"...a terminal illness in the family..."

First off, let me say that I feel for you, having been thru that five times in the past.

I see that your neighbors have kicked in, so I will not offer that suggestion.

Just a thought, for your particular case, and not necessarily one for a major earthquake/whatever: do you happen to have a clean out in your sewer line, between the collapse area and the main? If so, you could conceivably use that to dump your waste into the sewer system, instead of using it to help the lawn grow...