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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london@metalab.unc.edu>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: composting toilets
  • Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 12:23:38 -0500 (EST)



On Mon, 1 Nov 1999, Toby Hemenway wrote:

> Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 08:01:59 -0800 (PST)
> From: Toby Hemenway <hemenway@jeffnet.org>
> Reply-To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> Subject: Re: composting toilets
>
> I need some clarification here. Heather writes:
>
> >The RBTS [Reed Bed Treatment System] we design must include a septic tank.
> >Like you say this partially
> >digests the solids and presents the reed bed with a liquid to treat.
>
> And others have said something similar. But Art Ludwig, in his Oasis series
> of greywater booklets, says to never store untreated greywater for more
> than 24 hours or it grows bacteria at an incredible rate and converts to
> blackwater, requiring far more treatment than simple greywater. And I know
> this to be true: we have a failed greywater system left by the previous
> owner in which greywater goes into an 800 gallon septic tank, and though
> it's clear and odor-free when it enters the tank, when it leaves, phew-ee
> the stink! And it's ugly blackish stuff by then, too. In the systems I've
> seen in California, greywater first passes through a small grease trap,
> then into a reed bed or mulched basin. This seems like much less hassle. Is
> the septic-tank system something that some benighted code authority thought
> up, or is there some advantage to creating blackwater out of greywater and
> then purifying it that I'm unaware of? Or are these for high-volume,
> constant-throughput systems where the greywater is constantly flowing
> (unlike low-volume household systems)?


There's a simple answer to your question:

The RBTS Heather and Mark market are designed to treat ALL
household waste, including toilet. This is why everything has to go
first through a conventional septic tank. Still the advantages are
significant of using a reedbed as opposed to an underground leach field.

What I am interested in is a natural system to replace the septic tank.

LL

Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
http://metalab.unc.edu/permaculture
/intergarden /intergarden/orgfarm /ecolandtech
lflondon@mindspring.com london@metalab.unc.edu





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