TREE TOILET

POWERFUL BEAUTIFUL BIODIGESTION

Using the superior tree-leaf and canopy deep solar photo-synthesis and tree-root water pumping and nutrient transforming power.  Tree roots create a whole soil biodigestion ecology powered by specialized bacteria, concerted root action and osmotic pressure driven by the photosynthesis and transpiration of its canopy.  Urine-Fecal separating toilets capture each of these human body fertilizer resources for use in enhancing plant growth. Bidet water wash toilets eliminate toilet paper (the most consumed product of deforestation).  Some estimates put flush water toilet use, the pumping and cleaning of city water at 8% of electricity generated and consumed over all uses.  500 ml Bidet water after cleaning the bum wash carry fecal materials down a 55⁰ tube slope to a Fecal Tank where tree roots penetrate and enable bacterial and other life-forms to bio-digest the fecal material.   Soap spray on the drop surface creates a non-stick sur-face.  An air vent to the roof draws air down the toilet, aerates the fecal mass and biodigestion organisms then is pulled up the vent to the roof.  Tree roots pump many tens of litres of water and nutrients per day into the leaf and branch canopy.  Evergreen Cedar Leaves and branches provide oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, humidify the household air, absorb excess solar energy and give beauty to the home.  Leaves enrich-ed by humanure are trimmed on a monthly basis for use in the home as natural insect deterants, natural aroma and as a vitamin/mineral tea.  Pathogens (usually anaerobic) do not make it across root membranes.

FILM L'OR BRUN, REALISATIONS IN BIO-DIGESTION

Radio-Canada RDI Tendances, Culture et Societe film L'or brun http://www.109-tv.com/emission.php?id=50  23 minutes in French (some English with French subtitles) on Biodigestion of Fecal and Urine materials looked at from a number of recapture realizations in the USA, Sweden and Canada all making money by completing the ecological cycle in recapturing part of earth’s true wealth.  The Biosphere of Montreal, Valleyfield Plasma generator fertilizer, Urine-Fecal Separator inserts for toilets, Gardening with urine (nitrogen) dilutions, Cow Power electric generation from methane gas in Vermont, Virginia municipal sewage into fertilizer, Tree-Toilets and more.  2nd part June 4th, 2011 at 11h30 & 19h30 (7:30 pm) on Biogas, methane production fueling municipal bus fleet operation in Kristianstad, Sweden

en Francaise premiere partie, 2e partie à venir le 4 juin sur Kristianstad, Suede sur la biodigestion des matières urine et fécale en réalisations aux États-Unis, Suède et Canada, en faisant l’argent et complétion du cycle écologique par recapture du richesse véritable du monde.  La Biosphere du Montréal, générateur plasma, gaz méthane et engrais du station d’épuration à Valleyfield, séparation d’urine et fécale en Cape Cod, recapture d’urine au jardin comme azote, génération électrique du méthane aux laiteries du Vermont Cow Power, bous municipales de l’état de Virginie au engrais, Toilet d’arbre et plus.

MAGNITUDE FOR 100 % plus of our energy needs.  Every city can be an energy exporter.

The production of Methane from municipal sewage is enormous being able to provide a good portion of gas fired heating and air conditioning or some 20% of personnel transport fuel needs for communities or or electricity production into grid systems. At this magnitude bio-gas from sewage is humanity's greatest sustainable energy source. Here's a report, which I made in 2 parts made with Canada's RDI Radio-Canada Television network featuring best practices in sewage methane, fertilizer and geothermal capture. L’or brun, Radio-Canada RDI 109 Tendances, Culture et Societehttp://www.109-tv.com/emission.php?id=50 Mireille deGlun host. Montreal for example could generate some 220,000,000$ per year in methane, 30,000,000$ / year in fertilizer and 30,000,000$ / year in geothermal (all sewage systems automatically capture ground heat) = 280,000,000$ / year of income for the city. In this process we also clean up our primary contamination of the river, make our sewer systems safe for workers and many other benefits. 

1. Combine 20% energy by bio-gas/geothermal/fertilizer from sewers with other complementary energy fed into electrical (better than storage) and gas grids:

2. mounting linear axis helical wind turbines on building wind shear surfaces (12 times the ambient wind force), on bridge pylons (above the water) +  kinetic (flowing water without dams) linear axis helical water turbines on bridge pylons (below the water).  Pylon water & wind = 20% of urban electrical needs

3. Building mounted wind on windward edge shear surfaces concentrates wind-force 12 times captured in linear axis helical turbines with small funnel channels designed to feed blade rotation.  Linear axis turbines can be caged/screened for no bird and wildlife contact with blades which receive channelled wind from the cage funnel surfaces.  These blades are silent compared with 'clock-face' wind mills. = 20% of urban energy needs.

4. Passive solar (mostly windows on south sides + porch or other overhangs) + photovoltaic panels (on eave protected southern wall surfaces + water-heating panels on eave protected southern wall surfaces = 20% of urban energy needs.

5. First compost separated 2nd life material-streams lead to easy domestic, commercial and industrial recycling etc.  Modular multi-functional wall panel / room divider indoor and outdoor construction is the greatest saving on energy, space-availability and materials.  Recycling = 20% of urban energy/material needs.

6. Energy conservation (negawatts) through insulation of basements, ceilings and other building-shells, can then save 20% of energy use.

7. Biosphere enhancement with polyculture/orchard food/material trees, bushes, water-plants, wildlife cleaning water, soil & air from small ground level spaces as well as roof-tops.  Trees, bushes and plants on rooftops clean rain & snow water through root systems & insulate buildings.  Trees are heat-pumps absorbing excess solar energy in summer and releasing energy in winter. = 20% of urban energy needs.

Capturing all these 1 - 7 unbalanced built-environment energies = 140% of urban energy needs, re-equilibrates the urban biosphere for human pleasure and wildlife enhancement mostly vertically.  Cities can become energy exporters.  Cross-country transmission lines (loss of 5% of energy produced per 100 miles transmission) from centralized electrical generators and carbon fuel sources are practically eliminated.   https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/design/9-complementary-energy 

The 2 RDI Radio Canada films which I am part of allowed us to research best practices in bio-remediation such as Methane production in Quebec province, Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia & Kristianstad Sweden (bio-gas from municipal sewage) described in the two films-with quite a lot of English spoken however the base is in French. So far no translation but lots of interest from English speaking folks. These are built and operating plants in various combinations plus one Tree-toilet design in a urine-fecal separating toilet with tree-mediated bio-digestion of fecal. Urine has such high uric acid that it generally carries no pathonogens. 

Some of the best work done was in India on Gobar gas production in anaerobic digestors during the 1970s. All the work above is following much of the experience from India.

ASSOCIATED STRATEGIES TOWARDS METHANE GENERATION

A step-by-step people empowering approach to recapturing our resources looks strategically at where individuals, families and communities can first act without relying upon centralized systems.  Effective strategies towards achieving methane production from sewage are to:

1) URINE - FECAL SEPARATING TOILETS with a urine capture (plastic tray fits on front of toilet bowl or seat for about 10$).  Urine (uric acid) is pathogen free in healthy households and with dilution to seven times with water can be applied directly to the soil around plants or trees.  Households can set up urine diversion capture tanks which can either be set up to feed outside trees and bushes directly or be carried out.  As urination accounts for the majority of toilet flushes, we thus lower water volumes enormously in our sewage systems.  Some urine-using gardening colleagues here estimate that plant growth is 50% more with urine application.  Taking acidic urine out of the target fecal material increases methane production significantly.

RIVERS OF SEWAGE

Liquid water volume is the enemy of central sewage systems and averted can represent huge electrical pumping costs and unnecessary filtering costs for voluminous rivers of sewage.  A popular program reducing urine-related water volumes and pumping can generate the investment dollar needed to transform fecal wastes through anaerobic decomposition.

BIDET WATER WASHING

2) Bidet bum washing water-spray systems attached to standard toilet seats cost less then 50$ here (taxes & shipping included) and can save household expenses 2 - 3 times that per year.  Taking paper out of the sewage stream as well increases bio-methanization rates.

PULP & PAPER

Paper reduction is a huge savings in pulp & paper use.  Sources put toilet paper as the greatest cause of world deforestation because of its multiple daily use beyond other consumption.  Paper production is also a huge source of water contamination.  I used to work as a laboratory chemist in Pulp & Paper.

ACCESSIBLE SOLUTIONS

Urine capture, use and water-washing are two easy to employ solutions for families which will put hundreds of dollars of savings (toilet paper and fertilizer) directly back into the budgets of families everywhere as well as creating the capital and conditions for more successful methane capture.  Everytime we unnecessarily flush our toilets, our sewage treatment facilities become that much more overwhelmed by water volume and the inability to treat constituents.  These urine-fecal separation and bidet water washing solutions are practiced around the world and increasingly in industrial countries such as Sweden where ecological consciousness is higher and governments realize massive cultural savings.  www.indigenecommunity.info         douglasf.jack@gmail.com

IS WORKING WITH NATURE COUNTER-INTUITIVE?

When one thinks of the millions of homes in the USA and Canada affected by tree root blocked sewer pipes, it is culturally counter-intuitive to think we can enable trees to do the whole job of transport and processing humanure for free.  All we have to do is harvest what abundance of materials each tree gives. There are millions of people out there who spend billions of dollars fighting blocked or slow drains and toilets with very negative points of view about trees.  A hidden part of the urban landscape and ecology are a whole range of tree root poisons used regularly.  A significant population of plumbers make a good part of their living off of unblocking pipes from tree roots both mechanically and chemically and yet these creatures who form the basis of human and other life on earth are willing to biodigest our leavings for free.   Please read This Compost a poem written by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892) included as an attachment below, which is a best description of body - earth ecology and safety.

INDOOR & OUTDOOR TREE OPTIONS

The following two Indoor and Outdoor Tree Toilets offer options for diverse locations and building floors:

a) Indoor Porch Tree Toilet Terrarium Biodigestor and

b) Outdoor Landscape Tree receiving perforated Drainage Tube (Tile) Biodigestor make for quick whole systems biodigestion enabling multiple life-kingdom interactions.  The following two 1/12th scale models show components referred to in the following article:

a) INDOOR PORCH TREE-TOILET TERRARIUM BIODIGESTOR

An indoor experiment to determine the effectiveness of tree-roots in biodigestion.  This indoor model can be installed in sunny locations of existing buildings from 1 - 100 floors enhancing the living and working environments for people living in buildings.  The Tree Toilet is closed cycle producing no pollution but a number of useful tree products essential to healthy buildings.  Shown are two floors such as a main floor for the toilet, kitchen food cuttings tank and tree terrarium on porch and basement to hold bottom of tree-root tank, urine tank and fecal tank.

Please refer to article below for five detachable transportable, adjustable modular components of the Tree Toilet

Notice the  urine-fecal separating toilet, with Bidet Tube.  Copper pipe Air Vent pulls smell down the toilet seat into the fecal tank and directly up the air vent to the roof where accelerated winds create downward draw from toilet room.  Urine Tank at 1000 Litres collects the higher volume high uric acid pathogen free urine for use on plants diluted with water 8 water to 1 part urine.  Fecal material descends down the vertical 30 cm tube to a 55⁰ inclined tube leading to the 680 Litre Fecal Tank where tree roots penetrate fecal mass and use their bacterial root interface to transform, absorb and pump water and nutrients to the canopy.  The Tree Toilet is toilet paper free, using a bidet bum wash to clean as well as flush fecal material down the steep slope to the Fecal Tank.

b) OUTDOOR LANDSCAPE TREE receiving perforated Drainage Tube (Tile) BIODIGESTOR

A low cost means of employing existing landscape trees to biodigestion fecal matter from 1st and 2nd floor toilets.  Please refer to the Indoor Toilet for example of Urine diversion Toilet, Urine Storage Tank, Bidet Toilet Wash Water.

According to their uptake data larger trees outdoors are able to handle very large numbers of people per toilet.  Some full grown trees are able to process the fecal matter for institutions with large numbers (50 - 100 full time) of residents. The indoor Tree Toilet model is for research to refine and determine flow questions.  Large Trees should be able to handle two toilets or three to nine people full time according to statistics available on tree root transport of water and nutrients. 

TREE-DIGESTION TOILET

For residences, commerce, industry or office complexes, a bio-digestion (Green Machine) composter – toilet design using a tree-arboretum on the south side of the dwelling / building starting with  a nursery raised evergreen tree (eg. Cedar, Juniper, Yew) 3-5 years old at 90 – 120 cm tall and roots 60 – 100 cm deep.  Tree has 3 – 10 cm diameter trunk cross-section and hence have an effluent pumping capacity of 10.26 – 34.2 Litres of water and nutrient / day. Typically a bidet-washing employs up to 500 millilitres of water per defecation. Prototype tree toilet experiment measures urine-fecal output, bidet water input, acidity (Ph), temperature, tree growth (trunk diameter, tree height, trimmed leaf & branch weight harvest calculations.

BIDET WASHING & WATERING

The inclined composter is installed or built in modular sections with access and view ports.  A bidet-toilet bum-washing-device cleans the bum without toilet-paper, washes the fecal material down the 55 ⁰ tube incline to the Fecal Tank linked with tree root infiltration of matured fecal material and provides nutrient and water for the tree.  Tree roots absorb and pump fecal material up into the tree body (roots, trunk & canopy).  Each tree provides enough capacity to support a family or dwelling of 4 persons full-time (24 hours x 365 days) year round without ever having to handle the fecal material.

LEAF HARVEST

The leaves, small-branches and seed-cones of the cedar or other evergreen are harvested / clipped monthly.  These leaves used directly and as a distilled essential oil are excellent protectors against building moths, ants and other indoor / outdoor insects damages to clothing, wood, food-pantry etc as well as animal flees, ticks etc. without the need of complex synthetic insecticides.  This continual mostly leaf-harvest is the main output of the tree based biodigestion fecal composting system.  It is expected that each cedar tree would serve a household for 25 years before the valuable wood is harvested and another young tree replaces it.  The whole photosynthetic system is powered by the sun throughout the year.

INDOOR TREE TOILET BIODIGESTION COMPONENT DESIGN

The Indoor Porch Tree Bio-digestion Toilet includes five main components each separable and transportable components through existing buildings or in pick-up trucks:

1.     TOILET SEAT & TUBE 30 cm diameter x 233 cm long drop & 55⁰ incline from squatting or sitting ‘throne’ to urine & fecal tanks fitted with:   a) Sealing TOILET SEAT LID,    b) 6 mm tube BIDET WASH water spigot & control valve, c) NATURAL SOAP SPRAY creates non-stick surface on Fecal Drop area as well as kills insects which may harbour on drop tube, d) 11.5 cm diameter fecal tank to roof AIR VENT TUBE & FAN creates negative air flow down into toilet & up to roof when toilet cover is opened, aerates & dries fecal mass as well as oxygenates living organisms, bacteria, fungi, worms etc.  Negative air draw down toilet creates smell-free toilet. Multiple life-‘kingdoms’ complementary biodigestion.

2.     1000 Litre URINE TANK: (or two 61 x 91 cm 500 L cylinders) connected with an 8:1 gray water (already used household wash water) feed dilution to gravity-fed leach fields or pumped as necessary for landscape and greenhouse plant use. High Nitrogen for plant growth is converted through root and soil bacteria into Nitrate fertilizer.

3.     FECAL TANK: 119.4 cm (3’11”)tall x 45.8 cm (1’6”) wide x 114.4 cm (3’9”) breadth 55 ⁰ sloped 680 L.  Tree-root tank extends down 35.5 cm through nipple into Fecal Tank and then 114.3 cm further during root initiating period with a 20.3 cm cardboard Tree Root extension.  Seeded with roots, bacteria, fungi, soil worms and fecal-processing insects.

4.     TREE-ROOT GROWING TANK: 162 cm (5’3 ¾”) tall  x 45.8 cm (1’6”) wide x 122 cm (4’) breadth 853 L. descends into Fecal Tank 35.5 cm as well as receives Compostable Household Materials and water poured through these. Well drained soil at 21.1⁰ Celsius keeps biodigestion life-forms operating 365 days a year for speedy flow-through. Tree-root growing tank may be rotated into four different household positions a) 0⁰ in-line as shown, b) 90⁰ left, c) 180⁰ opposite & d) 90⁰ right in order to optimize toilet placement, solar exposure of tree and other factors in existing buildings.

5.     KITCHEN COMPOST TANK: 221 cm (7’3”) tall  x 45.8cm (1’6”) wide x 28 cm (11”) breadth 283 L. vegetable, fruit, milk products & household paper biodigestor feeding into tree roots separately from the fecal biodigestion tube and collection.

TREE TOILET BIODIGESTION  3rd April, 2011

MONTREAL BIODIGESTION

Various biodigestion sites in Montreal include:

·        Montreal Botanical Gardens in a greenhouse, where researchers from the Universite de Montreal are biodigesting fish excrement solutions through reeds.

·        Environment Canada Biosphere where for twenty years they are digesting black and gray water from staff and 100,000 visitors per year with Bulrushes and other reeds.  The Biosphere first used pond lilies and other aquatic plants but the reeds took over and were more effective.  A weakness of these herbaceous systems is winter dormant periods for the reeds.  The Biosphere system separates toilet paper and fecal matter, sometimes sending it to be incinerated.  Actually some bio-digestion and root transformation still continues in the winter, but without the tree-leaf draw of photosynthesis and transpiration, all the way to the osmotic transfer of water and nutrients through the root membranes, herbaceous bio-digestion is quite slow and fragile.  The height of the Biosphere’s tourist and visitor season is mostly in the spring, summer and fall during times of robust plant growth.

·        Dag Radicevic bio-dynamic permaculture food grower leaves seed potatoes under a thick mulch in the fall, to harvest a crop in January.  Growth rate is relatively slow compared with spring, summer and fall rates.

 BIODIGESTION PLANT CHOICES

Bamboo is a fast growing robust perennial re-growing from the root stocks every year with several varieties for snow climates.  Earl Barnhart and Hilde Maingay’s work in Cape Cod Massachusetts with Yellow groove bamboo Phyllostachys aureosulcata, a cold-hardy species from China has been very provident of food and materials.  In Boston this bamboo grows evergreen year round.  The following are some of my own experiences and estimations towards a tree-based biodigestion experiment.

DORMANT SEASONS

Montreal have a form of bamboo growing from root shoots each year, in our neighbourhood, very fast and abundant in summer, but again dormant for months of the year.  There are many kinds of bamboo which may be appropriate but my tendency is to study the pumping and nutrient transformation power of a permanent canopy as various evergreens represent.  The willow is as well very vibrant during spring, summer and fall but again dormant in winter.

ESSENTIAL OIL CROPPING

White Cedar, (Latin = Thuja occidentalis) what Jacques Cartier named Arborvitae (Tree of Life) after Mohawk or Wendat First Nations save his ship’s crew by making tea from the White Cedar (circa 1535 AD) does well in variable wet and dry conditions, as well as having a reputation for robust growth if given a chance year round.  The cedar leaf, essential oils and even some bark harvest would provide some valuable crop.  I would expect significant slow-down of cropping during the winter due to less direct sun (shortened days to eight hours) and the lower angle of the sun (23 degrees on 21st December noon time) having to pass through much greater distances of the atmosphere.  I’ve been researching which trees cause the most problem to sewer systems as one indication and cedar invasions are well documented.

COMPANION PLANTS

I’ve watched Elderberries grow well in companionship with cedar at my parents home, so there may be a combination of tree, deciduous shrubs and even herbs, if the data on pathogen count (coliform, BOD etc.) is constantly clear.  Companion Plants mentioned in the literature include: Elderberry, Dwarf-raspberry, Blueberries, Bunchberry, False Solomon’s Seal, Sphagnum Moss, Liverwort, Mountain Maple, Red-osier Dogwood, Labrador Tea, Wintergreen, Canada Fly and Honey-suckle. 

PATHOGEN UPTAKE?

Only roots at the bottom of the tree tank in the Tree Toilet, six and a half feet below the soil surface are in contact with the fecal mass.  An indoor porch tank will allow for both measures and control of conditions that; outdoor tree measures won’t afford.  Tapping into Outdoor landscape trees through a one foot (30 cm) drainage pipe going some ten metres into a tree-root area, would be most affordable for 1st and 2nd story dwellings and other buildings, but some significant data needs to be generated about pathogen containment.

 TESTS

I’ve been involved in coliform sampling of lake-water around septic field issues, since I was 8 years old (with my father50 years ago) as well as working as a laboratory technician doing BOD, Ph and other quality control testing in Pulp and Paper during the 1970s.

 The CITY FOREST sewage treatment area article on the work of PA Yeomans has lots of http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010127yeomansIII/010127toc.html interesting observations on the power of trees.  Tree ability to pump massive quantities water and nutrients compared with ‘annual’ plants is remarkable.  The tree being vertical can fit into those urban niches and grow vertically up the sides of our buildings at the same time providing abundant food, materials, fecal and urine treatment, capturing solar energy, acting as heat pumps summer and winter, humidifying, oxygenating, cleansing the air, building, holding and lightening the soil, cleaning and moderating water flows, maintaining streams, ponds and lakes, capturing and transforming wind energy.

 2-DIMENSIONAL VERSUS 3-D THINKING

I liken tree power to the difference between 2-dimensional and 3-D thinking.  It seems as humans have been forced to adopt ‘agriculture’ (Latin ‘ager’ = ‘field’) approaches to food production and living with our loss of indigenous sovereignty, we ourselves and our minds have become 2-D.  I believe the analogy is set in the force of hierarchy versus systematic interaction at all levels.  The tree incorporates depth of root penetration and height of canopy solar photosynthesis.

 FRACTAL ORGANISATION

The greatest lacking in existing government and economic systems is the inability for local collaboration. The City Forest article should be taken as a set of principles which can be practiced on various fractal scales.  Participatory cohousing enables residents to buy apartment buildings and other multihome dwellings together, which will allow residents to implement green design, tree based bio-digestion and other green technologies in the building.  Extending our Welcome Participatory Cohousing https://sites.google.com/site/indigenecommunity/relational-economy/extending-our-welcome-participatory-multi-home-cohousing  describes one such method.  

Apartment and townhouse complexes of our cities represent niche opportunities to implement green design at levels and scales which are integrated into our daily domestic living but don’t require institutional and state buy-in or leadership.  The significant critical economies of apartment buildings say of 2,100,000$ earning and spending per year aligns the individual and family into a tangible economic unit, which the state is able to recognise.

The present isolation of detached nuclear home living puts us all into silos and the state and corporate bodies can only recognise other commercial and industrial bodies.  ‘Caucusing’ ( Iroquois word ‘caucus’ means ‘grouping of like-interests’ is the key message of indigenous multihome (Longhouse, Pueblo, Mound-cities etc) living.  Multihome grouping of domestic economies enables them to supersede commercial and industrial economy, which are only meant to be ‘economic’ (Greek ‘oikos’ = ‘home’ + ‘namein’ = ‘management’ derived from ‘manus’ = ‘hand’ = ‘care and nurture’) subsets.

HUNDERTWASSER http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kJIjJAnviWc/SSiX32pnQJI/AAAAAAAAAC4/5Kife652jf8/s1600-h/hundertwasser_haus_med.JPG

The cartoon, Man Tenant / Tree Tenant is a lovely statement about living on a tree planet, the primary mediator of life and a good part of our reason for being as primates.

Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (December 15, 1928  – February 19, 2000) was an Austrian painter and architect. Born Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna, he became one of the best-known contemporary Austrian artists, although controversial, by the end of the 20th century.

He was an ecological artist and activist to say the least. I just began revisiting some of his art in a book Jay gave me a few Xmas's ago and discovered to my astonishment that he understood back in the 70s the notion that man could not exist separated from nature and advocated for buildings to include both human and "tree tenants"... the trees would purify the air and water and the humans would provide nutrition to plants through composting toilets.

...which leads me to a future article on homemade sawdust toilets and properly and safely recycling humanure (human manure) at home... In order to close the nutrient cycle and survive when there are no industrial inputs (oil or even do-it-yourself complete organic fertilizer), we will need to understand how to re-use/recycle all our personal wastes (externalities). This will maintain and perhaps even build precious topsoil to keeps us nourished/fed.

HERBACEOUS PLANT BIODIGESTORS represent an earlier generation of dry toilet living machine closed-cycle fecal composter offered as a contrast.

INDIGENOUS HERITAGE

Indigenous peoples around the world worked with plants, insects, the sun, water and other life-kingdoms as digestors of their fecal matter.  We know that the huge city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) estimated at between 200,000 and 350,000 people built on an artificial island in lake Texcoco by Aztec people who used Floating Gardens and other means of digesting their fecal matter.  The Valley of Mexico in which Tenochtitlan is situated is considered to have had 19,000,000 people.  Cortez upon visiting the city after crossing one of its causeways, remarked upon the cleanliness of the water in the lake surrounding the city.  It seems Tenochtitlan also had imported water culverts but clean water around European cities was unheard of.

WATER-JET BIDET TOILET PAPER ALTERNATIVE

The Cleaner, Cheaper "Toilet Paper Alternative" Everyone Should Adopt (It's Environmentally Friendly Too!)

Dr Joseph Mercola  www.mercola.com  has a 72$ (USD) bidet attachment which easily fits plumbing on existing flush toilets.  The following e-link discusses the economies and ecologies of toilet paper use as well as e-links to order Mercola's bidet.  Toilet paper use in North America is the world's leading cause of deforestation / cutting down trees for pulp & paper.  The rest of the world is using water bidets, water washing, squatting posture and other less wasteful practices with better personal hygiene results.  Water based industrial pulp processes use / contaminate (energy use, chlorine, sodium hydroxide and complex synthetics) ten times more water than bidets per use.  Use of the bidet or water washing has many personal benefits: eliminating hemorrhoids (possible chlorine & abrasion causes) for most users, leaving a cleaner bum and saving on household toilet paper costs, transport etc.  For most families a bidet will pay for itself in months.  The use of the 'squatting' position for bowel elimination not only eliminates constipation for most users, eliminates fecal matter quicker and cleaner from the body, gives the user better back posture and combined with bidet water washing can ease many lower bowel irritations.

https://media.mercola.com/redirect2/view.aspx?Email=douglasf.jack@gmail.com&ReturnURL=http://products.mercola.com/toilet-bidet/

LIVING MACHINES

The use of plants today in fecal and water purification is called a Living Machine (John Todd & Nancy Jack of Ocean Arks International, Massachusetts).  Taking fertile humanure and transforming it into a green plant creation is an act of continual and inspiring beauty which transcends the ineffective limitations of mechanical treatment processes.  Joseph Jenkins of the Humanure Handbook and the Lindstrom family of Clivus Multrum (Swedish = inclined composter) USA are some successful living treatment processes used extensively.

ELEMENTAL & MULTIPLE LIFE KINGDOMS

This Bio-Digestion Toilet employs Sunshine, Air, Water, Aerobic Bacteria, Molds, Green plants, Worms (Red-wriggler. Vermi-composters) and flightless crawling insects to digest the fecal matter as a whole ecology   Urine-fecal separating toilets take the forward stream collected into a separate urine receptacle and allow the fecal matter to drop into a chute (2-floor) or onto an incline (one-floor) where the bidet water cleaning process as well move the material and cleans chutes and inclines.  Urine being acidic (uric acid) has few pathenogens (disease causing bacteria) and can be used directly or dilluted on a number of plants as a good source of nitrogen fertilizer.  The fecal material moves down inclines from the chute to where tree and plant roots, red-wriggler worms, crawling insects and aerobic bacteria break it down into more fundamental soil composition.

AERATION

The aerobic bacteria and humanure mass go through a number of stage transformations, eventually achieving the same bacterial composition as regular soil.  Air is kept circulating through the mass by the roots, worms, bacteria and crawling insects.  A negative air flow keeps air flowing down from the toilet area into the tank where it is sucked up to a roof-level tube spout for constant air flow when people are using the unit.  Plants absorb excess moisture, absorb carbon-dioxide and produce oxygen from their leaf-based photosynthesis.  The Bio-digestion unit should be used in a well lit sunny area such as on the south side of a building.  Plant material such as leaves are harvested from the bio-digestion system.  Papyrus a reed material is one such useful material from which paper was originally made, however plant mulches, path covers and insulation are other benefits.  Presently in standard non-ecological construction, the air tube spout to roof system is used to evaculate mostly anaerobic (worse smell) sewer gases from our water borne flush toilet and water sewer systems as can be seen on all buildings.

BIDET

Bidets are water washing units to clean the anus area after elimination without toilet paper.  Toilet paper manufacture at 15 % of paper produced is considered the leading cause of desertification in the world.  Most of the world's people are familiar with water washing of which the bidet is a hands off method using streams of water for cleaning and even heat drying of the anus area. Bidet water washing cures most cases of toilet paper (usually chlorinated) rash and causes of anus haemorrhoids. In the Bio-digestion model, this nutrient rich water is captured to clean the fecal chute as well as incline surfaces, transport residue, as well as for watering the Bio-digestion plants, worms, insects, molds and bacteria.  The sun shining on the plants empowers the whole ecology.  Compared with the typical 22 Litre (5 gallon) flush, the bidets water consumption is in milli-litres so as to be appropriate for water conservation.  Each role of toilet paper embodies from its manufacture close to a hundred litres of water.

CARBON - NITROGEN balance

Household paper is high in carbon.  Compost material from kitchen cuttings (mixture of nitrogen and carbon), household paper and all sorts of compostable materials (eg. old cotton rags) can be mixed with the fecal material to produce a better Carbon - Nitrogen balance and complete bio-digestion.