YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE...MAYBE TWICE!
Humanure Dry Toilet Made From a Milk Crate
Modern toilets take two valuable resources, water and nitrogen rich human waste, and combine the two to create a problem: sewage. In a dry or “humanure” toilet, you cover your deposits with a layer of non-toxic sawdust. Once the toilet is full you dump the contents into your outdoor humanure pile and compost the waste at high temperatures for at least a year. You can then use that compost as fertilizer for plants. The ubiquitous five gallon bucket is the most commonly used humanure receptacle. Most humanure toilet designs I’ve seen such as the ones on Joseph Jenkin’s website make use of wood which I’m not crazy about in the wet environment of a bathroom. Even with a coat of paint wood gets grungy. Alternatively, you can buy plastic camping toilet seats that will clamp on to a five gallon bu... but they have, in my opinion, an unacceptable wobble when you sit on them. For these reasons I designed a sturdy dry toilet making use of a scavenged milk crate. Even if the idea of humanure grosses you out (and it’s definitely the most controversial subject in our book), our milk crate toilet would be great for camping, emergencies or your remote cabin.
Putting this toilet together takes just a few minutes. First, find a milk or beer crate and a five gallon bucket. Make sure that the crate you use is large enough to accommodate the bucket. And note, I know of someone arrested for scavenging beer crates behind a strip club, of all places, so be discreet or ask for permission. Incidentally, when the police finished booking the beer crate scavenger the officer placed the paperwork in . . . a scavenged beer crate doubling as an in box!
Attaching the Toilet Seat to the CrateNext, find a toilet seat. Forage one or pick up a cheap seat at your local hardware store. In an emergency situation, you could also use the one on your regular toilet and simply bolt it back on when the zombie threat has passed and the sewage pipes are flowing again. To attach the seat to the milk crate simply position the plastic bolts and nuts that come with the lid in the center and on the short end of the bottom of the crate. Don’t over tighten.
Cutting Out a Hole in the CratePlace the bucket so that it will be appropriately positioned under the seat. Mark the outline of the bucket on the crate with a knife and cut out a circle with a jigsaw or keyhole saw so that the bucket will fit through the former bottom of the crate.
Attaching Legs to the Crate with Cable TiesCut four pieces of scrap wood (we found some old table legs for a more finished look), and attach them to each corner of the crate so that the bucket projects about a 1/2-inch above the level of the crate. The legs will be approximately 13 1/2-inches. Make sure that the toilet seat will fit snugly against the top of the bucket. We attached the legs with cable ties, but you could also use screws or bolts.
Moving the SpacerThe last step is to move the spacer on the bottom of the lid, so that it does not hit the top of the bucket. Pop it out with a knife or chisel, drill another hole, and reposition.
Your humanure toilet is now done and ready for use. Simply lift the crate off the bucket when it comes time to empty the contents. Follow the detailed instructions on Joseph Jenkin’s website to learn how to properly compost human waste.
This toilet is simple to make, easy to clean, and is made of readily available materials. I think this particular design will be useful in emergencies and, when combined with Jenkin’s excellent humanure methods, would prevent the dangerous raw sewage nightmares of the sort we saw in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. There is a creative commons licence on all the text and photos on this website so feel free to translate and disseminate this post widely. We’re “open source” here at Homegrown Evolution. If you make an improvement in the design please let us know.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jessie W. Garrett III on
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Sorry I've been gone, been helping my friend's girlfriend make arrangements for his funereal...He passed Sunday night and they creamatated him Tuesday...Just got home...So I'll try and get caught up tonight on everything....
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Thanks...I'll pass it on to his family...His girlfriend and his kids didn't even seem to be sadden by his passing...Hell, they acted more relieved then anything...I over heard them talking about how they hated him and his stupid ideas of going of the grid and how he wasted all his money in trying to prove that they could live without him and his half baked plans of being totally self reliant...
I helped them as much as I could...I held my tongue and just walked away after we scattered his ashes acrossed his property...To bad it won't be his property or his family's property much longer as they are selling it...Hell, I tried to save a few of the things I thought they wouldn't missed, but before I could get them out of the house and get on the road, they had already sold almost everything...The only thing left was the house and the land...
So now there are 4 of the original Lost Boys left from the old days...But from what I've heard, the rest of the old crew have been either jailed, committed to the psyc ward, disappeared or are dead...Which means there's only one left of the old crew and that's me...
Guess the old crew reunion isn't going to happen this summer...(L) That would be fun, a party of one...(L) Might go to the bar and have a couple of drinks to the old days...
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Permalink Reply by saint.357 on
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the old crew may be gone but still got the new crew, me and rhino. we all got to get together one of these days and raise a little hell!
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True
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Permalink Reply by KOMRAD RHINO☭ on
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Damn bro. That bites! I wish the turn out had been better.
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I can feel ya on the loss of your old crew Jessie. For the most part. I to am the sole survivor of my bunch. But I do agree with Saint though. You got us to kick it with. And we do have to get together some time here soon. As I read what you put here about how his family was. That was indeed sad. Like I said before. I do wish his outcome had been better. And for your loss I greive bro. I think though at least his parents can go after this guy though for negligent homocide though. Reason being he died a horrible death due to facts this guru put out there with no real research to back it. After the family is done grieving for him. It may be something you can present to them. This guru should be made accountable for how this man died. I shudder to think of how many he has put in the ground this way.
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Been Awhile, BUt I'm still Alive
Greetings Everyone, Well it's been awhile. As things go, life carries us all in different directions from time to time but you always find your way home sooner or later. Well, life ain't all fun and games, but right now, things are going good. I have restarted my writing on my book again, and as I learn more about about some of the ROle-playing games I have gotten into, I am seriously thinking about rying to create an actual Zombie Survival Role-playing game. But have not set any time…
ContinuePosted by Jessie W. Garrett III on May 22, 2024 at 12:32am — 1 Comment
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