Where does it go????????

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BeefmasterB

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O.k., I'm having this discussion with a "friend" as to what happens to "wastes" (human and animal) and we're talking about drinking water and vegatables and other consumerables and it seems she can't seem to quite digest the thought process. Maybe you can help?
 
BeefmasterB":3snzlzu2 said:
O.k., I'm having this discussion with a "friend" as to what happens to "wastes" (human and animal) and we're talking about drinking water and vegatables and other consumerables and it seems she can't seem to quite digest the thought process. Maybe you can help?

Human waste, in the country, is handled by a septic tank. Properly installed, they work.
Animal waste is generally applied to cropland, where it is a valuable fertilizer.
 
john250":27xiefdq said:
BeefmasterB":27xiefdq said:
O.k., I'm having this discussion with a "friend" as to what happens to "wastes" (human and animal) and we're talking about drinking water and vegatables and other consumerables and it seems she can't seem to quite digest the thought process. Maybe you can help?

Human waste, in the country, is handled by a septic tank. Properly installed, they work.
Animal waste is generally applied to cropland, where it is a valuable fertilizer.

Human waste also gets (sometimes) applied to crop land too
 
In many places the treated human waste is applied back to the land also. I am not sure about all of it yet but know several people who apply it to their hayland and seem satisified.
JKA300 we were posting the same thing at the same time.
 
Towns big enough to have a sewer system and treatment plant will usually produce a form of 'cake" which is land applied as fertilizer. Pretty good stuff, if you can get past the origins. Not recommended for vegetables, of course, but for corn and beans--good.

Septic tank pumpers can land apply also. Not sure what I think about that.
 
OK. This is disgusting. If they spread the human "waste" on fields ~ would they not then (potentially) be spreading disease if it is absorbed into the plant?? And under ANY circumstance is waste water "cleaned" and put back into the water supply that we drink out of? And also ~ if a deer goes pee in the woods, does the pee go down down down into the water table and come out of my faucet? Sorry if this seems a little obsessive, but I am wondering.....
 
angie":18pixmpm said:
OK. This is disgusting. If they spread the human "waste" on fields ~ would they not then (potentially) be spreading disease if it is absorbed into the plant?? And under ANY circumstance is waste water "cleaned" and put back into the water supply that we drink out of? And also ~ if a deer goes pee in the woods, does the pee go down down down into the water table and come out of my faucet? Sorry if this seems a little obsessive, but I am wondering.....

It doesn't work that way. If the waste is spread on the soil, the plant will not take up anything other than the nutrients it needs. Microbes and other things will break this stuff down to a molecular level. Problems arise if the waste is put ON the plant and then it is digested in some manner without it first entering the nutrient cycle. Urine will be cleaned by passing through the soil. Go to a water treatment plant and you will see that most try to mimic nature in their setup.

Angie, for your info, if you ever go into the Carribean and stay on a small island I strongly suggest that you do not look in the cistern under your house cause I'm pretty sure you don't want to see what's living in your water supply. But I guess, that is why their rum is so good.
 
BeefmasterB":1wxrmcdm said:
O.k., I'm having this discussion with a "friend" as to what happens to "wastes" (human and animal) and we're talking about drinking water and vegatables and other consumerables and it seems she can't seem to quite digest the thought process. Maybe you can help?
As you head west toward Austin on 290, just before the Brazos River, look to your left and right. There is about 1500 acres on the right in pasture and about 1500 acres on left in corn that make good use of your waste. Sure does make for some mighty fine steaks.
You could start a whole new line of labled meat. "Crappy Branded Beef" All organic. :lol:
 
Angie, well maybe. I know of one waste treatment plant that puts the treated water into a river. Downstream several miles are two water plants that take water from the river, treat it and send it back up the line to you. One reason I am still on a well even though the water line is across the road.
 
angie":bscamdy3 said:
angie":bscamdy3 said:
And, under ANY circumstance, is waste water "cleaned" and put back into the water supply that we drink out of?
Well, is it?

Take a tour of a waste treatment facility. We did it with school kids and it wasn't nearly as distusting as you might think.
 
Interesting subject. As far as your drinking water goes,you need to be concerned about everything else. Mature waste is the least of the problem. Nature has a system in place to break down the mature. Nature is having a hard time breaking down the man made substances,ie most if not all drugs etc. What bothers me most is the amount of paper fibers they are finding in our drinking water. The largest source of this paper fiber is toilet paper :shock: Drink up.
 
novatech":11w9qhl6 said:
BeefmasterB":11w9qhl6 said:
O.k., I'm having this discussion with a "friend" as to what happens to "wastes" (human and animal) and we're talking about drinking water and vegatables and other consumerables and it seems she can't seem to quite digest the thought process. Maybe you can help?
As you head west toward Austin on 290, just before the Brazos River, look to your left and right. There is about 1500 acres on the right in pasture and about 1500 acres on left in corn that make good use of your waste. Sure does make for some mighty fine steaks.
You could start a whole new line of labled meat. "Crappy Branded Beef" All organic. :lol:
Sewer sludge is not allowed in organic production. You could call it all natural :D
 
john250":4v4d5uuv said:
Towns big enough to have a sewer system and treatment plant will usually produce a form of 'cake" which is land applied as fertilizer. Pretty good stuff, if you can get past the origins. Not recommended for vegetables, of course, but for corn and beans--good.

Septic tank pumpers can land apply also. Not sure what I think about that.

Some of the biggest and most beautiful corn, watermelons, tomatoes, squash and catalopes (not to mention weed) that you'll ever see come up down at the sewer plant every year. Quite a "farmer's market" down there. :lol: :lol:
 
TexasBred":16zb6nx5 said:
john250":16zb6nx5 said:
Towns big enough to have a sewer system and treatment plant will usually produce a form of 'cake" which is land applied as fertilizer. Pretty good stuff, if you can get past the origins. Not recommended for vegetables, of course, but for corn and beans--good.

Septic tank pumpers can land apply also. Not sure what I think about that.

Some of the biggest and most beautiful corn, watermelons, tomatoes, squash and catalopes (not to mention weed) that you'll ever see come up down at the sewer plant every year. Quite a "farmer's market" down there. :lol: :lol:
We had cherry tomatoes all over the yard. Great in salads. Ate them for years when I was a kid before everyone got so weak bellied and band sludge use.
What percentage of our vegetables and beef comes from foreign markets. The use of sludge for fertilizer is for the most part practiced throughout the world with the exception of a few squeamish countries. Wonder why their waste won't hurt us but our own will?
 
novatech":1gb0oda3 said:
TexasBred":1gb0oda3 said:
john250":1gb0oda3 said:
Towns big enough to have a sewer system and treatment plant will usually produce a form of 'cake" which is land applied as fertilizer. Pretty good stuff, if you can get past the origins. Not recommended for vegetables, of course, but for corn and beans--good.

Septic tank pumpers can land apply also. Not sure what I think about that.

Some of the biggest and most beautiful corn, watermelons, tomatoes, squash and catalopes (not to mention weed) that you'll ever see come up down at the sewer plant every year. Quite a "farmer's market" down there. :lol: :lol:
We had cherry tomatoes all over the yard. Great in salads. Ate them for years when I was a kid before everyone got so weak bellied and band sludge use.
What percentage of our vegetables and beef comes from foreign markets. The use of sludge for fertilizer is for the most part practiced throughout the world with the exception of a few squeamish countries. Wonder why their waste won't hurt us but our own will?

Around here, sewage gets "de-watered" (i.e. dried) after treatment. Farmers hold permits for application issued by our state Environmental Agency. The land is soil tested so nutrients like phosphorous do not get over applied and end up in streams.
I don't know what moisture it contains, but it is moist without being sludge or slurry. Cake.
A neighbor of mine holds a permit and gets the stuff for trucking it. I don't know the exact nutrient level, but it is worth trucking.
Anything that would spread chicken litter would do a decent job spreading this.
 
My concerns are not from the human waste but many of the other things that are flushed. Reports from some areas show a lot of heavy metals, drug residue, and other things still in the sludge. Jury is still out on things like AIDS and other diseases. Just too many questions for me. I don't blame anyone who uses it but I will not.
 
angie":1w9qmvv2 said:
angie":1w9qmvv2 said:
And, under ANY circumstance, is waste water "cleaned" and put back into the water supply that we drink out of?
Well, is it?

Well, first off, what do you think the astronauts drink? And as others said, it is cleaned enough to be discharged into the river and the next city downstream pulls it out to put it into their water supply.
 

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