Humanure for the City Dweller

As an urban gardener and forager living in Chicago, I am obsessed with improving soils. Composting is one major method of doing this (along with mulching and growing cover crops and mushrooms). Compost helps soil absorb and retain moisture and helps plants build nice, strong, and nutritious bodies upon which we may feed.

A few years ago, I started tentatively composting my body’s own waste. It worked beautifully, and I have since completely abandoned my “flushie” and fully embraced my body as soil-maker (my toilet now serves as a bookshelf and plant stand).

Before indoor plumbing became common, human waste was a valued agricultural resource. “Honey wagons” moved waste from the city’s bin commodes back into the country, where it was spread into fields to dessicate, solarize, and then be turned in and allowed to compost. It’s a sustainable system that still operates in some places. Proper composting kills pathogens and creates lovely soil.

Collect It

Your first step is basically to start pooping into a bucket toilet. These toilets are commonly used by campers, boaters, and hunters, and unlike pit latrines, they prevent the leaching of raw waste into soil and waterways. Bucket toilets concentrate waste so it can be of use later as humanure — a term popularized by Joseph Jenkins in The Humanure Handbook. The materials for such a toilet are entirely forageable, and its portability makes it easy to hide from squeamish visitors.

Bucket toilets are perfect for city dwellers, but be aware that using them and gardening with humanure are illegal according to most U.S. city health codes. So you should also hide your bucket from any visiting official.

All you need for your toilet is a common 5-gallon plastic bucket, obtainable from the back door or

82 Make: Volume 18

Embrace your body as a soil-maker.

BY NANCE KLEHM

Z

dumpster of most restaurants, and a carbon-rich cover material — usually sawdust, but you can also use newspapers, cardboard, dried leaves, straw, or composted stable bedding (call a local stable).

Sawdust and dry stable bedding are my favorite cover materials, as they both absorb moisture well. The sawdust I use comes from a furniture maker who uses hardwoods without glues or resins. You should be able to find a woodworker who would gladly let you sweep his or her floors for your resource.

I built a simple box for my bucket that stabilizes it under the weight of a body and hides its faded “Corn Syrup” label. The box has a hinged lid with a waxed top that’s comfortable to sit on and cleans easily (Figure A). You can also find a snap-on toilet seat for a 5-gallon bucket online or at camping, hunting, or boating stores. Or just attach a regular toilet seat for a more familiar “toilet look.”

To start your dry toilet, put a few inches of carbon material in the bottom. Then just use it the way you would use a regular toilet, and afterward cover your deposit well with your carbon material. Repeat as necessary until you have a full, compostable bucket.

Illustration by Alison Kendall