- Question: Why do
some people "go blank" when I bring up the subject
of composting toilets?
Answer:
Human body products are the ultimate taboo. Many people
are embarrassed and ashamed about what their bodies produce,
making them perfectly happy to do whatever is normal (usually
a big mistake), instead of thinking about it. You need to
tell them the good news: that with a NutriCycle System their
body products can close the nutrient loop, solving problems
instead of creating them, so they can "feel good about
going"!
- Question: Does the
NutriCycle System have odors?
Answer:
No. The fan in the composter keeps negative air pressure
at all openings. The end-products, compost and liquid fertilizer,
are odor-free, and there are no odors from the graywater
system. Seeing is believing, so arrange a tour! (see Demonstration
Site) By comparison, your sewage toilet gives
you odors every time you use it.
- Question:
A "no discharge" system would be ideal, right?
Answer:
Wrong. If the nutrients are not getting back to the land
based food chain, then pollution and health hazards must
be occurring. Evaporation systems, for example, touted as
"no discharge", put nutrients (nitrogen) into
the air where they can later be deposited into bodies of
water with the same negative effect as if they had gone
through the groundwater. A nutrient recycling system is
ideal, and the safest way is by generating compost, liquid
fertilizer, and graywater. (see Benefits
of Nutrient Recycling)
- Question: What
other systems are there for graywater besides your Graywater
Flower Bed?
Answer: Other
systems are possible but they involve maintenance and the
handling of residuals (the Graywater Flower Bed has neither).
If you're not into landscape enhancement, then perhaps a
graywater septic system (conventional design) would be O.K.
with only minimal pollution compared to a sewage septic
system. Remember, 80% of the nutrients are in the Clivus
Liquid Fertilizer so that is the most important component to
recycle properly.
- Question: My health
officials tell me there is no problem with nitrates
(nutrients) in the groundwater. What planet are they on?
Answer: Mars!
Traditionally, health officials have been only concerned with
getting fecal matter out of reach (underground), and have
ignored the bigger health picture. Also, in general, it is
still perfectly legal to cause nitrate pollution with septic
systems. While they will not admit it, health officials do
know about nitrate pollution and are likely to respond
positively to a NutriCycle System Concept Proposal. (Contact
Us)
- Question: Do you
really expect me to put human pee on my lawn?
Answer:
Yes, after proper composting which converts it into odor-free,
safe-to-handle, liquid fertilizer. Larger generators of
liquid fertilizer (composted urine), such as office buildings
and highway rest areas, are likely to transport it for use
on farms, called direct nutrient recycling. For more information,
go to Literature
Request and check Liquid Fertilizer Information.
- Question: Won't we
get development where we don't want it if your design criteria
are adopted?
Answer: No. That's
what current septic system regulations are doing - forcing
loss of farmland to development because that's where you get
large lots that perc. What's needed is non-polluting in-fill
growth and non-polluting development of properly zoned
marginal lands, and that's what NutriCycle Systems will
facilitate. (links
- OSDS report, sustainable land use)
- Question: Will a
NutriCycle System make my unbuildable lot buildable?
Answer: Maybe.
Technically, the answer is likely to be "yes"
because the design criteria for graywater use less area,
reduced separation distances, and less reliance on
percolation. Health officials, however, are reluctant to
recognize this. Approval to build on your lot using a NutriCycle
System needs to be tested. Please contact
us for a concept proposal.
- Question: Why
should I buy one of your $6,000 or more composters when I can
buy a small composter that doesn't even need a basement space
for under $1,500?
Answer: Because your
nutrient recycling efforts will be successful with the
expensive system (Clivus) and will be unsuccessful and unsafe
with the cheap system. Small composters are really
"dehydrators" (see the "no
discharge" question, above) without enough
mass to support true composting. The end-products are not
likely to be safe-to-handle or odor-free, and aesthetic and hygienic
questions arise when your body is only inches from the pile of
fecal matter. From an economic point of view, the worse thing
would be to get a cheap system, decide you don't like it, then
have to buy the good system.
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