Dear Bogdan,
indeed you have right. We didn't store the leachate to make it hygienic. In 3 cases, we have set up watertight plateform just to collect it to get a volume approach and make usual tests (DCO, DOB, E. Coli, etc.). According to french standards it's compulsory to create a watertight plateform with you construct your composter for dry toilets matters. We just underline that is better to have interface with soil bacteries to improve compost process and that sometimes it's more hygienic not to handle leachate and let them seep in the soil if it's allowed (no watertable, no fractured rock, no wells, etc.).
We didn't research more on efficient hygienisation process for leachate.

Best Regards,

Dear Florent! Thank you for sharing your publication! It is a very valuable research.
As far as I understand you only analyzed fresh leachate from the composter without storing it and found it highly unhygienic.
I wonder if it is possible to stabilize this kind of leachate by storing it. Do you now of any researches done?
Best,
Bogdan

Dear Arno,

many thanks for your feedback.

The study took place in a specific context in France which litter dry toilets (which mix urine and faeces) is "over" representated instead of UDDT or UDFT. That's why we tried to inform and make recommendation (as yours above) about composting process of dry toilets litter for users and state deputy (in charge to control composting areas). I concede that the publication is not as much as well oriented that the report (unfortunatly available only in French). Main results of this study is to practice urine diversion as soon as possible (easily for men) to reduce volume of leachate and add green cooking waste to the composter to diversify inputs in order to improve composting process and reduce anaerobically situation.

I work now on OCAPI program (www.leesu.fr/ocapi/presentation/ocapi-program/) in Paris targetting UDFT and farmers acceptation (www.leesu.fr/ocapi/wp-content/uploads/20...aquette-OCAPI_EN.pdf).

Regards,

Florent
Thanks for this posting.
Your conclusion is that composted or partly composted sludge from latrines is a low grade plant fertilizer and is best used for soil conditioning (eg increase in organic C). This most practitioners will agree with.

It wasn't clear whether you had tried urine diversion. Urine is an ideal plant fertilizer.
See www.ecosanres.org/pdf_files/ESR2010-1-Pr...InCropProduction.pdf

So by mixing urine with faeces, the high impact of urine as a plant fertilizer is lost eg due to nitrogen losses.

Also the question of achieving high enough temperatures to reduce pathogens (60 C) - this is a matter of adding sufficient amounts of undigested organic carbon to the compost (eg plant materials - food and agriculture sources) and also ensuring that the microbial activity is optimal (eg seeding from degrading leaves and moist living soil).

Alternatives include lacto-fermentation and vermi-composting which will reduce nitrogen losses and pathogens as well.
www.sswm.info/water-nutrient-cycle/waste.../terra-preta-toilets

Best wishes

Dear all,

I'm pleased to share with you the publication about our study on dry toilets (TLB) in France.

hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01811052v1

Please feel free to contact me for any question.

Regards,