In other parts of the world, bio solids (human waste)from sewage treatment plants are treated and used as sustainable agriculture fertilizer. Research the pros and cons of this method and take as to whether this can be a realistic alternative to our current agricultural practices. Who are the potential stakeholders in the issue? Are we influenced by the western view of human waste as an unsanitary and disgusting nuisance?
The thing with every form of matter, is that it never simply "disappears" it always changes into a different form. Food is consumed and is turned into energy and waste. The waste gets flushed and depending where you are,it either is simply thrown into somewhere or used as a fertilizer. The process for creating biosolids is simple. First they take the raw sewage and strain it several times to remove the large chunks of waste, then the more harmful microorganisms in the waste are eaten by other microorganisms that feed on them. This is done continuously until the harmful bacterias are fully removed. Some of the "good" bacteria can even convert the "bad" bacteria into hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas which can then be converted into methane gas, and can be used to power several gas powered objects, including the plant itself.
The use of biosolids is a brilliant way of using our wastes to create even more produce, but why is'nt its use being widely accepted in the U.S? Many people still can't bare the thought of growing produce from human feces and waste. Also, it is still widely believed that the process that "cleans" the sewage doesn't remove all the harmful chemicals found in it like arsenic, copper, and the several medicines that have been consumed and excreted. But what some people don't know is that, the process of cleaning sewage and recycling the water is used both here in Canada and in the United States, it is up to the municipalities to decide what to do with the waste product; either burn it, bury it in a landfill or use it as biosolids. And that the water that is cleaned, is then poured again in the river that we use as a water resource, for us to consume, its a continuous cycle of resources.
The use of human feces or "night soil" as a fertilizer has been around since the ninth century in Japan, and even in ancient Athens. Its use is found heavily today, in under-developed countries like Ghana who use land which had been irrigated with human urine and feces to grow crops that produce vegetables to eat, because its an incredibly cheap alternative to the other fertilizer. Apparently, a study released by the university of Kupio in Finland, stated that human urine is the best substitute for water, to grow a plant; it will make it grow more rapidly because it is rich in nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate. The brave testers that ate the urine infused tomatoes used as a test plant, agreed that the tomatoes tasted "different", but decided that they were all equally good.
Of course its a realistic alternative to our current agricultural practices,some of the fertilizer food companies use (or even the ones they sell at Walmart) fertilizer that is resourced from animal manure. Sometimes they even contain bone meal from rotting dead animals! Why are we so worried about consuming something we probably ate before anyways? for all we know we're eating a burrito with a tomato that was grown from crap that came from another burrito! The potential stakeholders in the issue are cities and towns themselves;they have to decide whether the use of something that comes out of them anyways produces something that they really need to survive.I personally, am all for the use of biosolids. The people who run treatment plants that produce biosolids, are probably working their asses off to ensure that the sewage that they are treating is perfectly safe because their entire company is depending on those high standards. In my opinion its not like we're just eating the crap itself, we're using the nutrients and byproducts that our body produces to help produce food we eat! I think the one reason we all share the same unsanitary view on human feces because we try to hold our reputation as a modern and clean society.
works cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosolids
http://www.compost.org/Biosolids_Composting_FAQ.pdf
http://www.perc.ca/PEN/2001-02/s-mills2.html
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