Dan Chiras - The Scoop on Poop: Safely capturing and recycling the nutrients in greywater, humanure and urine

Praise for

The Scoop on Poop

Our current system of discarding nutrient-rich human waste is shameful (and foolish) and its high time we learned how we can close this vital piece of Mother Natures nutrient cycles. As a leading expert on homesteading and solar how-to, Dan Chiras is the perfect person to tackle this important topic.

Cheryl Long, Editor in Chief, Mother Earth News

With world population doubling rapidly, California wilting into a desert, and the planet warming by degrees, we have to ask so, you have a large bowl of drinking water in a room in your house, maybe even a few such bowls in a few such rooms. And whenever these bowls are empty, you just push a button, flick a lever, or pull a chain and they automatically refill. And you do what with this water? Say what?

Albert Bates author of The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook (2006) and The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change (2010).

Dan Chiras has covered every topic under the sun, so it should be no surprise that he tackles that last piece of the sustainability loop, and that is the concept of waste. Although waste is, as Dan illustrates, not an accurate term, because of all the benefits of capturing and recycling the nutrients in our output. Dan demystifies the process and addresses the misconceptions to teach the reader how to create systems to treat our waste, which is extremely important to those trying to get off the grid. I highly recommend this book for anyone ready to close the loop on their poop.

James R. Plagmann, Architect + LEED AP, HumaNature Architecture, LLC

In his usual cheerful style, clean energy guru and master ecologist, Dan Chiras, tackles the smelly, but important, subject of closing the loop on our personal waste. He shows us how to take excrement and greywater and create a valuable agricultural resource to be returned to the natural cycle of our gardens. If you want to take your composting regime to a whole new level, you seriously need this book!

Sylvia Bernstein, author of Aquaponic Gardening: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Vegetables and Fish Together

Let Dan Chiras and The Scoop on Poop encourage you to take an interest in cleaning up after yourself. This book is a great introduction to taking personal responsibility for waste water issues, and can put you on the road to drastically lowering your own contributions to this large scale problem.

Chris Magwood, Sustainable building educator, The Endeavour Centre

Copyright 2016 by Dan Chiras.

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

Illustrative elements iStock

Interior Illustrations by Forrest Chiras. Interior photos by Dan Chiras except where indicated. Sidebar background: iStock alexdans

Printed in Canada. First printing February 2016.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-787-9

eISBN: 978-1-55092-583-8

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of The Scoop on Poop should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below. To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine-free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Chiras, Daniel D., author

The scoop on poop : safely capturing and recycling the nutrients in greywater, humanure and urine / Dan Chiras, Ph.D. ; illustrations by Forrest Chiras.

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-787-9 (paperback).--ISBN 978-1-55092-583-8 (ebook)

1. Graywater (Domestic wastewater). 2. Water reuse. 3. Urine. 4. Feces. I. Title.

Y ears ago, a friend of mine opened a college-level human biology textbook I wrote. As chance would have it, the book opened to the chapter on female reproduction. In fact, the pages that almost always appeared when anyone cracked open the book were those with graphic anatomical illustrations of lady parts (scientifically referred to as external genitalia), legs spread wide apart as if for a gynecological exam for everyone and their cousin to see. This happened time and time again, so much so that it seemed a bit like a plot by some naughty and playful cosmic force.

Upon his second or third flashing and his subsequent examination of the two chapters on human reproduction, my friend commented, This book seems to have a lot on sex.

Before I could respond, however, he realized how silly his statement was. I cant recall his exact words, but it was something like, Of course, thats appropriate. Reproduction is a vital function and a key part of human biology.

He was right, of course. None of us would be here were it not for reproduction. Its just that so many people are uneasy with sex especially when reminded that were the result of an act performed by dear old mom and dad. Now, thats downright yucky!

The Scoop on Poop is another book that dwells on an often embarrassing part of human physiology excretion. That said, I offer a stern warning: This book is not for the squeamish or faint of heart, as it is chock full of references to human feces and urine and the processes that produce these icky products. However, if you are concerned about the fate of humankind and are interested in learning how to live sustainably and self-sufficiently on planet Earth, I urge you to look past this apparent effrontery.

The Scoop on Poop tackles a subject few of us think about: the value of feces, urine, and greywater. Distilled to its basics, this book is about consciously altering our lives to stop squandering the valuable nutrient-rich excretions we produce each and every day of our lives, and safely returning them to soil where they can nourish plants that feed us. This idea may be gross to many people, but it is really quite natural. The process mimics Mother Natures waste recycling system and offers enormous benefits to humankind.