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  • From: Marimike6@cs.com
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Pet wastes....
  • Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2006 08:46:17 EDT

"So are you saying that wastes from vegan humans would be safe to use?
I will check the humanure handbook, but I thought it had more to do
with the different digestive systems of ruminants and small furry
herbivores, than with the inputs."

To be sure. The intestinal flora of humans has an entirely different cast of
characters than does that of ruminants. And there are probably few profound
differences between the flora of vegans and meat eaters-- a subject that
would
be interesting to explore.

I could have been more precise, and instead said that the pathogens we are
concerned with are designed to thrive and to multiply inside humans. The bugs
found in cow dung for the most part don't infect us. So in terms of disease,
ruminant dung is not a vector worth considering. Cat and dog poop are.

Your dog-waste composting article from Fairbanks AK is very interesting. I
would like to see to what degree this method is successful at killing
pathogens.
My guess is that composting alone would leave some still viable germs.

There are still collection problems to be surmounted in applying this
principle to metropolitan areas. Recycling has caught on so far as plastic,
paper and
metal are concerned. I'm not so sure it would be successful with pet poop
though.

It would require some sort of a fee to maintain the compost center, and there
would also be the need for either a collection service or a law mandating
that people carry it somewhere. And I don't see most suburbanites going out
Saturday morning with their bushel of dog poop in the trunk, as they do with
their
cans and bottles. So the idea holds merit, but still needs some work.




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