[pct-l] re: tp alternatives and NIGHT SOIL

[wr_ddp@hotmail.com (David Patterson)]

In Asia there are greenbelts where they recycle human waste in the formm of 
Night Soil. During the night someone comes by with a cart and collects the 
days feces and urine. The contents are then directly applied to the 
greenbelts where they grow food. The problem with this method is that 
pathogens have a high survival rate compared to the thermophilic composting 
process. Ever wonder why Asians cook their vegetables and don't eat them 
raw? The heat from cooking is how they deal with unwanted pathogens that 
cause diseases like intestinal parasites, hepatatis, cholera and typhoid. 
Despite the negative aspects of night soil like the potential for disease 
not to mention the smell, Asians have been growing crops on the same land 
for thousands of years without the use of synthetic fertilizers.

IMO, there are far better methods than using your hand to whipe. Besides, if 
you are healthy and eating wholesome foods you will find in many instances 
no need to whipe. IF you require TP I recommend you find a brand that's not 
bleached. Like I pointed out before, chlorine is toxic.

Regarding LNT, I have practiced packing out TP for over 10,000 miles of 
backpacking. Since I've been composing humanmanure for nearly a year and 
have seen first hand how rapidly TP decomposes I am now inclined to "stir it 
up" as someone else mentioned. Keep in mind that feces and urine smell 
because they contain high concentrations of Nitrogen. If you mix organic 
(carbon based) material (leaves, dirt, saw dust, straw, etc) with your 
deposit then you'll balance the Carbon and Nitrogen which leads to no smell 
and no flies. Seriously.

Ask yourself, if it's not okay to crap in rivers and streams in the 
backcountry what makes it okay to do it when you are at home? Every time you 
flush guess where it's going?

David Patterson
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