How to Make Humanure Compost with a Composting Toilet

In this film we take a tour of Greg and Lisa's composting toilet setup and see how they've been safely composting and using their humanure on their veggie garden for over four years.
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[@adamcarroll1975]

Yeah, I feel bad every time I shit in clean water and then flush it, knowing there are water shortages and people dying due to lack of clean H2O. This is inspiring. Thank you!!!

[@rolfpoelman3486]

What do do with your urine?

[@aurelia4297]

@@rolfpoelman3486 just dilute urine with a bit of water and give it to ur plants directly....its almost the same as miracle grow...

[@IrradioMan]

there are water shortages because of overpopulation, so people dying is a necessity for ecological balance. there will be a point in the future where many more will die, which is necessary and natural.

[@freedomordeath89]

Oh yeah cuz if u dont use water in England it will magically teleport in Africa, right? Fokken hippies

[@aurelia4297]

@@freedomordeath89 you're dumb....it takes so much energy to turn waste water into renewed clean water(your waste water gets sent to the waste water treatment center and is treated usually with bacteria that eats the dirt etc and the treatment center use coal as power)....save water if you can! contaminated water also ruins habitats...open your mindset and be less selfish

[@markcharkey118]

Been using Joe Jenkins style composting toilet last 5 years. Zero water, zero energy, so easy and builds soil, just do it!

[@rolfpoelman3486]

What happens to it after the bucket stage?

[@nguyenlanh1395]

Hard to start

[@bryanbradley6871]

Just throw your poo on top and mix it in the dirt (you can boil it before hand if you are worried)

[@gavingreer]

what do ya use to wipe?

[@markcharkey118]

Just use regular toilet paper. Full buckets are dumped in outside compost bin, bucket wash water into compost bin. Fill bin up then cap and age one year. Bin is now compost. Get the humanure handbook for all the details.

[@stmnMcdn]

lolololol this dude is funny and down to earth! "you're welcome to leave a deposit before you leave"

[@foodsgoodfarm2429]

my compost toilet is one of my favourite things on my homestead. you hit the nail on the head when you said that the main hurdle is the social "norm" that poo is toxic and should be whisked away as quickly as possible, never to be thought about again. once you get beyond that its one of the most satisfying feelings in the world :)

[@LiLBitsDK]

well it is right that it is "toxic" but that is because we all flush it down the drain and off it goes to gigantic proportions of human sludge... THAT is toxic... both to us and the environment, especially when they overflow or "accidently runs out in the rivers".... but if you "accidently" took a shit in your yard... it's not toxic... bugs and microbes would have it gone in a few days... (yes I tested it) one poop on the lawn... wasn't a single sign of it a week after... (but no, don't go pooping all over your lawn... this was an experiment) compost it and you can use it as great fertilizer

[@FranekCyganek25]

I got to say that's not only humanure for me Since I started doing it, my physical, mental and spiritual health inproved a lot. I recovered from a very hard and difficult to cure disease. Because of this, I could start doing in my life and invent many new things that I could not before due to poor health and poor general condition. Beacause of this, I was able to start working a lot physically and intellectually. I also feel better spritually- happier and freer to do good and generally as me and I can also give this happiness to others. The very sad thing is that people do not want to see that the changes that have taken place are the results of working towards humanure.

[@TheGeenat]

Shut up. I’ve seen your nonsense on several videos already.

[@FranekCyganek25]

When I say that God with His grace can heal through nature and act through infinite number of things, even believers in God often knock on the head and telk me that I am mentally ill or something. And I've just been in bad condition but it keeps getting all the way better. Certainly there are many graces of God in action for matters which are missing in the world and about which people think that they are not working but work wonderfully. I hope that it will gradually change and people will be able to take advantage of the good that is contained in this matter and also be able to discover many other wonders so far hidden for humanity or old and forgotten or considered not working but works great. Cordial greetings and blessing for You everyone ❤

[@ceceliahuynh]

I love how Greg and Lisa present, so dry and matter-of-fact about an awkward and taboo subject!

[@samnikole1643]

Cecelia Huynh Taboo? lol poo is not taboo subject!

[@footballbaby1829]

didnt know talking about shit is a taboo subject, but if it is a joke/subject in a movie it becomes funny and accepted and no longer a taboo.

[@samnikole1643]

football baby LOL

[@jentompkins5322]

I read The Humanure Handbook a few years ago and it changed my perspective on human waste entirely. Hot composting can even break down radioactive waste in the soil! Microbes are some of our most valuable allies. Even if you can't see yourself pooping in a bucket anytime soon, it's worth a read. On our off-grid homestead we currently have a traditional outhouse, but I would love to move to a humanure system in the future.

[@theCodyReeder]

Ok no. no amount of composting can change radioactivity. No chemical reaction, nothing you can do can influence radioactivity. Unless of course you mean just waiting out the half lives.

[@willymakeit5172]

Break down radioactive waste, please provide references.

[@timgiles9413]

I have a toilet for my bathroom and one in my outhouse (without the pit of coarse) If I'm working outdoors I hate to go inside to use the toilet, and visa versa. That's why I built my outhouse :) I don't use my outhouse in the winter because I don't want my bucket of stuff to freeze. :)

[@jonothandoeser]

@@willymakeit5172 Have you read this Swedish study? inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:31044889 If you want more understanding on this subject look up "bioremediation of radioactive waste."

[@clairemcconway6266]

@@theCodyReeder not true. Joseph Jenkins deals with it in his book and cites the credible sources for the data. I take it you haven't read his book or the studies he cites.

[@verityandstumclellan8585]

Loving this so much. Just done a permaculture design course and right now composting our shit seems kind of the pinnacle of reconnecting what we do as humans with the hoop of life. So it's pretty much at the top of my list of changes to make in the coming weeks and months - I've just got to convince the rest of my family that it's a good move....(I've already started covertly started peeing on the compost pile). Thanks Greg, Lisa and Happen Films for this sweet and convincing little film.

[@LouisOnEarth]

Humans and animals and poop 💩 and pee 💦 is magic. Watch the TED talk: turning deserts green by an environmentalist who is famous for having killed something like 40,000 elephants when he was “in charge” .. and idiotically as a young environmentalist thought culling was a good idea. 🤦🏼‍♂️ He is making up for it though … still lots of beautiful elephants 🐘 gone .. the road to hell, and good intentions hey …

[@kicknitoldskool]

I'm in the same boat. The question is - how to convince the wife & guests to use a bucket... I need some kind of fake-toilet-bucket for her comfort...

[@cosmictruthseeker3796]

I don't think you are supposed to pee on the compost pile. You keep pee separate, such as very diluted to water a tree

[@cosmictruthseeker3796]

@@kicknitoldskool there is a system called homebiogas that uses a regular toilet. THe waste goes into the biogas unit and creates cooking gas and effluent to fertillize the garden. Once she learns about the science of the biogas system, she can have her choice of a bucket (which is cheaper) or the biogas system.

[@cosmictruthseeker3796]

the reason that people have this phobia is because waste can carry viruses. ALong with people learning about humanure, they also need to learn how to live healthfully and eliminate their diseases. Once a person is healthy, they should not need much convincing to switch to humanure composting. Then they also should not eat virus foods, like raw oysters, etc.

[@highplains7777]

I did this one year and applied the product to my tomatoes. All of them did well that year. One of my plants had so many tomatoes that it looked cartoonishly fake. We're talking 80+ beefsteaks on that one plant! Sadly, nobody wanted to eat them. Even my father, an educated man who should know better, refused to eat them - he called them "turdmatoes," lol.

[@crpth1]

Dick Tracy - There´s an old saying in Portuguese... "O segredo é a alma do negócio" - "Secret is the soul of business". So what they don´t know... LOL :-) Cheers

[@octane7047]

I think it's more about the mental image that makes the tomatoes unappetising 😂 Like, i don't mind eating plants fertilised with my kids' and my own feces. But other adults' humanure would make the food less appetising. Better just don't tell me 😂

[@PermacultureHomestead]

i like you Greg we should just take care of our own shit ! Thanks again Jordan, love all your work, watch these all the time.

[@wadepatton2433]

"It took us a long time to lose our Shitphobia" thanks for that one! Actually the most pleasant "outhouses" I have ever used or visited were of the composting in a bucket nature. Decidedly most unpleasant have been pit-type or traditional. My turn has come and I have buckets!

[@TheRojo387]

Coprophobia.

[@manjichromagnon5480]

Being disgusted by your own shit is a pretty evolved and sensible reaction survival wise... Until you know better

[@elkeschmitt623]

When my brother was in the boy scouts and they went camping-the first thing they did= they dug a hole and build some construct around it - so you don't accidently fall into the hole

[@dubrd5926]

Thanks for the great video and information. Thanks to David Jinkins, I have been using a composting toilet inside my house for the last 11 years. However I am too lazy to monitor the temperature or turn the compost pile or even have a bin for the piles. I just make 4 separate piles, one each year. I use the oldest pile for my garden this way it gives time for tree seeds to germinate in the piles so I have a constant supply of new seedlings as well as a covering for my newly planted crop seeds.

[@timgiles9413]

It's actually Joseph Jenkins and his book is "The Humanure Handbook" He now has a 4th Edition that you should read. There is never a need to turn a humanure compost pile, ever. Use a RioTemp thermometer to check your cooking temps.

[@myronplatte8354]

Lazy wins.

[@Helen1118Kang]

Awesome video! We need to spread this kind of videos to the world!😁😁 Thank you so much.

[@nottooherbal]

Clearest and best composting video I've seen.

[@ceciliasoans8113]

Once you start composting there's no looking back.. that's true.. nature is amazing, it takes back all we throw..and keeps the earth beautiful for us

[@darakleinebaumfee5936]

Fabulous 😆 i like this fine and relaxed humor for this important theme.

[@nadakuditigopikrishna6587]

This method helps to get rid of polluting water resources across world. Thank you very much for sharing this great video.

[@sourcecreator2222]

Lol! Great video! Ive started composting my manure recently with sawdust and it has been great. Recommended! Family coming onboard too.

[@WeemakechangeCoNz]

That is the best Composting Toilet vid I have seen. Well Done!

[@eileenfb1948]

Thank you for this info. I thought it would be rather yukky but this looks easy. I imagine if you have buckets a few months old to empty, already mixed with sawdust, it should be not too bad making it into a compost heap.

[@lwitt8448]

Great video! We should all do this, thank you for sharing this information.

[@markanthony4655]

Loved the film. Always wondered if it could be done, now I have the answer. Thank you so much. Just need my own property now, as I intend to go as self sufficient as possible, with the absolute minimum of waste to be disposed of at the tip.

[@ConscientiousOmnivore]

Awesome, very well presented in a concise manner.

[@connorbarnes3662]

fantastic video, fantastic enthusiasm , the message needs to spread .

[@GreatBoneStructure]

Useful! Just reached the end of my buckets. Time to create the compost heap. Thanks!

[@lets7121]

Awesome, Keep making these videos, They're great!

[@thomasreto2997]

Thank you😀...I have read the Joe Jenkins humanure handbook as well...David the Good suggested it to me...what you say is so true...we need to change our thought process (my humble opinion) on resources and just get over ourselves...if everybody did what your family does, a lot of problems would disappear...when my wife and I move out of the city...I plan on practicing what you do..actually, if done right, I hear you actually can do what your doing in the city...if done correctly...

[@cor.b]

You guys are so cool! Thanks for an inspiring clip. Will read the book.

[@ilovesvetlana101]

thank you for sharing! I was recently told that it was unsafe to use human manure for farming food, but these same people told me it was better to use animal manure. didn't make sense to me. thank you guys for showing how human manure compost should be used properly.

[@gramursowanfaborden5820]

it's possible that it could cause Mad Cow Disease (CJD)or something similar if not properly composted before use as fertiliser.

[@jeanclaudekalimunda263]

That goes to show you how twisted a human mind can be. What is the difference between a pig's poop and a human being's poop? I don't think there is really any. A pig is as much an omnivore as a human being. Yet, the pig's poop is valued as a wonderful fertilizer while our poop is damned and treated as something to be wasted and even to be ashamed of. Let's hope that in a few years this damnation will be set aside by many and the earth will start to profit from this endless resource from everywhere humans live.

[@clairemcconway6266]

@@gramursowanfaborden5820 please explain how prions from infected brains could get into composted manure (of any type)?

[@clairemcconway6266]

@@jeanclaudekalimunda263 exactly. Chickens are omnivores also, but the same ridiculous double standards seem to be widespread.

[@simplylifeau]

Great story, thanks for sharing it! 👍

[@unnameablespace8945]

Delightful! Thanks for sharing!

[@jadeupton4]

Thanks very much for this video. Has been looking a lot into changing our lifestyle and the various ways we can do that. I have been interested in the composting toilet for some time, so I found this very helpful, as I've not seen the process of transforming the waste into compost. Keep up the awesome videos, they are very inspiring! Thanks again. Jade, Auckland nz

[@abdulmuti1]

Thank you, the video is short sweet and well presented.

[@emilybautista]

Good job guys! Thanks for the info, we're going off grid soon!

[@charsasso521]

I love it thank you so much for your time and info

[@freelancelife6704]

Thanks for the video.

[@londonskynet]

Super simple and super Brilliant

[@eco_guardian]

Awesome - great film

[@frankthegamerespiritu8655]

Great info. Thanks.

[@preciousmetalhead5155]

Sniffs composted poo...”mmmm, yum, good stuff”.....🤣🤣😂

[@anthonytooley1833]

It does lol. It's funny but true. Properly composted humanure smells like the redwood forests in California. delicious. And at that point, it's technically no longer poop. You could look at it under a microscope, culture it, etc, and if it's properly composted you won't be able to find a *single trace* of fecal matter. It's a transformation of sorts.

[@freedomordeath89]

@@anthonytooley1833 No it doesn't smell delicious. You are sick.

[@AwakenThyself]

Brilliant!! We need this NOW more than ever xoxoxo

[@ccgoulart]

Beautiful - Cris, from Brazil!

[@controversialhappiness3404]

Sounds a wonderful natural recycling system. Everything you eat is going back to grow food for you to eat again. Will definitely try this when I get my own house.

[@amicelli389]

so great

[@ShaunPeterKelly]

I’m inspired to build one in my back garden as I do grow my own veg. Wonder how many allotment holders have one?

[@tthompson4335]

Great video. Good informative

[@colbys1257]

Fantastic! Thanks for the video. We are about 1/2 in house septic tank, and 1/2 compost toilet right now. I know that the resulting compost is perfectly healthy, but at this stage we are using ours only on our fruit trees, berry bushes etc. Next year I hope to have talked my partner into 'letting' me use it on fruiting vegetables, and we'll work our way to using it on everything from there. We do have a lot of garden waste compost and amp it up with horse poop and seaweed (when we can find it on our rough beach) but I don't like wasting a perfectly good and needed resource. :)

[@rmatene]

AWESOME video!!!!!!

[@0penpress]

Now That's What I Call Recycling. And Making the world a better place

[@julkap4190]

I like this. It reminds me our Slovak wooden latrines (they are less popular now but I remember them a lot from my childhood). But this looks cleaner and more useful (for gardening). I didn't like latrines because they were smelly and as a child I was scared that something will clime up from the pit. I still don't like them :D. But this looks good :) .

[@TheLifeMidwife]

epic video, thank you!

[@Lisayingchen]

Great video! I already compost kitchen and yard scrap. I am inspired to compost poo too:)

[@vancamerawoman7399]

Ooh yum! Good stuff 😊

[@TheGreenFingerers]

Absolutely brilliant! Love those guys! 💩

[@BalaTAM]

Wonderful stuff for learning .. Do it yourself - DIY

[@henkjanssen1252]

Love their enthusiasm!! One other possible way of doing this to completely eliminate the risk of pathogens is using this manure to fertilize animal food (i.e. corn fields, pasture, etc) and in turn use the animal manure to fertilize the vegetables for human consumption, knowing that pathogens are usually species specific.

[@myronplatte8354]

At this point we’re talking about perceived risk, not actual risk.

[@chickengoatfish]

thank you very much . love from karnataka !

[@Lagaloggie]

My favorite among Happen Films videos. It's not easy to talk about what I term as "poo-bia" but you guys made it natural, interesting, even funny. Funny and bittersweet that in our supposed advanced state of civilization, there's much dread about a resource that comes out of our rear ends. Your on-cam talent, Greg (Inwood) is a ham. He can talk poo to me all day, such a funny, down-to-earth, guy, sort of a person who wouldn't bullsh*t you (pun intended LOL). Keep up the good work and the faith!

[@stuartriley8282]

ADVICE PLEASE Love the on point video to explain the basics. I want to use this system in Papua New Guinea. The village has 3000 residents and our concerns are the water table is only 3-5 metres down. We would look at a community style compost area with multiple bins and gardens. Should we line the ground with plastic and the walls or just use 4" of palm branches and leaves on the base. There's a timber mill next door and we have unlimited saw dust.

[@evegrowing7749]

Great video👍

[@evegrowing7749]

Omg forgot I already posted here, but still you people are the best, the change we must see in the World👍

[@joseortiz5965]

Awesome

[@NalamPenu]

Lovely ❤❤

[@suzannebazeghi5698]

I love that i will do it hopfully soon in my farm.

[@juliannevillecorrea]

thank you 🤸🍄🐝

[@kickinghorse2405]

I love this system. Having said, my only reticence to using this compost on my garden is the fact that so many people (family members included) use meds that I'm not confident break down. I believe I'll do a bit more research about this because I really like this system.

[@AJR-zg2py]

By the time you access the compost about a year later, anything in those meds will have been destroyed by the heat generated from the compost pile. Those meds will get absolutely cooked as the months go on so I don't think you have much to worry about.

[@myronplatte8354]

Besides the direct microbial action.

[@danielmogos8990]

​@@AJR-zg2py Not really. Meds are created to resist hydrochloric acid and other digestive enzymes. If meds, are actually antibiotics, then you will actually have a big pile of poo and no compost, since all the job is done by bacteria. The same is if you use soap or any substance that has antibacterial properties.

[@DelisaRenideo]

Wonderful video! We also use this system in our own home in Alaska. The colder temps make it take a bit longer, but it still heats up and we use it after a couple of years. Thanks for sharing this video. By the way, where do you live?

[@yvonne1118]

Delisa Renideo - - yaaay! good for y'all! ((:

[@rachelaalbers]

Great film. More people should be composting their poo instead of flushing it down the loo :) Urine is great for the garden and so is blood collected from a period- people need to get over the uncomfortable feeling of using human waste in the garden, there is nothing wrong with it if used correctly.

[@pimpz7409]

Period blood?

[@Robertjustice101]

Image how much people could save not having city sewer systems. If cities and towns or garbage companys developed a humanure collection service. Or people could throw there humanure in yard waste bin. Were it all gets composted all together.

[@ronhull6670]

Are you nuts

[@kiwi9813]

Symbiotic

[@AJR-zg2py]

I can't imagine "Honey, go stand above the zucchinis" will be go very well with the missus.

[@madmodifier]

That is a great solution for rural areas. What is the suggestion for suburban and urban areas? They produce vastly more waste than anywhere else. Thanks for the video!

[@jackchang5548]

In my country, we have a private company on national level took care of it, either direct sewerage to their treatment facilities, and pumping and transport from septic tanks. Basically premise owners pay a small amount of money to get rid of our shits. Effluent is treated, and solid waste turned into biosolids and biogas.

[@madmodifier]

How did it get through the sewer to them without water?

[@jackchang5548]

All drains, e.g. sinks, showers, etc., are connected to the same plumbing.

[@aprilparsons8498]

I just started doing this one month ago and I am browsing ways to make the compose more stainable. Once I get more money I will build a small compose area in my garden.

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

I've done this for years, but I use only 2 buckets. I put a large plastic kitchen waste bag with a draw string into the bucket, use it until full (a week or so) then replace it with the other bag-lined bucket. Each bucket has a wire bale. I remove the bag's contents to the compost pile, re-cover it and let the bucket air out for a week outside. Never any foul smells or insects.

[@alesandrabiasello]

Is there any way to have the bucket system inside a home? And just take the buckets outside when they are full.

[@jacobgbenja]

Thanks for a great educating video!! One question what about the toilet paper? Do you use a special type or none at all??

[@rubygray7749]

Any type. It all goes in. Anything that lived before can go in. Joe Jenkins adds dead dogs, chickens, roadkill, plus possums and raccoons that he has shot. The only thing remaining after the process is bones and maybe a bit of hair.

[@stephenshelton4267]

I was renovating a house and took up both toilets to tile the floor, so I'd poop in a 5 gallon bucket. I was surpised by how little it smelled, and when I had enough in the bucket I dug a little hole in the yard and poured it in.

[@sarahvandenberg6581]

Finally building mine today!! 🎉 iv been using a hole, and as someone with mobility issues. 😅 that difficult, I can't wait to contribute to my hotcompost!! Any tips for a beginner RE what not to add ? 🙏🙏 Ngā mihi

[@manofTao]

Kiwis.. I love these people :)

[@xxnotmuchxx]

Can i use soil or leaves or biochar instead of wood chips / saw dust?

[@peterbrooks6134]

Can you put black cover over keeping heet in??

[@favoriteboy72]

Great ending, LOL.

[@fromscratchauntybindy9743]

Somehow I don't think I'd get this past my landlord...

[@yvonne1118]

Belinda Weber except, when done & maintained properly, there are no flies, smells, etc. wouldn't know what type of composting it was except for the separate toilet.

[@yeseniacoco434]

You could make a room for it

[@yeseniacoco434]

@@carboncollapse8435 I was joking lol those things can explode

[@rolfpoelman3486]

What temperature is the outside of the heap?

[@oneshowoneservant]

🔥landed🔥

[@georgiegirlization]

He said something that sticks out for me and that is... Taking responsibility. We have a good resource which we flush everyday.

[@MrToontuber]

This the shit I was looking for.. 🤭

[@differentkim]

What, specifically, is used to create the "dish" underneath?

[@rositakennedy5105]

Just wondering do they do wees in the bucket too and what about toilet paper? Do you need a special type of to. Thanks for making this video!

[@yvonne1118]

rosita kennedy - - there are 2 types of systems, but this is one with both in the bucket, & easier. yes, certain paper, but not at all hard to come by, nor special or expensive. ((:

[@jeanclaudekalimunda263]

Toilet paper is actually very good for compost because of cellulose. If you have other types of papers, you can shred them and add them also.

[@QuiChiYang2]

Do you add charcoal to you terraforma?

[@emmastacey8742]

Another great video, thank you! What about urine...all together in the bucket?

[@happenfilms]

Thanks Emma! In the system described in the video urine goes into the bucket as well. It depends on the system, sometimes it's separated from the poo.

[@emmastacey8742]

Thanks for your fast response! Yes, I've seen other systems that seperate the urine from the poo. This system seems much easier! love it!

[@karolinaalonzo8605]

What ifbit rains? Will it wet the compost and attract flies or caused leakage?

[@evelina.amazonAtGmail]

RV vehicles have composting toilets too! Inside the RV!

[@cherylo3761]

What about the temperature on the edges of the pile? Also, I noticed you aren’t separating the urine, can you tell me about that?

[@anthonytooley1833]

The sides of the pile stay dry so they are ambient temperature. With a hot compost it's essential to turn the pile every so often, so eventually even the sides will get composted. There's no good reason to separate the urine, just extra work for no benefit.

[@axxwqw3117]

does the urine just go in with everything? also do you guys use a fan?

[@jamesx2703]

"mmm yum, good stuff" not sure id be sticking my face in it 😂

[@SongsInRevival]

good shit

[@naturewoman1274]

I'd do it but I've heard you need to separate wee from poo which I'd find difficult as I always need both at the same time

[@sumobowler3790]

can humanure be mixed with other composting, like food scraps, or do they need to be kept separate? is one type of composting better for plants?

[@clairemcconway6266]

did you watch the video?

[@alvegutt42]

they do this in japan and many countries. everyone should grow some food and compost their waste. humbling and good for the environment

[@havfaith56]

This sounds like a great way to start Hukelmounds

[@devildogsbushcraft7898]

Just curious, you're not separating the urine in the toilet?

[@jennadoll6174]

Is it just woodchip dumped over it? Or is it a special thing I have to buy to mix into the poop?

[@samryanenv]

It's just sawdust - woodchip would be too bulky