to stealing it, despite potential prison time.

Roughly a hundred years later, London's River Thames was choked with human and animal waste, emitting noxious methane, ammonia, and the rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulfide. Seemingly more sewage than water, the river's banks swelled with refuse, interfering with marine navigation and making life miserable for many Londoners. Finally compelled to act, city authorities contracted boats to carry the sludge out to sea and dump it — at the approximate cost of a million pounds, or more than $170 million in today's U.S. dollars.

Why are these stories of human excrement so different? The key, according to science journalist Lina Zeldovich in "The Other Dark Matter: The Science and Business of Turning Waste into Wealth and Health," is that one culture regarded poop as trash, the other as treasure.

....(snip)....

Today, Zeldovich argues, we find ourselves at the intersection of Japan's need and Britain's overabundance. Increasing food demand strips our soil of nitrogen and other nutrients, while sewage pollutes land and water. We continue to frame poop as waste and ignore its value at our peril — creating a "ticking time bomb" that perpetuates a broken cycle of dirt, food, and fertilizer.

....(snip)....

Fortunately, potential solutions abound. One is Loowatt, a small startup that began in Madagascar's capital city of Antananavrio, also known as Tana, that turns excrement into power and fertilizer. Sanitation is a pressing problem in Tana, where latrines are holes dug into the ground. After frequent rains, Zeldovich writes, "the filth rises up to the brim and then slowly flows over, oozing out into the yards, down the streets, and into people's living rooms." ..........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/12/21/the-past-present-and-future-of-poop_partner/

[BlueBlud]

1. That would also save huge amounts of potable water.

[3Hotdogs]

2. The process of composting poop is not that difficult to understand....

It would be a mixture of about 15% excrement to 85% carbon base (newspaper cardboard, leaves). As I recall, it would need to have a moisture level of of around 85%. It would also need to be aerated.


The problem with city poop is that it is mixed with whatever else we throw into the toile.