SuSanA - Forum Kunena Site Syndication http://forum.susana.org/ Thu, 17 May 2012 11:37:32 +0000 Kunena 1.6 http://forum.susana.org/components/com_kunena/template/default/images/icons/rss.png SuSanA - Forum http://forum.susana.org/ en-gb Re: Examples of ecological sanitation at scale - by: jonpar http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1393-examples-of-ecological-sanitation-at-scale?limit=12&start=12#1559 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1393-examples-of-ecological-sanitation-at-scale?limit=12&start=12#1559 www.soafrica.com/Client/AfricaSan/T8/2%2...hieving%20scale.pdf. The diagram should have been referenced to GHK Guide to Strategic Planning for Municipal Sanitation (www.netssaftutorial.com/fileadmin/DATA_C...cipal_sanitation.pdf). I also like the idea of thinking big, but taking small steps as we know it is hard to introduce a massive change in the way we do things overnight voices.yahoo.com/think-big-take-small-steps-10634481.html?cat=3 best regards, Jonathan]]> Fertiliser / soil conditioner Wed, 16 May 2012 16:35:17 +0000 Re: Use excreta compost only for non-edible plants (preferably)? - by: gerhard_dario http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1424-use-excreta-compost-only-for-non-edible-plants-preferably?limit=12&start=12#1558 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1424-use-excreta-compost-only-for-non-edible-plants-preferably?limit=12&start=12#1558 dear Ralf,
dear all,

important discussion. The last comments of Hakan and Ralf touch on questions about organic fertilizing in general. Far away from the topic: use excreta compost only for non-edible plants. Elisabeth should create a new topic. WG 3 - Renewable energies and climate change - should become invited to participate.

IFOAM regulation does not distinguish between human feces and urine. Today are human excrements prohibited for use on crops for human consumption. New IFOAM Standard will allow more in accordance to COROS assessment reference.

IFOAM Basic Standards (2005) still valid May 2012:
4.4.4 Manures containing human excrement (feces and urine) are prohibited for use on crops for human consumption.
Exceptions may be made where detailed sanitation requirements are established by the standard-setting organization to prevent the transmission of pests, parasites and infectious agents and to ensure that manures are not mixed with other household or industrial wastes that may contain prohibited substances.

New Standard under developement, actuall Draft 0.3 will be in discussion until June 2012. Draft version 0.4 will be the version submitted for a final approval vote. Regulation concerning human excrement since Draft Version 0.2:
4.4.5 Human excrement shall be handled in a way that reduces risk of pathogens and parasites and shall not be applied within six months of the harvest of annual crops for human consumption with edible portions in contact with the soil.

Draft History

IFOAM Standard Draft 0.1 (Version 2010)
4.4.5 Manures containing human excrement must not be applied on soil that will be used to grow crops for human consumption within the next six months.
Regional or other exception at certification body discretion
Exceptions may be made where detailed sanitation requirements prevent the transmission of pests, parasites and infectious agents and manures are not mixed with other household or industrial wastes that may contain prohibited substances.
4.4.6 Manures containing human excrement (feces and urine) are prohibited for use on crops for human consumption

IFOAM Standard Draft 0.3 (May 2012)
4.4.5 Human excrement shall be handled in a way that reduces risk of pathogens and parasites and shall not be applied within six months of the harvest of annual crops for human consumption with edible portions in contact with the soil.
4.4.6 Mineral fertilizers shall only be used in a program addressing long-term fertility needs together with other techniques such as organic matter additions, green manures, crop rotations and nitrogen fixation by plants. Their use shall be justified by appropriate soil and leaf analysis or diagnosed by an independent expert.

COROS, GOMA

COROS, Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (International reference to perform bi-lateral or multi-lateral equivalence assessments of organic standards)
Objective:
Sheet DATA ENTRY, 4.3.5 :
Organic soil fertility management does not use of human excrement on crops for human consumption without measures to protect humans from pathogens.

COROS Consultation Discussion:
Objective:
Organic soil fertility management does not use of human excrement on crops for human consumption without measures to protect humans from pathogens.
FiBL (Otto Schmid): nothing is said on soil tillage, which is a key criticism on organic farming: We might add: this includes the emphasis on soil conservation and minimum tillage practices.
GOMA-IFOAM answer (GOMA, Global Organic Market Access, a joint initiative of FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD):
Rate of tillage is not commonly addressed in organic standards (which is why it is criticized) and therefore would seem out of place in a document that presents the common requirements. This document, an equivalence instrument, is not intended to lead standards in a new direction but to reflect the current status of organic standards.

More about Lisbon Treaty and how to change organic regulation in europe now: www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/around_world/e...er_2012_EN_heavy.pdf

COROS, GOMA and humanure, one example:
GOMA (www.goma-organic.org), the Global Market Access project, is a joint initiative of FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD.
GOMA organized a draft working group for co-operation on Organic Labelling and Trade for Asia and decided to develop Asia Regional Organic Standard (AROS). WG meeting: 26-27 September 2011, Seoul,
"Human Waste: It was noted by the standards developer that COROS and AROS currently have the same wording and also that two countries, Philippines and China, specifically allow it in their standards with restrictions. Discussion included adding more detailed language in the restrictions, the need to allow this substance due to the peaking and eventual decline of phosphorous sources, and whether there should be different language regarding of urine. It was decided to define and treat urine and solid human waste the same, and add some more explicit restrictions requiring further treatment, examples being composting and fermentation."
(www.goma-organic.org/wp-content/uploads/...MA_Asia_WG_Seoul.pdf)

Regards,
Gerhard]]> Fertiliser / soil conditioner Wed, 16 May 2012 11:46:30 +0000 Stagiaire pour le projet « Systèmes d’assainissement pour les quartiers précaires de Nouakchott (Mauritanie) » - by: ulrichl http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/20-jobs-internships-cvs/1557-stagiaire-pour-le-projet-l-systemes-dassainissement-pour-les-quartiers-precaires-de-nouakchott-mauritanie-r#1557 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/20-jobs-internships-cvs/1557-stagiaire-pour-le-projet-l-systemes-dassainissement-pour-les-quartiers-precaires-de-nouakchott-mauritanie-r#1557 -> Informations et candidature en ligne]]> Jobs, internships, CVs Wed, 16 May 2012 07:37:43 +0000 SARAR- VII Curso Regional en Saneamiento Sostenible 11-23 Noviembre 2012 - by: fabiola http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/21-events/1556-sarar-vii-curso-regional-en-saneamiento-sostenible-11-23-noviembre-2012#1556 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/21-events/1556-sarar-vii-curso-regional-en-saneamiento-sostenible-11-23-noviembre-2012#1556
OBJETIVO DEL CURSO
Este curso brindará herramientas para abordar el desafío que representa proveer de servicios de agua y saneamiento sostenible a los crecientes asentamientos humanos, sean rurales o urbanos. Está dirigido a personas que desean obtener un conocimiento más detallado del saneamiento ecológico sostenible y conocer algunas experiencias concretas. Los participantes podrán identificar los elementos socio-organizativos y técnicos básicos necesarios en un programa de agua y saneamiento ecológico,mediante una metodología participativa y vivencial.]]> Events Tue, 15 May 2012 17:03:56 +0000 SARAR Methodology Course 6-11 August 2012 - by: fabiola http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/21-events/1555-sarar-methodology-course-6-11-august-2012#1555 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/21-events/1555-sarar-methodology-course-6-11-august-2012#1555
OBJETIVO DEL CURSO: Comprender los principios básicos de la metodología SARAR y PHAST y adquirir experiencia en su manejo para abordar aspectos de diagnóstico y planificación participativa mediante ejercicios prácticos, momentos de teorización y estudios de casos.]]> Events Tue, 15 May 2012 16:58:36 +0000 Re: New SuSanA DVD available! - by: ennoschroeder http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-by-susana-secretariat/1523-new-susana-dvd-available#1553 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-by-susana-secretariat/1523-new-susana-dvd-available#1553
thanks for that idea and yes, I also sometimes prefer having something in my hands rather than having it "just" available online. Somehow there is more commitment to actually use it...

When you want to order a bigger stack, you can also fill out the form which is accessible here . You could then write in the field "Purpose of DVD" what you want them for and we can see how we can arrange a payment...

Cheers and have a nice day!
Enno]]> By SuSanA secretariat Tue, 15 May 2012 09:16:54 +0000 Re: Use excreta compost only for non-edible plants (preferably)? - by: Marijn Zandee http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1424-use-excreta-compost-only-for-non-edible-plants-preferably?limit=12&start=12#1551 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1424-use-excreta-compost-only-for-non-edible-plants-preferably?limit=12&start=12#1551
Thank you for this contribution. Could you give a more complete reference for Odlare et al., 2000 ?

rgds

Marijn]]> Fertiliser / soil conditioner Mon, 14 May 2012 20:04:56 +0000 Re: Use excreta compost only for non-edible plants (preferably)? - by: HakanJonsson http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1424-use-excreta-compost-only-for-non-edible-plants-preferably?limit=12&start=12#1550 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/17-fertiliser--soil-conditioner/1424-use-excreta-compost-only-for-non-edible-plants-preferably?limit=12&start=12#1550 Dear all,
I do not agree to the statement that ammonia in urine ideally should be transformed to organic nitrogen.

The grounds for my statement are:
1) The only way I know of transforming ammonia to organic nitrogen goes via bacteria. These use organics as their source of energy. But the bacteria do not only multiply, increasing the bacterial mass. They also have to respire. Thus, it is less than half of the energy of the organics fed to the bacteria that ends up in the bacterial mass, which is the mass containing the organic nitrogen. More than half will be lost in endogenic respiration. From a sustainability and greenhouse gas point of view, it would be far better to use the feed organics either for biogas production, if the feed organics are easily degraded like food waste, or to use it as biofuel for incineration, if it is woody waste. To use this energy just to build ammonia nitrogen into organic form is a waste which does not use the potential of the energy in the organics to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions.

2) In composts, often large proportions of the input nitrogen is lost, largely as ammonia, but also as nitrous oxide (N2O) and, in the best of worlds, as nitrogen gas. The nitrogen losses are especially large when composting substrates with lots of easily available nitrogen, and especially if the nitrogen is in the form of ammonia. E.g. in the paper "Nitrogen loss during composting of poultry litter" Venglovsky et al. (2011) report that 65% of the initial N was lost when poulty litter was composted and in "Nitrogen turnover and loss during storage of slurry and composting of solid manure under typical Vietnamese farming conditions" Tran et al. (2010)report that the losses were 45-55% when the pig slurry was composted with straw.

3) The nitrogen that ends up as organic nitrogen in composts has on average a very low efficiency in feeding the plants and thus in replacing mineral (chemical) nitrogen fertilizers. In a literature review by Odlare et al. (2000) they found that of the nitrogen in the compost, the literature indicates that on average about 0-15% is used by the crop the first year, another 5-10% the next year and in total over sevaral years about 20-30% of the organic nitrogen in the compost is utilized by the crops. One important reason for this percentage not being higher is that a lot of the organic nitrogen is mineralized when there is no crop on the soil to take it up. See the next bullet, no 4.

4) Organic nitrogen in the soil has a big drawback in that is is not directly available to the plants. It only becomes available after it has been mineralized and mineralization is not well syncronized with the need of the plants.
For mineralization, the soil moisture and temperature has to be suitable. In temperate climate like Sweden and Denmark, and I think also northern Germany our winter crops (winter wheat, winter barley, winter rape, etc.) need a very large part of their nitrogen very early in the year, when they start to grow in the spring. In mid Sweden, they need ample access to mineral nitrogen from about mid April. At this time the soil temperature is only just over freezing, which means that organic nitrogen is not being mineralized in the soil. By end of June, when the winter crops stops to take up nitrogen as they start to ripe, the soil temperature has increased to 15-20 degrees centigrades and thus then there is a lot of mineralization and this continues through the autumn. This in turn means that lots of nitrogen is mineralized at times when there are now crops that can take it up. Thus, a large part of the nitrogen that is mineralized in the late summer and autumn is lost in the winter and spring, causing eutrophication of e.g. the Baltic Sea.

5) Source separated urine has a unique and very valuable property in that it is readily plant available (see e.g. "Practical Guidance on the Use of Urine in Crop Production" at www.ecosanres.org/publications.htm). This means that it can be used to supply winter crops with the nitrogen when they need it and thus increase their health, competitiveness against weeds, and quantity and quality of their yeild. As it has such a high plant availability it can be supplied to the crop just before it is needed, thus minimizing the risk for losses and negative effects on the environement.

This is the reason why several of the large urine diversion projects in Sweden during the 90-ies were initialized by organic farmers. The farmers realized the unique quality of the source separated urine and they wanted it for improving the competitiveness of their crops against weeds and for better yields. Source separated human urine was, just as the manure from animals, allowed as fertilizers in organic farming in Sweden before we joined the EU, just as it still is by IFOAM, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. It is a great pity that it is not allowed in organic farming by the EU.

I really think that the sustainability of a urine diversion system is decreased if the urine is used for composting instead of for fertilizing directly, because by composting only some 15% of the initial nitrogen will end up being used by the plant (50% left after composting and of this 30% is used by plants). The rest is lost to the environment causing large negative environmental effects (N2O, NO3, NH3).

If the urine instead is used directly as a fertilizer it can replace mineral fertilizers at a rate of 1:1, thus DECREASING the global warming caused by its production in the form of emissions of N2O and CO2.

I am open for any discussion of my conclusions, if this discussion is based on data from scientific publications.

With sincere wishes for increased sustainability,
Håkan]]> Fertiliser / soil conditioner Mon, 14 May 2012 18:22:32 +0000 Re: New SuSanA DVD available! - by: OlivierC http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-by-susana-secretariat/1523-new-susana-dvd-available#1549 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/10-by-susana-secretariat/1523-new-susana-dvd-available#1549
Living in Belgium, where we have quite easy Internet acces, I was wondering if buying the DVD could be also a way to financialy support the organisation?

But it could be that it more work than the financial value and you would rather get donations?

I am just asking cause I can imagine offering the DVD to some politicians (to attract they attention) they might surf on the DVD once, cause they have the object (offered) rather than visit the website that they could always visit and will never... Busy schedule and postponing habbits...

Anyway congratulations for that good work.

Olivier C]]> By SuSanA secretariat Mon, 14 May 2012 18:09:00 +0000 Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Course (SSWM): Emergency Response and Preparation: Philippines 2012 - by: annamiso1980@googlemail.com http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/58-wg-5-fertiliser/1548-sustainable-sanitation-and-water-management-course-sswm-emergency-response-and-preparation-philippines-2012#1548 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/58-wg-5-fertiliser/1548-sustainable-sanitation-and-water-management-course-sswm-emergency-response-and-preparation-philippines-2012#1548
Xavier University Sustainable Sanitation (SuSan) Center in collaboration with seecon international gmbh and the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN) is offering a 1-week Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Course (SSWM): Emergency Response and Preparation. The course is now open for registration.

Dates:
Module I Basic Course: August 13-16, 2012
Module II Expert Course: Augus16-19, 2012 (requires attendance of module I)
Intensive Training-of-Trainers: August 20, 2012 (requires attendance of module I and II)

For further information kindly see attached file.


Thank you...]]> WG 5 (fertiliser) Mon, 14 May 2012 15:31:34 +0000 Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Course (SSWM): Emergency Response and Preparation: Philippines 2012 - by: annamiso1980@googlemail.com http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/21-events/1547-sustainable-sanitation-and-water-management-course-sswm-emergency-response-and-preparation-philippines-2012#1547 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/21-events/1547-sustainable-sanitation-and-water-management-course-sswm-emergency-response-and-preparation-philippines-2012#1547
Xavier University Sustainable Sanitation (SuSan) Center in collaboration with seecon international gmbh and the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN) is offering a 1-week Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Course (SSWM): Emergency Response and Preparation. The course is now open for registration.

Dates:
Module I Basic Course: August 13-16, 2012
Module II Expert Course: Augus16-19, 2012 (requires attendance of module I)
Intensive Training-of-Trainers: August 20, 2012 (requires attendance of module I and II)

For further information kindly see attached file.

Thank you.]]> Events Mon, 14 May 2012 15:24:23 +0000 Re: Review of the new "Technology review of UDDTs" - by: ulrichl http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1175-review-of-the-new-qtechnology-review-of-uddtsq#1546 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1175-review-of-the-new-qtechnology-review-of-uddtsq#1546
I agree with you but would like to add the following minor remarks:
  • Regarding objective 1: with single vaults it might not always be possible to obtain an odourless, non-offensive material (depending on container size and dehydration performance of the vent system) - there will of course always be some fresh material on top when you remove it. But all in all it will definitely be more pleasant than removing just fresh and pure faeces/sludge.
  • Regarding burying faeces in the ground without treatment: I would not generally say there won't be any negative effects. It will largely depend on precipitation patterns, soil properties, groundwater level and density of population practicing the technique.

Have a nice week!
Lukas]]> Urine diversion systems (includes UDDT and UD flush toilet) Mon, 14 May 2012 06:18:33 +0000 Re: Ethiopia-Adama Uni UDDT project seems O&M to blame again! - by: muench http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1533-ethiopia-adama-uni-uddt-project-seems-oam-to-blame-again#1545 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1533-ethiopia-adama-uni-uddt-project-seems-oam-to-blame-again#1545
Thanks for your first-hand report and for posting this here.
Could you tell us a bit more about yourself, e.g. what is your PhD on and which country are you from?

This UDDT installation at the Adama University is very close to my heart for two main reasons:
  1. I have followed the design and construction steps, knowing some of the people behind it (like Martin Oldenburg) and I know they really did a good job in design & construction, and worked so hard on it.
  2. It was built under a contract with GIZ-IS, which is the same company that I work for, just a different section (GIZ International Services is the "commercial arm" of GIZ if you like). Hence, I would really love this to be a success and reference site! GIZ-IS is busy right now building wastewater treatment plants at 13 other university sites in Ethiopia for the Ethiopian government (i.e. not development assistance) (but no other dry toilets).

Here is some further information about the current state (I copied this from the flickr set description):

More photos and information added in April 2012 by Solomon Kore, working for GIZ-IS:

1.There is not any imperfection in the design and construction of the UDDT Project in Adama Site.

2.The operation at this very moment is not fulfilling the designed and targeted purposes.

3.GIZ IS is not in control of its daily operations and functions after the successful completion and commissioning of the project. (it is not the scope of our company to do so)

4.Any issue either technical or administrative are to be owned, controlled and supervised only and exclusively by the client (The University)

To come to a conclusion:

A. The urine is not currently used as a fertilizer. It is simply poured on an existing Oxidation pond.

B. The faecal matter is not currently being used for any purpose. It is simply dumped to an existing oxidation pond.

C. Students are restricted to use the toilets not for any special reasons but, because of limited technical and administrative capability to manage the mass use.


So, we see that the problem is in the O&M or more specifically it seems to be with the responsibilities for O&M. What incentive does someone have to do this O&M well? If it is not done well, people resort back to pit latrines which are also there.

When compared to pit latrines, the O&M requirements for UDDTs are higher and it is not a "fail-safe system", there is no doubt about that. You can neglect a pit latrine for years, it will be filthy and smelly, sure, but that's what you expect... Only after 10 years (or less) you have to emtpy it... With a UDDT you have to be more on top of things. Daily cleaning and checking; unblocking urine pipes; re-filling ash containers; emptying urine containers and faeces drums... Are we overloading the maintenance staff - if they are totally not used to looking after a toilet in this way?

By the way, one of our former colleagues showed us photos of flush toilets at the same universities built under this program. What we got to see was not pretty: after only weeks of operation, these flush toilets had also become filthy, blocked, water dripping out of cracks in pipes and so forth.

I didn't follow up on this but it gave me some satisfaction to know that these flush toilets faced equivalent O&M difficulties as the UDDTs...

At the end of the day, if the setup is such that the additional benefits of UDDTs are not valued by the facility management staff (i.e. no odour, easier handling of dried faeces as opposed to faecal sludge, possible proximity toilet to bed room, no water needed, free fertiliser), then perhaps it is simply safer to stick to pit latrines or flush toilets.

It is all about incentives for doing the O&M right, isn't it?

I hope I am not sounding too negative here. I still have a lot of faith that these UDDTs can actually be "saved" and become a great reference project which others will come and study to see how it works and why it works to well.

Regards,
Elisabeth]]> Urine diversion systems (includes UDDT and UD flush toilet) Sat, 12 May 2012 21:17:08 +0000 UDDTs for sale at hardware store in Germany - by: jkeichholz http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1544-uddts-for-sale-at-hardware-store-in-germany#1544 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1544-uddts-for-sale-at-hardware-store-in-germany#1544 BAUHAUS (here in Hamburg, Germany) to buy some tools and stumbled upon this setup which was prominently placed in the gardening section, next to the shop's main entrance:



(pls click here if the image doesn't load)

It's a Separett "Villa" Urine Diversion Dry Toilet which you'll normally find with selected distributors like Wolfgang Berger's Berger-Biotechnik GmbH (where it's even cheaper and probably sold with much more expertise), but the interesting part is the exposure this model has in the hardware store and that it just looks VERY nice. On the pic, you'll also see a grey container on the left side which is their "Ejektortank 50" used to mix urine with water (1:8 ratio).

So of course I couldn't resist and asked the staff on their experiences with this system and was told that they only recently included this in their assortment of goods BUT that they had already sold 4 units so far. Given that each toilet unit costs 799 EUR in that shop (and it's a chain of stores), this is already quite a lot, imo.

Since this won't be the only market where they are selling these UDDTs, I am more than glad about this exposure and hope that it will trigger some demand on the market.

Edit: BAUHAUS is also active in Sweden (actually in 15 different EU countries), so they obviously also have this product in their assortment www.bauhaus.se/webshop/badrum/mulltoa-separett.html]]> Urine diversion systems (includes UDDT and UD flush toilet) Sat, 12 May 2012 21:14:35 +0000 Re: Review of the new "Technology review of UDDTs" - by: christian.rieck http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1175-review-of-the-new-qtechnology-review-of-uddtsq#1543 http://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/34-urine-diversion-systems-includes-uddt-and-ud-flush-toilet/1175-review-of-the-new-qtechnology-review-of-uddtsq#1543 Sorry for not responding earlier to your post. Thank you the clarification of your opinion on the terminology and on the question whether the publication should include also single vaults. Very helpful indeed. I agree with you guys that both vault types should be included in the publication as they both provide a certain extent of dehydration. As it is pretty clear that even the two dehydration vaults cannot provide a complete removal of pathogens in faeces, the objective for both types seems in my opinion to be

1) to get a dry and odourless faecal material that is not offensive when handling and 2) to partly sanitize the faecal material which is makes handling safer, but is however not sufficient for use in agriculture.

So if faeces are stored for 6 months in the vaults or for only 2 months in a container inside the vault does not really make a huge difference with regard to the above objective. Any objections?

Another differing type are UDDTs with single vaults that use only one interchangeable container. Lukas, you classified this type under off-site treatment systems. I would actually like to differ by saying, that the fresh faeces could also be directly buried in the ground without any negative effects and thus do not need to be treated as a must. Would you agree? In general I would like to include this type as well in the publication as it is a relevant type of UDDTS that is applied widely in the field.

I am almost at the end of the final review process (it takes long since I am working on other things in parallel) I would like to hear your feedback on the above points.

By the way I will opt for the terminology Chris was origninally opting being "Urine-diverting Dry Toilets" and then add the terms of "double dehydration vaults" and "single vaults with interchangeable containers" accordingly. This will also give me the option to include those "off-site treatment system". Thanks Chris for being on my tail and the others (also via email) for replying!

Cheers
Christian]]> Urine diversion systems (includes UDDT and UD flush toilet) Sat, 12 May 2012 16:13:26 +0000