Precious Water and the
Role of the Sawdust Toilette

Okay, first of all I have to ask...
Doesn't it seem strange and STUPID to put our urine and faeces in our DRINKING WATER!!!? Aren't we just asking for illnesses? Alright, let me explain...Most people use a toilet that flushes their urine and faeces "away", right? And where does it go? To the water treatment facility where they put harsh chemicals in the water to kill any dangerous pathogens and bacteria that come from OUR HUMAN FAECES. They then pipe this water back to us a clean, safe drinking water that has a strong hint of chlorine flavour to it. This logic troubles me.

We must also remember that water can not be produced or destroyed. It is constantly circulating in a never ending cycle. What we are currently doing to our water will come back to haunt us. In fact, it already has. Just take a look at what is happening around the world and here at home. From small cases such as e-coli and boil water orders to rivers so full of toxins that all animal and plant life have died. Fisherman are losing their jobs because there is no sea life and our food supply is being put in jeopardy. Why do we continue to think water can magically take our waste away where it will never come back or affect us? Haven't we learned that this is simply not the case?

Secondly, I have to ask you to think about this...
Why are we okay with the idea of using cow or sheep manure on our vegetable crops, and pesticides for that matter, and we are disgusted by the idea of using human manure? Are they not essentially the same thing - shit? Shit that is full of wonderful, nutritious nitrogen? Where did this great distaste for something that is a part of us come from anyway?

I personally think we need to change our thinking and our way of doing things.

One suggestion I have, is for all of us to use sawdust toilets, or other type of compost toilet, instead of regular flush toilets with there expensive septic systems.

You can have a sawdust toilet in your home – THEY DON'T SMELL – I promise. Plus the are so cheap. Essentially, all you need is a wooden box with a toilet seat and a bucket. We built a sawdust outhouse (see pictures) because we have yet to build our log cabin, but when we do, we will have a sawdust toilet inside. I have to say, building this sawdust outhouse was and continues to be a very rewarding project that we never get tired of using. It's a novelty and therefor it's fun and cool. Plus, you're doing something for the earth, for your garden, and essentially, for your own health.

Okay, so let me explain how the sawdust toilet works. After each use, you cover the urine and faeces with a generous amount of sawdust. The sawdust prevents odour and flies and adds carbon. Once the bucket is full, you empty it in the compost pile along with kitchen straps, straw, weeds and newspaper – which are all carbon-rich. This system encourages thermophilic composting, a process of decay that generates efficient heat to kill all pathogens that can survive in the human body. So you see, you then end up with thick, rich humus that has a healthy nitrogen-carbon ratio – an excellent compost that your vegetable garden will love. If you just can't imagine using this compost on your food garden, use it on your flower garden or your orchards.

The sawdust toilet is an excellent sustainable alternative to the flush toilet. I have hope that we can get past our attitude that cleanliness means using harsh chemicals, and embrace a more natural and earth-connected way of doing things. Let's keep our precious, precious water clean.