Waste disposal and sanitation thread - Take the poo to the loo

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MrB

MrB

MATI Ross
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I regrettably have little to no knowledge on this topic but it's an important one since we all need to shit and piss. Discuss options for waste disposal and treatment in scenarios where plumbing stops working.

I currently live in an apartment in a large city. In the event that a government loses the ability to provide basic utilities, there's a nonzero chance that a lot of peoples homes will get flooded with backed up shit and blackwater. Is there any sort of way I could prevent this as someone without much plumbing experience?

As for actually doing my business, what are the safest/best options I have in an urban environment?
  • chamber pot/bucket and just dump it outside?
  • should I bother with cat litter?
  • shit in the street like an Indian?
For rural/homesteader types I suspect it's a lot simpler to just go out a certain distance and just dig a hole. Discuss pit latrine construction, etc. How high is the possible risk of soil contamination?

 
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If you’re going to get rid of ANY “human waste” (either food waste originating from humans or actual poo, you need to look into https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia_illucens. This dude will do anything from making excellent compost to cleaning out your outhouse. You can buy them, the larva are what you want, or just cultivate them with table scraps/human feces and time.

I’ve been hot composting -Some info here - for about 3-5 years, and Black Soldier flies are amazing.

Basically from mid spring to early fall get yourself a nice big pile of carbon+nitrogen (browns-trees limbs that have fallen, cardboard , paper- and greens-kitchen scraps, yard waste, grass clippings- in composting speak) and then in the fall let it lose heat and give the bug friends and worms a place to overwinter and you’ll never have an issue again.

BSF look like wasps but they’re not, the larvae eat our various types of waste and then pupate into the adults. The adults don’t eat, they don’t even have mouths, their entire goal is to breed and make ore larvae. They’re not pests, they’re good boys that just exists to help us clear our waste.

Edit: for the love of god don’t just shit in your yard, or dump it, or use cat feces for fertilizer. There’s a whole different way to compost animal waste and I’ll help you if you’re interested?
 
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MrB said:
For rural/homesteader types I suspect it's a lot simpler to just go out a certain distance and just dig a hole. Discuss pit latrine construction, etc. How high is the possible risk of soil contamination?
Click to expand...
Most rural people will be on a septic system. Basically a big shit tank where bacteria digest stuff and then a series of perforated pipes for the liquid to soak into the ground. The solids need to be pumped out every few years depending on size and use, leach field(pipes) replaced eventually, I know some going on 60 years with 0 maintenance except pumping. No electricity, just gravity. So as long as you have a source of water to flush with then you're good.

Some locations are requiring "engineered" septic where the tank may have air flow from an air compressor or other mechanisms to improve digestion. Depending on soil type it may also need pumps to pressurize the field or use more complicated systems such as a "sand filter". These all require more maintenance and electricity.

If neither of those work you can just get a cesspool. Basically a giant shit tank, truck comes by and just pumps it out, not great for the apocalypse.

You can also get composting toilets and just dump your grey water(sink/shower/washing machine) on the ground or into pipes to soak into the ground
 
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Yaniv’s Hairy Balls said:
Edit: for the love of god don’t just shit in your yard, or dump it, or use cat feces for fertilizer. There’s a whole different way to compost animal waste and I’ll help you if you’re interested?
Click to expand...
This thread branched off a question I had in the Urban Prepping Thread since I'm currently living in a bughive apartment, so composting is out of the question for me right now unless there's some easy way to do it on a small balcony. I don't think this board has a composting thread yet so this might be a good spot for it.
 
There's also incinerating toilets, but that may or may not consume too much electricity or propane gas for it to be a good idea except for in enclosed spaces.

Putting an incinerating toilet inside the house seems like a much better idea than any decomposing toilet, the latter of which probably shouldn't be put anywhere except in the shed or in the garage.

You don't want your shit anywhere near where you eat or sleep.
 
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Aero the Alcoholic Bat said:
Deuteronomy chapter 23 contains a commandment to have a digging tool on your person whenever possible so that you may be able to dig a cat hole when the need arises.

I'm not joking.
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23 12

2024-07-10_09-32.png

Text said:

Uncleanness in the Camp​

9 When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure. 10 If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there. 11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

12 Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
Click to expand...

What do you know, the Alcoholic Bat was correct.
 
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This is why I stick with proper Roman gods who dig latrines instead of making catholes all willy-nilly.

Better than Islam, where they just pour water on their asshole and hands and go back to sticking their fingers in the pudding.
 
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If you're in the city, get a designated piss/shit bucket. In a pinch, shit in a plastic bag like it's Africa.
 
I suggest a portable water bidet to reduce toilet paper usage. I use a portable bidet called the "Happy Bottom Portable Bidet". You'll find a few negative reviews complaining about it leaking, but the key is to extend the nozzle all the way and then quickly turn the bidet downwards to do your business. If you don't do that, you'll get leaks. You can then use a "toilet paper spray" on some toilet paper to finish cleaning your asshole. I use a product called "PRISTINE Toilet Paper Spray". Be careful about so called "flushable wipes" as many of those products will wreck havoc on plumbing. Lacking toilet paper, a bar of soap, a cup and a bucket of water like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabo_(hygiene) seems like a good solution. When the water wasn't working in my area, I had access to an apartment complex swimming pool which I used to fill my toilet's tank so you might want a couple of heavy duty buckets to do "farmer's carry" with. I used drinking water for the portable bidet, not water from the pool; this may not have been necessary but I don't know if chlorinated water will degrade my portable bidet or any of it's components such as the seal or gasket. I also use a product called "Poo-Pourri" to help mask the smell. It's basically a type of oil formula that creates a layer on the surface of the water to help contain the smell of your poop. With electricity down and consequently your HVAC, this will help with the morale of other coinhabitants. I don't know how effective it is if you are letting your shit sit in the toilet though. I have seen some type of dark blue water in porta potties used by construction crews before so maybe that's another option.

Now if my toilet wasn't working, I'd think I would use a chamber pot or a markshift one which could be comfortably squatted over (rice paddy or ass to grass weight lifting squat) whilst still containing the spray from my portable bidet and easily transported without it spilling. As to where I would dump it? I don't know. Maybe a sewer drain? And if the sewage systems were fucked or backed up, I don't know. Maybe I would still dump it where I knew where a sewer drain was, treating the area like a quasi cess pit since it's probably full of filth anyway. I have seen soldiers stir oil barrels full of burning shit but they used precious fuel like diesel. If water cannot be spared to clean a chamber pot, I imagine just letting UV rays from the sun will help a lot. And I think using a dirty chamber pot is not much of an issue if you are using it for it's intended purpose. Just be careful about cross contamination.

Lastly I have been looking into water collection systems for my apartment balcony. And according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_hygiene, there's something called "pre-wipes" that have anti-adherents. I find much of the time that I don't have to use all the water in my portable bidet, so maybe pre-wipes will reduce water usage further.
 
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This is less applicable to those living in cities (in which case I recommend dumping your chamberpot from the highest vantage point possible), but there are people who have done work around composting human waste safely.

This endearing nutbar has dedicated his life to not only showing people how to properly use a composting toilet, but then properly cure the material to be used in agriculture. I have a hard copy of his book and highly recommend it.
 
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