There are many pros to installing a composting toilet: money savings for the owner, improved facilities when the composting toilet is replacing an old outhouse, and particularly environmental benefits. In the next three days blogs, we’re going to discuss a few of the ways that composting toilets make a very big and very positive impact on the world around us.
Environmental Benefit 1 - Less Pollution
The disposal of human waste is one of the largest sources of pollution, water contamination, and disease on earth. In many third world countries, basic sanitation systems are not present, meaning that people are simultaneously drinking from and eliminating in the same streams and rivers. The health implications of this are obvious. The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of all disease and death in developing countries is cause by polluted water, with fecal matter being one of the major contaminants of freshwater around the world.
Even in developed countries like the United States, 20% of people are getting their tap water from private wells, which are easily contaminated by old, failing septic systems that owners don’t want to spend the money to repair or replace. Septic systems should be inspected every 2 years and pumped every 3-5 years to ensure proper functioning and to prevent possible contamination of nearby wells and other groundwater. Failure to do so can lead to fecal contamination causing dysentery and even hepatitis.
Visit us tomorrow for additional environmental benefits of composting toilets.
