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Old 08-24-2015, 09:45 AM   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sands View Post
In King County (including Seattle) it is legal to put human fecal matter in regular garbage can or dumpster:

Solid waste disposal in King County

Disposable diapers, adult incontinence products, and other materials contaminated with feces may be thrown out in the regular garbage if they are placed in a sealed plastic bag.
The above is not unlike the laws here in Vancouver - the key word being "contaminated" materials.

One can put contaminated/soiled disposable diapers & adult incontinence products in the regular garbage but not the actual solid waste of a human or animal.
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Old 08-24-2015, 01:43 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by OneOleMan View Post
Ellpea, this is what I found for Seattle:

Pet Waste & Litter
Put dog poop and used kitty litter into the garbage. Double bag, tie off tightly to prevent air inside. This prevents bags from "exploding" near workers, when compacted.
Pet waste cannot be composted in the food and yard waste cart or in backyard composting bins.
Do not flush kitty litter down the toilet.
So in Seattle, dog and kitty poo can be double bagged and placed in the regular garbage, but no composting.

Good to know, thank you for looking this up!
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Old 08-24-2015, 01:44 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sands View Post
In King County (including Seattle) it is legal to put human fecal matter in regular garbage can or dumpster:

Solid waste disposal in King County

Disposable diapers, adult incontinence products, and other materials contaminated with feces may be thrown out in the regular garbage if they are placed in a sealed plastic bag.
Amazing. Thank you! Doesn't it sound like a commercial, double-bagged system would then be acceptable?
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Old 08-30-2015, 06:06 PM   #64
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Sawdust Toilet pictures

As promised, here are pictures of the modifications I made in my 13 Foot Burro. She needed at toilet so I decided upon a sawdust toilet after reading and researching about water saving toilets.

These toilets are economical, odorless, and MUCH better on the environment. Plus, it preserves our precious drinking water. This is biodegradable and better on the landfill than Pamper's diapers which have a plastic lining.

I use paper bags with wax paper lining designed for this purpose with Aspen sawdust that sells for $4 a pack at Walmart in the pet bedding section.

Now I am free to camp without worrying if there are toilet facilities or I am free from going outdoors in the rain, snow, or dark to use the restroom.

I installed a curtain for privacy and have hand sanitizer handy in a nearby dispenser.

For more information, Google "sawdust Toilets" and click on IMAGES. They are legal in all 50 states and the waste is more biodegradable than disposable diapers. There is absolutely no odor when the waste is covered with a thin layer of sawdust.

You start out with a lined container with about 5 inches of sawdust on the bottom. After you use the toilet you sprinkle enough clean sawdust on top to completely cover the waste. (You keep a small dry clean container of sawdust nearby with a coffee can for a scoop!). You drop the paper in there too! Cover it all up, and you're good to go! I can camp all week with 1-2 people without changing the waste container bag. No odor whatsoever. Comes out neatly, the bag ties closed, the waste moisture is absorbed by the sawdust material.

Throw it away in any garbage container. It's no more smelly than a child's soiled diaper (in fact, it's much less smelly) there's practically no odor at all.

Just another alternative for these awesome campers!
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Old 08-30-2015, 06:08 PM   #65
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You can see the curtain in one of the pictures tied back on the opposite wall. I run it across on a nylon cord. Stow it carefully away from the cooktop when using the cooktop. I run it to the other side of the camper. Sorry for the orientation of the photos, they were the correct orientation when I uploaded them but the application must have thought it better to flip them! You'll have to turn your head to view them! (sorry)
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Old 08-30-2015, 07:00 PM   #66
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Originally Posted by John Colangelo View Post

Throw it away in any garbage container.
As has already been discussed here at length, if it were not for the the fact that the disposal of solid human waste into a garbage container is actually illegal in most places if would be awesome.
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Old 08-30-2015, 07:27 PM   #67
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Please, let's not "go" there again.
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Old 08-30-2015, 07:38 PM   #68
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Sounds to me like a well thought out solution for a problem that was solved years ago with the porta-potty, which work just fine without buying bags of sawdust and having packages of waste to have to properly (& legally) dispose of somewhere.



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Old 09-02-2015, 10:04 AM   #69
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To each their own Bob, keep your cassette. I prefer to save water and not place waste in the water supply.

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Old 09-02-2015, 10:34 AM   #70
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John, were do you buy sawdust? And what does it cost?

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Old 09-02-2015, 10:39 AM   #71
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First, who Places Waste in the Water Supply?, certainly not this camper from the Golden State.


And I think that our world can afford the 3 gallons of water a week that the two of use might use up in our Dometic Sea-Land porta potty (Not a cassette toilet) as every time I flush at home it uses 1 gallon of water, about 8-12 times what a porta-potty uses per flush. Add to that the 2 flushes it might take when emptying the holding tank and you are still only using 5 gallons a week, or the same as 5 flushes at home.


But, Who puts human waste in an unapproved container in a public trash can? is a question that is already been answered.


BTW: Our current water allowance for personal use water, in drought stricken SoCal, is 50 gallons a day per person, when camping I doubt if we use 10 gallons a day. In the past 12 months our water district has reduced water consumption 37% and my personal account has gone down over 40%, we are very water wise out here.



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Old 09-02-2015, 10:46 AM   #72
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I've sail camped on a small sailboat for years using wag bags. They are fantastic for their purpose. I recently spent time camping on the Maine Island Trail (google MITA). I can't imagine a port-potti there and everyone was using wag bags. I tossed them in my garbage can when I got home with a clear conscience. I use a porta potty in my scamp, but when I removed my full bathroom and black water tank, I couldn't believe the responses of how wrong I was. Different folks, different strokes.

Take Care,
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:01 AM   #73
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I think that those that elect to just throw human waste into their home trashcans would be well advised to honestly check about the legality of that practice with the local sanitation peeps. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and "Ignorance is Bliss" doesn't work.


If it's OK, so be it, if not, act accordingly.....


BTW: I also removed the toilet and black tank from my Hunter to get the wasted space back, it's made a huge difference and no more looking for dump tanks.



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Old 09-02-2015, 11:21 AM   #74
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Peat moss

I use peat moss since it is cheap and easy to find. When I return from trip I tie up the garbage bag and let it compost closed up for a month or two. Then let it compost fully in a trash can with the rest of my compost. Then goes into the yard to feed the flowers.

I think people think it is gross because they don't believe that it does not smell. IT DOES NOT SMELL. When I dump the bag out into the trash can it has the pleasant smell of rich humus. I use the flushable baby wipes for hand cleanup and they seem to take a little longer to breakdown.

The stinky slinky and a black tank on the other hand is gross and stinks of ****!
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:22 AM   #75
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I repeat, to each their own Bob.

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Old 09-02-2015, 11:37 AM   #76
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bob, IMHO I think the dry waste handling system was born at a time when people were looking to go "off line", in case of emergency/apocalypse. or thinking along the lines of recycling - correctly handled, the sawdust system was touted as a source of compost & fertilizer for your garden. but in order to prevent the mad-cow cycle, you have to cross species when it comes to waste - cow or chicken manure on fields growing people-food & human bio-waste on fields growing animal feed. like on like is where you get into trouble with diseases.
a dry waste handling system is an interesting concept - no pumping or hauling in a lot of water, no hauling it out, no expensive or harmful chemicals, just sawdust & a tiny exhaust fan. seems like a good idea for a hunting cabin that is rarely used. not a good idea in a home with many people or little kids. but just imagine, never have to plunger, never would back up, no water lines to freeze, kid's things tossed in could be retrieved, & no baptizing your phone! lol!
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:41 AM   #77
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Originally Posted by Lisa in FL View Post
I repeat, to each their own Bob.

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Sorry
When it comes to public health and safety, "To each their own" isn't an acceptable answer or attitude.....

I'm done........



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Old 09-02-2015, 11:42 AM   #78
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BTW. Those "disposable" baby wipes are creating a problem for sewage treatment plants, clogging the filters etc.
And, "biodegradable" products can take up to ten years to degrade. "Compostable" products take weeks or months.
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:45 AM   #79
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Originally Posted by Lisa in FL View Post
To each their own Bob, keep your cassette. I prefer to save water and not place waste in the water supply.

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I am trying to get my head around the above in regards to the environmental implications of dumping solid human waste into general garbage and the belief that it somehow saves water & the environment.

Dumping solid human waste into general garbage is well documented as being a real big NO NO in developed nations for very obvious health and environmental reasons. Which is why dumping solid human wasting into general garbage is illegal in most developed parts of the world.

For healthier and safety and general environmental reasons it is far better for solid human waste to be disposed of into a water treatment plant system that has been developed to treat such waste before it is put back into the local environment/water ways. Those treatment plants and the water they use are already built and were developed to protect the local enviornment as such by choosing to not use them the idea that one is saving the planet, is well... enough said.

Double bagging anything in plastic & then dumping it into general garbage is again in most areas where environmental awareness is high is also considered a real big NO NO. In these parts our garbage is now checked to make sure we have not put any plastic into it!

I am all for doing what we can to protect the environment and know that sawdust composite toilets are a sound environmental practise if put into use in a practical environment such as a home or a cottage where one can leave the human waste in place to actually composite (assuming their is no concern with contaminating a local water source due to leaching) and ONLY if one does not already have in place a local sewage treatment plant alternative. The use of the later vs a composite toilet is ALWAYS considered the more environmentally sound alternative as you avoid any concerns with local water supply contamination due to water leaching from a human or animal waste composting systems. Don't believe me? Ask David Suzuki ;-)

I just can't see how a sawdust composite toilet in a travel trailer is considered to be a environmentally friendly or healthy alternative to using a sewage treatment plant , especially when one is having to dump it illegally into general garbage all wrapped up in plastic bags before it even has time to compost .
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:48 AM   #80
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Originally Posted by sharon_b View Post
bob, IMHO I think the dry waste handling system was born at a time when people were looking to go "off line", in case of emergency/apocalypse. or thinking along the lines of recycling - correctly handled, the sawdust system was touted as a source of compost & fertilizer for your garden. but in order to prevent the mad-cow cycle, you have to cross species when it comes to waste - cow or chicken manure on fields growing people-food & human bio-waste on fields growing animal feed. like on like is where you get into trouble with diseases.
a dry waste handling system is an interesting concept - no pumping or hauling in a lot of water, no hauling it out, no expensive or harmful chemicals, just sawdust & an tiny exhaust fan. seems like a good idea for a hunting cabin that is rarely used. not a good idea in a home with many people or little kids. but just imagine, never have to plunger, never would back up, no water lines to freeze, kid's things tossed in could be retrieved, & no baptizing your phone! lol!
I agree that the dry system of waste disposal is useful in the mentioned applications, but the caveat "correctly handled" apparently doesn't seem to be of interest to those that advocate, and claim the legality of, just tossing these bags of waste "into any trash can". And in 2015, in an RV, the only advantages I can even remotely see are: a) It's a cheaper system to build and b) some are convinced that it will save the earth.

Bottom line, if it wasn't a health hazard, why would a number of public agencies prohibit the suggested end disposal method?



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