Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[<pbunch@cox.net>]

Thanks Kate. 

The following link is to the WHO guidelines for safe waste water use.I have 
not read them yet but they should be interesting.

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html


---- Kate Spinner <kespinner@gmail.com> wrote: 
> to get to the point read #8
> 
> http://phosphorusfutures.net/why-phosphorus
> 
> I'd rather pee in a separate place (a.k.a bucket or whatever) than see  
> entire watersheds ripped up by mining:
> 
> and another question - are there any other elements, aside from  
> phosphate, that we mine for that are readily available in nature  
> without mining?
> 
> 8. Recirculating human excreta
> 
> Human excreta (urine and faeces) are renewable and readily available  
> sources of phosphorus. Urine is essentially sterile and contains plant- 
> available nutrients (P,N,K) in the correct ratio. Treatment and reuse  
> is very simple and the World Health Organisation has published  
> 'guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater'. 
> 19,20,21
> 
> More that 50% of the worlds’ population are now living in urban  
> centres, and in the next 50 years 90% of the new population are  
> expected toreside in urban slums. Urine is the largest single source  
> of P emerging fromhuman settlements. 22,23
> 
> According to some studies in Sweden and Zimbabwe, the nutrients in one  
> person's urine are sufficient to produce 50-100% of the food  
> requirements for another person. Combined with other organic sources  
> like manure and food waste, the phosphorus value in urine and faeces  
> can essentially replace the demand for phosphate rock. In 2000, the  
> global population produced 3 million tonnes of phosphorus from urine  
> and faeces alone.21,24,25
> 
> Unlike phosphate rock, which only exists in a handful of countries'  
> control, urine and faeces are available from any community or city,and  
> hence can contribute to 'phosphorus sovereignty' and food security.8
> In material flow terms, human excreta represents a readily available  
> 'exchange pool' of phosphorus, before it is 'lost' to the hydrosphere  
> typically as treated or untreated effluent discharged to rivers and  
> oceans. If urine is reused as a fertilizer, then less phosphorus (in  
> urine) is entering waterways, reducing the potential to cause toxic  
> algal blooms.11
> 
> Although preventing phosphorus point sources from entering water  
> bodies is often necessary to prevent water pollution, removing high  
> levels of phosphorus at the wastewater treatment plant is expensive  
> and energy intensive. Capturing urine at source (at the toilet) can be  
> much more energy efficient and cost-effective and does not contain  
> heavy metals like Cadmium.11,26
> 
> The cost of ecological sanitation systems around the world could be  
> offset by the commercial value of the phosphorus (and nitrogen) they  
> yield in the future. Particularly in Africa where synthetic  
> fertilizers typically cost 2-5 times more than in Europe. A community  
> ecological sanitation toilet in Tamilnadu, India, now pays users,  
> recognising the fertilizer value of their urine and faeces.27,28,29
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 14, 2010, at 8:17 AM, <pbunch@cox.net> wrote:
> 
> > http://www.slate.com/id/2258112/entry/2258053/
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