Check out the full hand out from the Summit. It’s full of facts, figures and great resources on eco-toilets.
I had the good fortune of being able to attend the 2nd Eco-Toilet Summit in Falmouth, Massachusetts on July 16th. The event was a follow up to the 1st EcoToilet Summit held on March 19th (Read Mathew’s previous post on PHLUSH’s blog). The goal of the event was to inform citizens of Falmouth of the environmental problem caused by poorly operating septic tanks and current waste management practices and introduce them to off the shelf affordable solutions like composting toilets and marine aquaculture.
The Problem in Falmouth:
Falmouth is located on Cape Cod and contains four polluted estuaries. Falmouth is a town of about 31,500 people living on glacial sands in a unique marine environment. The sandy soils mean liquids can travel quicker through the soil than soils containing clay. The town is potentially facing $468 to 595 million in sewer construction costs, connection fees, design and operation and maintenance unless another plan can be created. This comes to a connection fee per household of $2,000-5,000 plus operation and maintenance of $500 per year.
Current Status:
Currently the town is assembling a committee to oversee the creation of an alternative nutrient & water management plan with a budget of $2.2 million for creating the plan. They’ve allocated a mere $500,000 for sewer design. For a more detailed account of what they’re planning (includes shellfish aquaculture and nitrogen reduction demo projects!) check this out.
The Coalition of Actors:
The EcoToilet Summit was organized by Earle Barnhart and Hilde Maingay of the Green Center with support from Clean Water Action, Falmouth Climate Action Team, Green Cape, Nature’s Circle, Cape & island Group Sierra Club, Water Alliance and many enthusiastic volunteers.
How they’re approaching the issue:
While the goal is to make sure human excrement and wastewater is managed responsibly, the Summit focused on how to use this problem to create economic returns for the community.
How the Eco-toilet Summit was run:
The Summit was run on a shoestring budget by Earle and Hilde who organized speakers to provide a full days worth of educational workshops led by experts from Pennsylvania to Vermont, farm fresh snacks and time for informal discussions.
Presenters highlight upcoming issues, not just for Falmouth but the whole country:
The keynote speaker was senator Jamie Eldridge. Senator Eldridge highlighted the looming reality that federal funding for sewer projects is decreasing but regulatory standards for waste treatment are rising. He also suggested that in the near future the EPA will be regulating not just wastewater but also storm water. Communities will need to find creative ways to finance their programs and reduce costs like charging per square foot for impermeable paving in order to generate funds for decentralized sanitation networks.
On the social side, participants pointed out that sewering changes the composition of a town by allowing for increased density. On the financial side, the construction of sewers is an incredibly energy intensive activity which disrupts businesses for long periods of time while tearing up roads and sidewalks.
Earle Barnhart’s presentation was a fantastic summary of the current wastewater treatment proposals for Falmouth and encouraged us to think not just about the ecosystems carrying capacity but also our social carrying capacity. How can we create sanitation systems that manage nutrients and are acceptable?
Don Mills, Sales Director of Clivus Multrum, gave a rousing talk on “How We Got Hooked on Sewage and How We Can Break the Habit.” If you haven’t heard Don talk, it’s awesome to hear someone give a full lecture on the history of human waste management from cave men to astronauts.
One of the most useful parts of the summit for homeowners was a series of workshops on specific off the shelf technologies that were on hand that day for the public. Carol Steinfeld spoke of Ecovita’s urine diverting toilet and carousel toilets. Abe Noe-Hayes of Vermont introduced how Phoenix composting toilets work allowing participants to look inside and see for themselves. Jack Doyle showed off Pacto Packaging Toilets as a socially acceptable low cost solution. The Pacto toilet packages excreta into a continuos sheet of plastic for easy disposable in a bin. The bags are now available in biodegradable plastic that degrades in 1-2 years. The Pacto received a lot of attention for being the first sanitation system up and running in Kobe, Japan after the earth quake in 2000.
Ron Zweig, a former New Alchemists and aquaculture specialist, did a great presentation on using oyster cultivation as a means to uptake the nutrients in Falmouth’s waterways. Zweig pointed out that over 40% of the operating costs for aquaculture is from providing feed, and in Falmouth that cost would be eliminated since the waters contain such high nutrient levels already.
The Summit furthered the conversation and deepened everyones knowledge of the issues. I was very inspired by the mindful work of Earle and Hilde in organizing such an informative event that got to the heart of people’s questions and concerns. Waste as a resource is a difficult thing to talk about but for those of us at the Summit that day it felt like a new wave of opportunity was beginning.
