How to Make a Human Waste Compost
The term humanure describes the process of composting human waste. Joseph Jenkins coined the term and wrote "The Humanure Handbook," which is widely considered the poo-composting bible by humanure devotees. Because human waste can carry and spread diseases, many composting advocates do not recommend using human waste to compost. But, the practice can be done safely, according to Jenkins. The key is in the steps that you use to compost human waste. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Bucket with secure lid
- Sawdust
- Concrete blocks
- Garden hose
- Straw
- Grass clippings
- Clover
- Kitchen scraps
- Dead leaves
- Lawn mower
- Food processor
- Pitchfork
- Compost thermometer
- Tarp
Instructions
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Collect human waste in a bucket with a secure lid to help hold in odors
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Cover human waste with sawdust as it sits in the bucket. Sawdust is rich in carbon and is an organic brown material. Human waste is an organic green that is rich in nitrogen. The right balance of the two helps to hold down odors and speeds decomposition by providing an optimal environment for microbes that break down organic material.
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Build a compost bin by dry stacking concrete blocks into a 3-foot square enclosure. Your bin should be on level layer of dirt so that runoff water can enrich the soil beneath the bin.
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Fill the bin in layers with alternating layers of organic greens and organic browns. You can chop large chunks of organic material, such as dead leaves and kitchen scraps, to give microbes more surfaces to decompose. This will help the compost to decompose faster. Mow over leaves, straw, clover and grass to chop it. Run kitchen scraps through a food processor.
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Dig a hole into the center of your compost pile, and place your human waste into the exact center of the pile. Cover the human waste with the layers of compost. This will prevent wildlife from digging through your human waste and hold in any smells. The exact center of the pile is also where compost in piles breaks down first.
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Wet the compost pile so that it is the consistency of a damp sponge.
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Cover the compost pile with a tarp to help hold in moisture and heat.
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Check the internal temperature of your compost pile with a compost thermometer daily. The internal temperature of your compost pile should heat to between 130 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the temperature required to kill bacteria in human waste and give microbes an ideal environment to thrive in.
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Stir your compost pile with a pitchfork any time that the pile's internal temperature drops below 130 degrees. This will shift the compost at the middle of the pile to the outer edges and the undigested scraps into the center where the microbes can work on them.
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Continue to check and stir your pile until it has the consistency of soil. At this point, you can use your compost in your garden.
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Tips & Warnings
Some examples of organic greens include kitchen scraps, clover and grass clippings. Examples of organic browns include straw and dead leaves.
While the process of hot composting aims to get rid of diseases, it may not do so if the process is done incorrectly. For this reason, you should not use humanure compost on vegetable gardens. Such compost is fine to use on flowers and other plants.
