ASIAN COMPOSTING

It is well known that Asians have recycled humanure for centuries, possibly millennia. How did they do it? Historical information concerning the composting of humanure in Asia seems difficult to find. Rybczynski et al. state that composting was only introduced to China in a systematic way in the 1930s and that it wasn’t until 1956 that composting toilets were used on a wide scale in Vietnam.¹ On the other hand, Franceys et al. tell us that composting “has been practiced by farmers and gardeners throughout the world for many centuries.” They add that, “In China, the practice of composting [humanure] with crop residues has enabled the soil to support high population densities without loss of fertility for more than 4000 years.” ²

However, a book published in 1978 and translated directly from the original Chinese indicates that composting has not been a cultural practice in China until only recently. An agricultural report from the Province of Hopei, for example, states that the standardized management and hygienic disposal (i.e., composting) of excreta and urine was only initiated there in 1964. The composting techniques being developed at that time included the segregation of feces and urine, which were later “poured into a mixing tank and mixed well to form a dense fecal liquid” before piling on a compost heap. The compost was made of 25% human feces and urine, 25% livestock manure, 25% miscellaneous organic refuse, and 25% soil.³

Two aerobic methods of composting were reported to be in widespread use in China, according to the 1978 report. The two methods are described as: 1) surface aerobic continuous composting; and 2) pit aerobic continuous composting. The surface method involves constructing a compost pile around an internal framework of bamboo, approximately nine feet by nine feet by three feet high (3m x 3m x 1m). Compost ingredients include fecal material (both human and non-human), organic refuse, and soil. The bamboo is removed from the constructed pile and the resultant holes allow for the penetration of air into this rather large pile of refuse. The pile is then covered with earth or an earth/horse manure mix, and left to decompose for 20 to 30 days, after which the composted material is used in agriculture.

The pit method involves constructing compost pits five feet wide and four feet deep by various lengths, and digging channels in the floor of the pits. The channels (one lengthwise and two widthwise) are covered with coarse organic material such as millet stalks, and a bamboo pole is placed vertically along the walls of the pit at the end of each channel. The pit is then filled with organic refuse and covered with earth, and the bamboo poles are removed to allow for air circulation.⁴

A report from a hygienic committee of the Province of Shantung provides us with additional information on Chinese composting.⁵ The report lists three traditional methods used in that province for the recycling of humanure:

1) Drying it — “Drying has been the most common method of treating human excrement and urine for years.” It is a method that causes a significant loss of nitrogen;

2) Using it raw, a method that is well known for pathogen transmission; and

3) “Connecting the household pit privy to the pigpen . . . a method that has been used for centuries.” An unsanitary method in which the excrement was simply eaten by a pig.

No mention is made whatsoever of composting being a traditional method used by the Chinese for recycling humanure. On the contrary, all indications were that the Chinese government in the 1960s was, at that time, attempting to establish composting as preferable to the three traditional recycling methods listed above, mainly because the three methods were hygienically unsafe, while composting, when properly managed, would destroy pathogens in humanure while preserving agriculturally valuable nutrients. This report also indicated that soil was being used as an ingredient in the compost, or, to quote directly, “Generally, it is adequate to combine 40-50% of excreta and urine with 50-60% of polluted soil and weeds.”

For further information on Asian composting, I must defer to Rybczynski et al., whose World Bank research on low-cost options for sanitation considered over 20,000 references and reviewed approximately 1200 documents. Their review of Asian composting is brief, but includes the following information, which I have condensed:

There are no reports of composting privys (toilets) being used on a wide scale until the 1950s, when the Democratic Republic of Vietnam initiated a five-year plan of rural hygiene and a large number of anaerobic composting toilets were built. These toilets, known as the Vietnamese Double Vault, consisted of two above ground water-tight tanks, or vaults, for the collection of humanure (see Figure 6.3). For a family of five to ten people, each vault was required to be 1.2 m wide, 0.7 m high, and 1.7 m long (approximately 4 feet wide by 28 inches high and 5 feet 7 inches long). One tank is used until full and left to decompose while the other tank is used. The use of this sort of composting toilet requires the segregation of urine, which is diverted to a separate receptacle through a groove on the floor of the toilet. Fecal material is collected in the tank and covered with soil, where it anaerobically decomposes. Kitchen ashes are added to the fecal material for the purpose of reducing odor.

Eighty-five percent of intestinal worm eggs, one of the most persistently viable forms of human pathogens, were found to be destroyed after a two month composting period in this system. However, according to Vietnamese health authorities, forty-five days in a sealed vault is adequate for the complete destruction of all bacteria and intestinal parasites (presumably they mean pathogenic bacteria). Compost from such latrines is reported to increase crop yields by 10-25% in comparison to the use of raw humanure. The success of the Vietnamese Double Vault required “long and persistent health education programs.” ⁶

When the Vietnamese Double Vault composting toilet system was exported to Mexico and Central America, the result was “overwhelming positive,” according to one source, who adds, “Properly managed there is no smell and no fly breeding in these toilets. They seem to work particularly well in the dry climate of the Mexican highlands. Where the system has failed (wetness in the processing chamber, odours, fly breeding) it was usually due to non-existent, weak, or bungled information, training and follow-up.” ⁷ A lack of training and a poor understanding of the composting processes can cause any humanure composting system to become problematic. Conversely, complete information and an educated interest will ensure the success of humanure composting systems.

Another anaerobic double-vault composting toilet used in Vietnam includes using both fecal material and urine. In this system, the bottom of the vaults are perforated to allow drainage, and urine is filtered through limestone to neutralize acidity. Other organic refuse is also added to the vaults, and ventilation is provided via a pipe.

In India, the composting of organic refuse and humanure is advocated by the government. A study of such compost prepared in pits in the 1950s showed that intestinal worm parasites and pathogenic bacteria were completely eliminated in three months. The destruction of pathogens in the compost was attributed to the maintenance of a temperature of about 40°C (104°F) for a period of 10-15 days. However, it was also concluded that the compost pits had to be properly constructed and managed, and the compost not removed until fully “ripe,” in order to achieve the total destruction of human pathogens. If done properly, it is reported that “there is very little hygienic risk involved in the use and handling of [humanure] compost for agricultural purposes.” ⁸

In short, it doesn’t look like the Asians have a lot to offer us with regard to composting toilet designs. Perhaps we should instead look to the Scandinavians, who have developed many commercial composting toilets.

Source: The Humanure Handbook. Jenkins Publishing, PO Box 607, Grove City, PA 16127. To order, phone: 1-800-639-4099.
http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/

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