Outdoor peeing could activate a composting revolution

[Christa]

Gardeners at one National Trust property are urging the country to join them in peeing outdoors to help UK gardens grow greener.

A three metre long 'pee bale' has been installed within the walled gardens of the National Trust’s Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire.

Head Gardener, Philip Whaites, is encouraging his male colleagues to relieve themselves onto the straw bale when the call of nature occurs.

This helps activate the composting process on the estate’s compost heap – producing a free supply of compost material – and also cuts down on the estate’s water use.

'For eight weeks now, male members of our garden and estate teams have been using the outdoor straw bale when nature calls, which all goes towards our eco-friendly composting system here at Wimpole,' Philip explained.

'The pee bale is excellent matter to add to our compost heap to stimulate the composting process; and with over 400 acres of gardens and parkland to utilise compost, we need all the help we can get.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-news-outdoor-peeing-could-activate-a-composting-revolution-main_picture

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-news/w-latest_news/w-news-outdoor-peeing-could-activate-a-composting-revolution.htm

[hobbit709]

1. Brings new meaning to "Piss on it"

[ixion]

2. lol... pee party at the pee bale...

:rofl:

Really, though, it's an interesting idea.

[mwb970]

3. Then maybe this is a step in the right direction.

Wee bit of pee in OSU lake after 'jump'

[panader0]

4. By that logic

my place should be as green as Ireland. I wanted forty acres so I could pee outdoors. A little sunlight or moonlight on the unit is good for you.

[formercia]

5. Perhaps a headstone

Insert your favorite denizen. Pee away.

[jimlup]

6. I've always had a deep suspicion that peeing outside was enviromentally friendly!

Now this confirms it :)

[crikkett]

7. Peeing on concrete by the way is not friendly in any sense of the word.

just so you know

[Altoid_Cyclist]

10. Sorry, I couldn't help but think about Seinfeld.

SECURITY GUARD Okay, let's go. Come with me.

JERRY But...

SECURITY GUARD Come on.

JERRY (STARTS TO LEAVE, TO HIMSELF) ...Kramer

END OF ACT ONE ACT TWO SCENE C INT. SECURITY GUARD'S OFFICE - A SMALL ROOM WITH A DESK AND A CHAIR. JERRY PLEADS FOR HIS RELEASE.

JERRY I've had this condition since I was eleven! I've been in and out of hospitals my whole life. I have no control over it. Doctors have told me that when I feel it, the best thing to do is just release it. Otherwise, I could die.

SECURITY GUARD Well you're still not allowed.

JERRY Do you hear what I'm saying to you?! I'm telling you that if I don't go, I could die. Die. Is it worth dying for?

SECURITY GUARD That's up to you.

JERRY So you don't care if I die.

SECURITY GUARD What I care about is the sanitary condition of the parking facility. JERRY It was life and death.

SECURITY GUARD Uh huh.

JERRY Oh I'm lying. Why would I do it unless I was in mortal danger? I know it's against the law.

SECURITY GUARD I don't know.

JERRY Because I could get Uromysitisis poisoning and die. That's why!...Do you think I enjoy living like this?...the shame, the humiliation...You know I have been issued a public urination pass by the city because of my condition. Unfortunately my little brother ran out of the house with it this morning.

[HamdenRice]

8. Might work many places, but in UK the concentration of alcohol in piss would be counterproductive

and probably kill all the useful micro organisms.

[populistdriven]

9. pee on your tomatos, they love the nitrogen and your neighbors won't steal them!

[Fly by night]

12. It will also kill them, whereas ...

... using pee as a nitrogen source in the compost pile is a great idea.

Peeing around your tomatoes (outside the drip line so as not to pee directly on their roots) will help keep four-legged critters away, though I'm not sure about neighbors.

[Cirque du So-What]

14. It WILL keep the neighbors away from your garden

if they SEE you actually 'fertilizing' your produce. Try to arrange a 'pee party' when your neighbors are taking their daily constitutional as they walk down the street near your house. Don't forget to wave hello, keeping in mind that one-handed control is more difficult to accomplish.

[Yuugal]

11. maybe skinner could give us a virtual bale of hay.....

....so the next time I'm "taking the piss" on DU I can be helping the environment also. :)

[AwakeAtLast]

15. and put pics of our current "Top 10" on it

:evilgrin:

[Danascot]

13. male members?

double entendre much?

[XemaSab]

24. I'm a chick

and I have peed outside more than most people I know. :P

[kestrel91316]

16. Makes perfect sense. It's a shame that in the US it would get the pee-ers

arrested for public indecency, listed forever as sex offenders, and the organization shut down and bankrupted by health code fines.

Gotta love America.

[joshcryer]

17. Sex offenders? No more going outside and peeing behind the dumpster when my brother uses the...

...bathroom for hours on end. :(

[Dover]

18. Otherwise known as Decentralizing of Waste

THE DECENTRALIZED CONCEPT: THE KEY TO PROLIFERATING RECLAMATION AND REUSE
David Venhuizen, P.E.,

Water resources management has historically/traditionally been compartmentalized, with waste water management being addressed apart from the overall water resources in a watershed. The focus of the waste water management function is to get rid of a nuisance, to make it go away. While effective reclamation and reuse of this nuisance has sometimes been accomplished, typically this is addressed only as an add-on, with the water resource value being recognized only at the end of the pipe that takes it away. This nuisance viewpoint bypasses many opportunities for achieving more efficient water resources management through reclamation and reuse, and it limits the effectiveness and cost efficiency of such activities. A more effective manner of maximizing reclamation and reuse-so extending freshwater supplies-is to integrate the waste water management process into the overall watershed agenda by treating this water resource as close to where it is generated as practical, and then maximizing the utilization of that reclaimed water as a water resource in the watershed, the manner of utilization being determined by the local circumstances.

This decentralized concept of management offers an organizing paradigm for waste water management that will be more fiscally reasonable, more societally responsible, and more environmentally benign than is conventional practice in many, many situations. The dispersed nature of the treatment systems demands a rethinking of the technological strategies, minimizing transport infrastructure and assuring treatment to an appropriate quality to serve various non-potable demands while incurring minimal O&M liabilities.
Contact: David Venhuizen, P.E., [e-mail]


http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/proceedings/2006%20Proceedings/2006%20Conference%20Proceedings/Tuesday%20Sessions%206-10/Session%20(8)/8.3.%20Venhuizen.pdf


How to get your Septic System to become an efficient Reclamation/Reuse Source
http://septictankinfo.com/VenhMGuide.html

[Dover]

19. Otherwise known as Decentralizing of Waste

THE DECENTRALIZED CONCEPT: THE KEY TO PROLIFERATING RECLAMATION AND REUSE
David Venhuizen, P.E.,

Water resources management has historically/traditionally been compartmentalized, with waste water management being addressed apart from the overall water resources in a watershed. The focus of the waste water management function is to get rid of a nuisance, to make it go away. While effective reclamation and reuse of this nuisance has sometimes been accomplished, typically this is addressed only as an add-on, with the water resource value being recognized only at the end of the pipe that takes it away. This nuisance viewpoint bypasses many opportunities for achieving more efficient water resources management through reclamation and reuse, and it limits the effectiveness and cost efficiency of such activities. A more effective manner of maximizing reclamation and reuse-so extending freshwater supplies-is to integrate the waste water management process into the overall watershed agenda by treating this water resource as close to where it is generated as practical, and then maximizing the utilization of that reclaimed water as a water resource in the watershed, the manner of utilization being determined by the local circumstances.

This decentralized concept of management offers an organizing paradigm for waste water management that will be more fiscally reasonable, more societally responsible, and more environmentally benign than is conventional practice in many, many situations. The dispersed nature of the treatment systems demands a rethinking of the technological strategies, minimizing transport infrastructure and assuring treatment to an appropriate quality to serve various non-potable demands while incurring minimal O&M liabilities.
Contact: David Venhuizen, P.E., [e-mail]


http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/proceedings/2006%20Proceedings/2006%20Conference%20Proceedings/Tuesday%20Sessions%206-10/Session%20(8)/8.3.%20Venhuizen.pdf


How to get your Septic System to become an efficient Reclamation/Reuse Source
http://septictankinfo.com/VenhMGuide.html

[hunter]

20. Straw bale urinals. They ought to be everywhere.

It would be a fantastic public works project.

:yoiks:

[joshcryer]

21. I wonder if we could seperate urinals from sit down toilets and use it in our fertalizer.

Just a thought experiment really... maybe when I build my house I'll do that. Always wanted a stand up urinal in my bathroom. :D

[Dover]

22. There are toilets designed to do just that already in Europe (separate #1 and 2)

while the U.S. pisses upwind.

[joshcryer]

25. Does the urine go to another system?

Or do the pipes connect to one system?

[Dover]

27. Separate destinations, different treatment. See links >>>

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SqhhJb_P3Kk/Salyceb0o3I/AAAAAAAAFcc/Sb9RpN6vfCw/s400/urine-diversion+toilet.jpg

Source separating toilets:
http://www.holon.se/folke/projects/vatpark/Septoa_en.shtml

Dry Urine Diversion Toilet
http://www.akvo.org/wiki/index.php/Dry_urine_diversion_toilet

Urine Diverting Toilets:
http://www.akvo.org/wiki/index.php/Urine_Diverting_Dry_Toilet


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SqhhJb_P3Kk/SalycVIvAhI/AAAAAAAAFck/msV57rZeeeU/s400/urine-diversion+toilet+top.jpg

A reality - not just a concept - at least in Sweden, where 135,000 of these are currently in use. The systems keep toilet contents separate from the greywater of other household (sink, tub) use, and further separates urine and feces for individual recycling purposes.

Nightsoil has of course been used for millennia to enrich soil. Gardeners, even in industrialized countries, have saved urine in jugs for application to their garden plots; they just don't talk about it in public. The toilet above uses modern technology and design to facilitate these age-old processes.

Long discussion at the New York Times. Photo and image credit to this German corporate website, where there is further commentary.

http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2009/02/urine-diverting-toilets.html

[Dover]

23. dupe..n/t

[NecklyTyler]

26. leave no trace

leave no trace

Urine

Urine has little direct effect on vegetation or soil. In some instances urine may draw wildlife which are attracted to the salts. They can defoliate plants and dig up soil. Urinating on rocks, pine needles, and gravel is less likely to attract wildlife. Diluting urine with water from a water bottle can help minimize negative effects.

Special Considerations for River Canyons: River canyons often present unique Leave No Trace problems. The most common practice is to urinate directly in the river and pack out feces in sealed boxes for later disposal. Check with your land manager for details about specific areas.

http://test.lnt.org/index.php

[skids]

28. In other news...

Tomatoes from the UK gardens have been found to reduce acid
reflux disease, relieve swollen prostates, and fight erectile
dysfunction, due to the high level of commercial pharmaceuticals
they contain.

However women who are pregnant or may consider becoming pregnant
should avoid handling UK garden tomatoes....

:sarcasm:

[Dover]

29. Yellow Is The New Green (NYT article)

IN the far reaches of Shaanxi Province in northern China, in an apple-producing village named Ganquanfang, I recently visited a house belonging to two cheery primary-school teachers, Zhang Min Shu and his wife, Wu Zhaoxian. Their house wasn’t exceptional — a spacious yard, several rooms — except for the bathroom. There, up a few steps on a tiled platform, sat a toilet unlike any I’d seen. Its pan was divided in two: solid waste went in the back, and the front compartment collected urine. The liquids and solids can, after a decent period of storage and composting, be applied to the fields as pathogen-free, expense-free fertilizer.

From being unsure of wanting a toilet near the house in the first place — which is why the bathroom is at the far end of their courtyard — the couple had become so delighted with it that they regretted not putting it next to the kitchen after all.

What does this have to do with you? Mr. Zhang and Ms. Wu’s weird toilet — known as a “urine diversion,” or NoMix (after a Swedish brand), toilet — may have things to teach us all.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/opinion/27george.html?pagewanted=2



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SqhhJb_P3Kk/Salyceb0o3I/AAAAAAAAFcc/Sb9RpN6vfCw/s400/urine-diversion+toilet.jpg

Source separating toilets:
http://www.holon.se/folke/projects/vatpark/Septoa_en.shtml

Dry Urine Diversion Toilet
http://www.akvo.org/wiki/index.php/Dry_urine_diversion_toilet

Urine Diverting Toilets:
http://www.akvo.org/wiki/index.php/Urine_Diverting_Dry_Toilet


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SqhhJb_P3Kk/SalycVIvAhI/AAAAAAAAFck/msV57rZeeeU/s400/urine-diversion+toilet+top.jpg

A reality - not just a concept - at least in Sweden, where 135,000 of these are currently in use. The systems keep toilet contents separate from the greywater of other household (sink, tub) use, and further separates urine and feces for individual recycling purposes.

Nightsoil has of course been used for millennia to enrich soil. Gardeners, even in industrialized countries, have saved urine in jugs for application to their garden plots; they just don't talk about it in public. The toilet above uses modern technology and design to facilitate these age-old processes.

Long discussion at the New York Times. Photo and image credit to this German corporate website, where there is further commentary.

http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2009/02/urine-diverting-toilets.html