K14buc:

Government can't do anything simply, can they? Going by those instructions, everyone would have a whole row of buckets filled with anaerobic, putrifying excrement. What happens if you run out of buckets? If you remove the filled bags so you can reuse the buckets, where do you put the full bags? What do you do if they leak? What do you do about animals? You're not supposed to put it into the landfill, but where ARE you supposed to dispose of it? Where do you store it until then?

Everyone is still thinking in terms of three days. That's not good enough.

Here's the basics on how Joseph Jenkins says to do it, I've done it, and it works just fine.

In a nutshell: You get a new (not sun-brittle) standard 5-gallon plastic bucket, a $12 clip-on toilet seat/lid from a camping store, a pile of sawdust (costs about $8/cubic yard here), and you make a compost pile.

Put a few inches of sawdust (or shredded leaves, stove pellets, wood- or paper-based cat litter box materials, or semi-finished compost) in the bottom of the bucket, clip the seat onto it, and use as intended. There is no separating solids, liquids or toilet paper, it all goes together. Cover all solid waste with a scoop of sawdust (unabsorbed urine goes to the bottom anyway) after each deposit. (NOTE: DO NOT use clay-based cat litter.)

Ladies, check the weight every so often, you may not be able to handle it if it gets too full.

Believe it or not, it doesn't smell, AT ALL. I did it all one winter in my bathroom, and there was less odor than with a flush toilet, which did surprise me.

When the bucket gets kind of full, you take it outdoors, make a dip in the center of your compost pile* with a rake or claw tool, add the contents of the bucket, and cover it with whatever carbon-type material you like: straw, hay, weed trimmings, leaves, soil, etc. You DO NOT spread the waste across the top of the compost pile, ONLY in the center. Clean out the bucket with a toilet brush and a little dishwashing, and toss the cleaning water onto the compost pile, too.

The compost pile should be made fairly well animal-proof for obvious reasons. You can make a simple circle of 2x4" welded wire fencing (3' or 4' high x 4-5' across; or you can make it of wooden pallets; or you could make it of concrete blocks.

It needs to be covered, too, against animals, drenching rains, and drying winds. You can use wire mesh or a pallet, both with a tarp tied across the top, or a partial sheet of plywood anchored with concrete bricks.

A reasonably full bucket can be difficult to lift over a 4-ft barrier, so you may want to plan ahead and put some kind of movable or sectional front on it. Offensive though it may be to some, if there is a man and a woman living together, the woman is going to get stuck dumping the bucket probably 8 out of 10 times, so allow for this, as she isn't likely going to be able to lift a heavy bucket over a 4-ft wall.

As the materials compost, the pile will shrink. It can take a family a year to actually fill the container. You do not turn this compost pile. REPEAT: YOU DO NOT TURN THIS COMPOST PILE! If it takes a year to fill, you let it sit for an additional year to completely break down.

Author Jenkins says he has had his compost tested for pathogens and has used it in his vegetable garden. Your conditions may be different from his, and you probably won't be having any tests done, so it would probably be safest to put the finished compost under trees (fruit trees are okay), fruit shrubs and ornamentals. If push comes to shove for food production in a world gone crazy, mix the totally finished compost into the top 6" of soil, as that's where most of the soil microbes live, and they will finish breaking it down into inoffensive humus, a critical plant nutrient.

Please read the book (it contains drawings and photos), even if you don't do anything about it now. If the time comes when you need it, you'll know what to do. Jenkins answers all the questions you will have, and even some you didn't think of.

Like I've said, I've done this. When I finally opened the compost pile (warily, I'll admit), there was absolutely nothing identifiable in it. NOTHING. It was all just dark brown, mealy compost. There was some dry carbon materials around the edges (mostly straw), so I just set that aside to go in the bottom of the next pile.

The one really big advantage to this method is that the waste components never really touch the ground, as they heat up and are broken down before they get there. This way, unlike an in-ground privy, there are no contaminants or waste nitrogen (the main component in urine) going into the water supply.

Try it, it's easier than you think.

* What I am referring to as your compost pile is not complicated, it's basically just a pile of organic debris: weeds, straw, moldy hay, shredded tree debris, leaves, kitchen waste, etc. Totally all weeds is just fine, and don't need to be shredded or anything, just pile them into the 'container'. It should be at least 18-24" tall when you start adding human waste, as you don't want to put it directly on the ground.

Sue