permaculture

[bmn@iglou.com]

Wordgarden wrote:
> On point 1. I agree that municipal sludge need not be nasty. If the waste
> stream is properly
> designed AND properly used in the way it is designed (i.e., people don't put
> their sump oil down the drain). I guess that sewerage systems differ
> according to locality, but where I am, the sewers carry household sewage,
> and stormwater is handled differently. I think the current system would work
> as designed, as far as soil nutrients go, if the sewage wasn't contaminated.

Unfortunatley, it is contaminated.  If it were simple human wastes, I'd 
have no problem with applications.  However, in most cities stormwater 
is combined...as is industrial waste.  In fact, it was around the 50s, 
maybe even early 60s when combined sewers (waste and stormwater) were 
still being built in the US.  But even in household waste streams, 
you're not simply dealing with human wastes, you're dealing with any and 
all manner of products being flushed or washed into drains.  With that 
in mind, I doubt you'll ever see widespread proper design and/or use.  I 
hate to be a pessimist, but up until a few months ago, I'd been working 
as a biologist in that field for 16 years.