As we all know, the U.S. economy has seen better days. With the exception of building weapons systems, there just isn't that much manufacturing going on in the U.S. Most of the economy seems to be related to importing, managing and selling things that are imported from China. Ideas to do some useful things like make health care available to everyone get labeled as some left-wing plot to bankrupt the U.S. and any alternative energy ideas turn into corporate welfare. Well, I just thought of something that might actually combine doing something useful with not getting labeled as welfare.

How about solving the "waste water" situation in the U.S.? The good news is that there are lots of possible approaches. Each of us that has thought about it will have an opinion as to what is best but, as the problem is decentralized, the solutions can be as well.

First, let me describe the problem. Or, more accurately, the problems.

• In the U.S., the "standard" is to use from 1.6 to 5 gallons of water to transport one "human elimination event" to a location where "it is dealt with". In most cases the water used is suitable for drinking. There isn't enough water available in the world for everyone to do this.
• Mixing toilet waste with other waste streams creates a much larger waste disposal problem than separation of blackwater (toilet waste) with graywater (other water disposal)
• Current disposal methods actually add dangerous chemicals (in particular, chlorine) to waste streams rather than decreasing such chemicals.
• Current disposal methods remove organic material from the food cycle requiring an increase in chemicals to replace natural organic material.

There have been "let's fix things at home" efforts in U.S. history. Rural electrification in the 1930s, and the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s and 1960s are two good examples. Both created jobs and were seen as a benefit to the nation as a whole. Why not have a "dealing with out shit" effort?

Different Approaches

The current system is so broken and there are so many well-know approaches that it would be easy to start fixing things now. Current technology can be used immediately and for those that want a more high-tech solution, there are areas where that can be addressed as well. Here are some ideas to move things forward.

Composting toilets work. There are many self-contained units as well as units with a separate "tank" that is located below the toilet units. To get from "a few people might use them" to mass use, here are some things that need to be done.

• Government regulation needs to be "fixed". That is, permitting a composting toilet should be easy. Easier than a septic system, for example.
• Costs need to be lowered. It makes no sense that a glorified plastic box with a few metal parts and a toilet seat costs well over $1000. I expect the cost is a result of government regulation and economy of scale. Much like PV solar panels, make the necessary changes to increase demand and prices should fall significantly.
• Create a service industry. While composting toilets require little "management" beyond only putting the right things in them, most people in the U.S. think of their current "flush and forget" toilets as waste disposal systems. They aren't. They just move the waste to a different place to be dealt with. If service companies are established that deal with composting toilets, people are more apt to accept them.

Another way the government can encourage their use is to use them themselves. For example, new government facilities should be built using them. Central systems that can serve buildings exist. Installing them offers an example.

Separation of graywater from blackwater is a step in the right direction. You still have the issue of too much pure water being contaminated but, separation can lead the way to better addressing that issue. Mandate that new construction has separate graywater and blackwater plumbing. The cost is minimal.

New housing developments could be required to have on-site facilities for dealing with graywater. In urban areas, this could easily be an extension of requirements for green space. With Separation and minimal control, graywater could be used at the individual housing level for watering plants, decreasing the need for fresh water (meaning chemically-treated drinking-quality water) for this use. In jurisdictions concerned with individual mis-use, a development-wide graywater processing system could be implemented with the resulting water piped back to homes as irrigation water.

Develop systems to decrease the quantity of blackwater. For example, using compressed air rather than water to transport toilet contents to processing locations eliminates the need for clean water to flush toilets, decreases volume and offers something that can be centrally composted.

What Will It Cost?

A better question is what will it cost not to do this? Currently, every time we urinate or defecate we use from 1.6 to 5 gallons of drinking-quality water to dispose of what amounts to good organic nutrients. We then have a 1.6 to 5 gallon stream of "waste" to process. The financial costs of obtaining the pure water and disposing of the waste are part of the picture. Additionally, there is the environmental cost of the chemicals used to purify the water and "clean" the waste stream. Then, add the cost of chemical fertilizers needed to replace what could be done with properly handled organic waste.

The actual costs will vary from location to location but clearly they are not cheap. The good news is that there is a huge problem that can be incrementally solved. In some areas, self-contained composting toilets will be the best approach. Where there in new construction, separation of graywater from blackwater at the source leads the way for future solutions such as building-level or neighborhood-level processing systems for blackwater. Additionally, each step in the right direction could increase the demand for research, development and support services.

The current system is unsustainable. Limits on available fresh water, places to dispose of treatment plant sludge and growing chemical fertilizer needs require a solution.