# Prepping for Poo



## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Since this came up in another thread I thought maybe we should explore the topic a little more in depth. 










There are a lot of things we take for granted today that we won't be able to in a post-SHTF world. Waste disposal is not just about the function itself, but there are large health related concerns. Concerns that can mean life or death when there is no ambulance to call, no emergency room to go to and even no clinic to visit. Of course if it is just you out in the wood, a shovel and a corn cob might be good enough. But add in some more people up to and including a full community and now you have some logistics to work out.

I have a couple cases of TP, some compressed TP, a couple cases of hand sanitizer, lots of bleach, a 5 gallon pail with a toilet lid, some packed sawdust and lots of plastic bags. I don't think I am unprepared in this area but it is entirely possible that I am underprepared.

So...what are you doing to prep for poo?


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

I will save it for ammo for my trebuchet!

Nothing says go home like a pail of flying goodness.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

You can build a working septic system very easily with only a handful of materials. You can even build it to collect methane gas for use in cooking or as engine fuel. The by product of that is smell free fertilizer if you choose to use it. The getting rid of the poo part is easy. Tp, well i stock pile it! I basically see myself like Woody Harrison's character in the movie Zombie Land. For those who don't know what im talking about he really really wanted a twinkie. I will be searching for a tractor trailer truck load of tp to bring back to base!


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

May I suggest the book " Humanure" . I have read it and implemented it at an off grid location. Works just fine. No poo problems. The girls like it much better than the Outhouse.


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

How to construct your own septic system ( With pictures).

http://www.wikihow.com/Construct-a-Small-Septic-System


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

I have dug up septic system that were nothing more than an old car buried in the groubd with a pipe in and pipe out. Also popular was a stone stacked tank. Septics are easy it's the government that makes them a pain.


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

Since my yard is not big enough for a septic system, and I don't count on the sewer lasting very long, our poo plan is a portable commode chair, plastic bags (the Glad odor absorbing kind- we'll see if they really work!), and kitty litter. It doesn't take very much litter, and I have a bunch stored.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> Since my yard is not big enough for a septic system, and I don't count on the sewer lasting very long, our poo plan is a portable commode chair, plastic bags (the Glad odor absorbing kind- we'll see if they really work!), and kitty litter. It doesn't take very much litter, and I have a bunch stored.


So if we are talking shtf situation here, a 55 gallon drum will work as a septic. Pipe in from house pipe out to "leach feild". It would actually take less effort to build it than to truck away your poop bags.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

LastOutlaw said:


> How to construct your own septic system ( With pictures).
> 
> http://www.wikihow.com/Construct-a-Small-Septic-System


Actually lastoutlaw covered it here and its two 55 gallon drums.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Caribou said:


> I have spent some time in villages without a sewer system. They typically have a sewage lagoon that all the sewage gets dumped in. The lagoons are emptied into the river after breakup and just before freeze up.
> 
> The homes have what I'll call an in-house. There is a toilet seat mounted on a box lid. Inside the box is a 5 gallon bucket. When the bucket is full you set it outside and someone hauls it to the lagoon and gives you your bucket back. At least a bucket back.
> 
> A vent pipe goes from the top of the box through the roof to vent the odor outside. While the room gets a bit chilly in the winter it is way better than trying to go outside in -40*.


I feel for the people down river....uke:


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## bigg777 (Mar 18, 2013)

As I plan on bugging in, I will simply, use some of the pressure treated lumber that I have stored under my deck to build a short outhouse into the back stairs of said deck, since the lid to my septic tank is 1/2 way under the steps of the deck. Treeline to the right, house to the left and treeline on along back of property.That reminds me, I need a few bags of powdered lime.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Caribou said:


> The up river villages are the first to pump their lagoons. They know how fast the river flows so when the sewage hits the next village they start pumping. This continues down to the mouth of the river.
> 
> This is all set up on a schedule and the villagers have plenty of water stored, yes they get their drinking water from the river, prior to the schedule. A couple days later they go back to getting their drinking water.


Where does it go after that? And I'll restate myuke:


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

terri9630 said:


> Where does it go after that? And I'll restate myuke:


It goes to where seafood can eat it, swim in it and become one with it. :ignore:


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Sentry18 said:


> It goes to where seafood can eat it, swim in it and become one with it. :ignore:


Just another reason to eat goat and rabbit and not fish.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

there was a bit more comfortable spin on the in-house a metal container that held a 5 gallon bucket, the container had a toilet seat that sort of sealed and had a vent connection, that was then teed into the chimney of a heating unit, the air rising form the heat would draw the smell out and since the unit needed to be near a heat source it was nice and comfee

I also recommend the humanure book, although I don't think I could get my head arounf using it to grow human food.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

I know green leaves are a hell of a lot better than dry leaves. :dunno:


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

I do need more TP but I'm on a septic tank so unless something goes wrong I plan on using the toilet. 

When I was building my house I made a very basic outside toilet out of 2x4 s with a hole under it, it lasted months. It had no roof and sometimes there was ice on the seat, beat that by having 2 boards inside and before going out we would put them on the wood burning stove for a few minutes. It was actually pretty nice sitting out in the snow an a warm seat, summer would have been worse.


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

Man, this thread has really gone down the toilet.:wave:





I know cornball, Jim


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I have been reading about composting toilets. Very interesting and seems like a good post-SHTF option.










Here's a good "how to" article with pictures.

This is also interesting.










And while pricey, there are apparently several ready made composting toilets on the market. I might just look into the possibility of making one of these. These system itself does not seem overly complicated. Might be a bit more challenging to use in the winter months.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

hashbrown said:


> I know green leaves are a hell of a lot better than dry leaves. :dunno:


Speaking through experience? Lol


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Piece of scrap plywood and handsaw to cut a hole. Remove a stool lid from the house to mount it on the scrap plywood. A couple of cement blocks from the pile to hold the plywood over the septic tank clean out.

For the winter remove a couple of 5/8" exterior grade plywood from one of the walls of my shop to build wind protection. Rainy days wear a hat and be quick about it.

Throw the wiping cloths in the bucket half filled with water and a touch of chlorine (think diaper pail).


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

sgtusmc98 said:


> I do need more TP but I'm on a septic tank so unless something goes wrong I plan on using the toilet. ...


That _was_ my plan too. Then I realized how much work to pull the water up from the 100' well, carry the water inside to pour into the stool tank just to flush the water back out. A lot less labor for me to use the septic tank clean out as the repository.


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

TheLazyL said:


> That _was_ my plan too. Then I realized how much work to pull the water up from the 100' well, carry the water inside to pour into the stool tank just to flush the water back out. A lot less labor for me to use the septic tank clean out as the repository.


If I did what you said, remove the clean out cover on the tank, I don't know if what I did was good or not, the grass always died in the summer over the tank because it was only underground 3" (rock) so I put a hoop house over it, if the smell didn't get too bad you could poop and weed at the same time!


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

hashbrown said:


> I know green leaves are a hell of a lot better than dry leaves. :dunno:


Unless those green leaves are poison ivy!!!!!!!!

:gaah:


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> Unless those green leaves are poison ivy!!!!!!!!
> 
> :gaah:


One man's*poison ivy*is another man's spinach.

Baaa Haa haaa

Lol


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

So if you plan on just pooping into your tank directly it will only work for so long. It needs the water from a flush to work right. Otherwise it will just fill up full with solid poop. If you have a really high water table at your place you might be ok but dought it. The system needs water going into it.


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## Mase92 (Feb 4, 2013)

This is one of my greatest fears. When the TP runs out. 

I"m sorry I didn't get to read through the multiple pages of the thread but I'm going to see what others have to say. 

Oh, why is it a fear, I've had times where there was no TP and life was pretty much dreadful.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

hashbrown said:


> I know green leaves are a hell of a lot better than dry leaves. :dunno:


This is one reason most country folks know which leaves are poisonous & which are not! 
I like lastoutlaw plan & have drums.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Caribou said:


> You'll have urine, dish water, laundry, the Saturday bath... Some of this will be saved to use the indoor plumbing, especially in the winter.


Urine will not be enough. Dish water, laundry, and bath all have soap. So unless you have a soap trap to catch it, it kills bacteria in your tank. Most people don't have soap traps and their system stays going because there is enough water coming in with the toilet flushes. So taking that away will slow down your system really fast like. Im not saying you can't dig a hole and crap in it, im saying if you are just going to poop and use soap water to feed the system then don't be surprised when after the shtf is over you have to repair your system Because it is one big soapy turd. Of course all of that is subject to duration of shtf. It would most likely take a year or longer to mess the septic up in this way.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Caribou said:


> I have flushed a toilet with urine. You urinate in a bucket till you have enough to do the job or you add water from another source like dish water. I expect to use the same soap in my septic that I use today in the same tank.
> 
> I used to manufacture and install septic systems. The only problem I saw was one customer that dumped hot grease down the sink.


I've helped "repair" a few. I say "repair" because up here you don't need a permit or license to repair your own system. They were total replacements. But the info im passing is from when i worked for a honey wagon. We saw al kinds of things. I also askedathe boss a ton of questions and above is some of what i learned. Im not saying your wrong but neither is he.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Another thing that helps the bacteria over come the soap is heated water, post shtf there will be less of that. but people will be skimping on soap too so maybe, things will be balanced. Anti bacterial soap is not ever helpful in a septic


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Tirediron said:


> Another thing that helps the bacteria over come the soap is heated water, post shtf there will be less of that. but people will be skimping on soap too so maybe, things will be balanced. Anti bacterial soap is not ever helpful in a septic


Good points. We avoid antibacterial soaps unless necessary. We also have a soap trap that all the grey water goes through before it hits the sewer line and that saves or system tons. Warm water isn't as important if you have a soap trap because a good working septic gives off quite a bit of heat. I have literally pooped on top of a mountain during a snow storm in a old crappy out house when it was well below -19 out, (long story short im a snow maker in the winter at a local ski area and i grew up with outhouses) i don't want to poop like that again unless i really have too. I will do anything i can to ensure i poop in my warm toasty bathroom and have tp!


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I live in town. There's rock too close to the surface to build an outhouse. I wouldn't even want one because that would let people know someone is living there after the collapse. We have garbage bags to line 5 gallon buckets. I'll be going outside at 3 AM to dump those. The big question is where. I'm opting for dumping it in the basement of an abandoned house that's the optimum distance from where I live. Yes, I know that's a crappy thing to do but I am looking at what's best for my survival.


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## a_decent_criminal (Jul 15, 2017)

It seems like there are going to be more pressing issues that should be prepared for.

Yes, raw sewage is a health issue. I'm physically active and I grew up on a farm. I got pneumonia a couple of years ago it lasted two days and a night. I had a shot of antibiotics but the worst of it was probably over. I smoked the second day. The third day I didn't even feel sick.

A lot of "diseases" in this culture are just caused by humans who are bored, inactive, and crowded.

I have to be out in the country. Everything is easier that way. But the government isn't done with me yet, and may never be. Yes, this alphabet soup stuff is even worse than you guys think.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

BillS said:


> I live in town. There's rock too close to the surface to build an outhouse. I wouldn't even want one because that would let people know someone is living there after the collapse. We have garbage bags to line 5 gallon buckets. I'll be going outside at 3 AM to dump those. The big question is where. I'm opting for dumping it in the basement of an abandoned house that's the optimum distance from where I live. Yes, I know that's a crappy thing to do but I am looking at what's best for my survival.


If you put the poop in a hole and then add lime it will cut the smell and help it decompose.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Caribou said:


> I take it that you don't have a septic tank but does the abandoned house? I'm curious, how is it that they can have a basement yet you are on solid rock?


One word, dynamite! Makes big holes.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Caribou said:


> I take it that you don't have a septic tank but does the abandoned house? I'm curious, how is it that they can have a basement yet you are on solid rock?


They blasted to clear out the basements.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

now we are thinking outside the box, that leads to making the best out of what we have, changes survival to living

I still think the saw dust toilet is the most practicle answer, or humanure which is a more educated version 

Whatever your plan is you would be well advised to actually try it beforehand while you still have the grid and the option of utilities


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Both of our places have septic tanks and I also have a couple of Port a potties. I keep one in the horse trailer and one in the barn. They don't take much water to break things down. I just use the RV deodorizer stuff in the port a potties and dump them in the RV drain. 

We don't use anti bacterial soaps. When our youngest was born the Dr's said not to use it because kids need to be exposed to build an immunity.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

While we are on the septic tank topic, getting pumped out is going to be an issue. an effluent pump would come in pretty handy in a couple of years when the solids start to build up, they are fairly cheap and don't take up much room to store. a decent generator should run one fairly easily, and of course at least 50 feet of discharge hose,


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Tirediron said:


> now we are thinking outside the box, that leads to making the best out of what we have, changes survival to living
> 
> I still think the saw dust toilet is the most practicle answer, or humanure which is a more educated version
> 
> Whatever your plan is you would be well advised to actually try it beforehand while you still have the grid and the option of utilities


Everything I've read about humanure is really good. On paper i think it is a brilliant idea and from my reading it is an excellent fertilizer. In actual practice and even thought i use farm animal poop on my own food i can't bring myself to save my poop and put it on food im going to eat. My brain just won't let me do it. Its like septic treatment plants that end up with pure water that they drink at the end of the tour, nope im not going to do it.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

RedBeard said:


> Everything I've read about humanure is really good. On paper i think it is a brilliant idea and from my reading it is an excellent fertilizer. In actual practice and even thought i use farm animal poop on my own food i can't bring myself to save my poop and put it on food im going to eat. My brain just won't let me do it. Its like septic treatment plants that end up with pure water that they drink at the end of the tour, nope im not going to do it.


Do you have nonfood plants, AKA- flower beds, wind break hedges that you can put human poo around?


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

RedBeard said:


> Everything I've read about humanure is really good. On paper i think it is a brilliant idea and from my reading it is an excellent fertilizer. In actual practice and even thought i use farm animal poop on my own food i can't bring myself to save my poop and put it on food im going to eat. My brain just won't let me do it. Its like septic treatment plants that end up with pure water that they drink at the end of the tour, nope im not going to do it.


Today I wouldn't kill and BBQ a cat either, but if we reach TEOTWAWKI I will do lots of things I wouldn't do today. Plus I keep some cat meat rub in my preps just in case.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

crabapple said:


> Do you have nonfood plants, AKA- flower beds, wind break hedges that you can put human poo around?


Good point. Probably would do wonders for the apple trees.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Sentry18 said:


> Today I wouldn't kill and BBQ a cat either, but if we reach TEOTWAWKI I will do lots of things I wouldn't do today. Plus I keep some cat meat rub in my preps just in case.


No i hear ya. Im just gonna try and make sure the way things are now for us will stay the same.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

we think nothing of putting composted plant matter back on the vegetable garden, are we eating cannibal plants, or other animal manure on the garden, our own crap after composting is probably no different, but I am not ready just yet, All of this poop talk reminds me of a story a friend told me about his first potato crop, he never had a garden before, but had helped a relative with one, he moved to a small acreage and then decided to try to grow potatoes, he picked a lush looking part of the lawn and tilled it up, he thought the ground kind of stank when he tilled it but he didn't know what it should smell like so he kept going. grew a great crop of potatoes, but he said they tasted horrible, he mention this to his neighbor who looked over the fence and started laughing like mad, when he calmed down he said you putt them right on top of the septic run.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

NO I am not answering my self, but I just remembered that we water out garden out of a run off slough that is just below the cattle's winter bed ground and the garden does way better than it did on well water.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Tirediron said:


> NO I am not answering my self, but I just remembered that we water out garden out of a run off slough that is just below the cattle's winter bed ground and the garden does way better than it did on well water.


That's a good idea. I rotate my gardens and i put my pigs in next years garden. It works great plus the beds im not using grow veggies in them because the pigs are again turned loose in this year's garden when we are done with it. Just after everything has come up but before it flowers the chickens go in and do all my weeding. A good friend, who is also the guy who taught me how to butcher, has been doing it this way for over 40 years. He basically never adds fertilizer, or tills, or plants any of his gardens. Question if i use humanure on my apple trees ate my apples now crap-apples? I know that was lame but it made my brain giggle and i just can't help myself.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Tirediron said:


> we think nothing of putting composted plant matter back on the vegetable garden, are we eating cannibal plants, or other animal manure on the garden, our own crap after composting is probably no different, but I am not ready just yet, All of this poop talk reminds me of a story a friend told me about his first potato crop, he never had a garden before, but had helped a relative with one, he moved to a small acreage and then decided to try to grow potatoes, he picked a lush looking part of the lawn and tilled it up, he thought the ground kind of stank when he tilled it but he didn't know what it should smell like so he kept going. grew a great crop of potatoes, but he said they tasted horrible, he mention this to his neighbor who looked over the fence and started laughing like mad, when he calmed down he said you putt them right on top of the septic run.


I remember reading a couple years ago about people getting sick from eating watermelons imported from Mexico. Apparently they tasted weird and were potentially full of unpleasant bacteria. IIRC the issue was the fields were being irrigated with water from a river that also served as a flowing toilet from several villages upstream.

uke:


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

RedBeard said:


> One word, dynamite! Makes big holes.


Is that before or after the poop is in the hole???:what::what: if it was for after the poop was in there I think every thing within 200 feet radius would get lots of fertilizer. :what:


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

From my understanding septic tank clean out companies sell the stuff to farms that spray it in their fields already.

In a video series someone posted in here a year ago "Tales from the Green Valley," a BBC documentary, they dug in poop for the garden only using it for above ground food the first year, second year they could put in carrots and potatoes and other root crops.


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

When I did landscaping I used to have to put out Milorganite sometimes, wasn't wild about breathing the dust.

http://www.milorganite.com/using-milorganite/what-is-milorganite

Quote
Exactly what is Milorganite?
Milorganite is one of the oldest branded fertilizers on the market. It's composed of heat-dried microbes that have digested the organic matter in wastewater. Milorganite is manufactured by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. The District captures wastewater from the metropolitan Milwaukee area, including local industries such as MillerCoors.

Using large-scale processes that mimic nature, microbes digest the nutrients found in the water. The cleaned water is returned to Lake Michigan while the microbes are kiln-dried into small pellets. So Milorganite is actually a bag of dried microbes!


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

I live in Japan in the 60's and was warned not to eat the local produce. Japan used / uses human fertilizer and the bacteria is not harmful to the locals (built up immunity) but for visitors, it was a direct path to Montezuma's revenge.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Sentry18 said:


> I remember reading a couple years ago about people getting sick from eating watermelons imported from Mexico. Apparently they tasted weird and were potentially full of unpleasant bacteria. IIRC the issue was the fields were being irrigated with water from a river that also served as a flowing toilet from several villages upstream.
> 
> uke:


I don't think it was watermelons but there was a news story a while back about e coli and it was found that the field workers in Mexico were just "going" where ever they were because there were no Porta potties to use. Inspectors found fresh human waste right along side food plants. That was when I completely stopped buying veggies from the store. If we don't grow it we go without.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

terri9630 said:


> I don't think it was watermelons but there was a news story a while back about e coli and it was found that the field workers in Mexico were just "going" where ever they were because there were no Porta potties to use. Inspectors found fresh human waste right along side food plants. That was when I completely stopped buying veggies from the store. If we don't grow it we go without.


This is more common than you think. The American usda controlled food system is not that safe. Well i will give them a shred of credit and say they do catch alot that never makes it to market. They also issue a staggering number of recalls. Some discovered by lab results, some by people getting sick, some by deaths. .... One that sticks in my mind is this women and her husband (i can find names if anyone wants it) who grilled up some burgers with their i believe 5 year old boy. He got sick and suffered before he died. Parents right there at the hospital, watching him die. All because of some usda certificate meat that was all recalled right after and was contaminated with i forget what. Watching their faces as they talked about it, man it kills me. It is the same problem with vegetables and fruits. People don't know anything about the food they get from the store other than its food, well hopefully....


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Caribou said:


> This is a little off topic but is that place for sale, if so you might be able to pick it up cheap.
> 
> I was thinking that you could put a greenhouse behind it where it is not highly visible, and set yourself up with an aquaponics system.


That would be an awesome system!


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