[Community_garden] response to question about biosolids(AKApeople poop)

Mike McGrath MikeMcG at PTD.net
Fri Mar 14 13:45:30 EDT 2008 

actually, quite a few [people] use the toilet as an all-around toxic waste 
disposal unit--and one of the problems with these meds in drinking water is 
the old advice to flush unused portions.
I say use yard waste compost first; bio-solids last in veggie gardens.
                                                            ---McG
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven Garrett" <geografood at yahoo.com>
To: "community gardening" <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 1:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] response to question about 
biosolids(AKApeople poop)


> Mike,
> To reiterate, in the bio-solid case brought up by Kristen, we are talking 
> about residential toilets only. There have to be few people stupid enough 
> to pour oil into their toilet for risk of clogging their drains. Besides, 
> oil would be broken down in the aerobic decomposition process. Most people 
> do not have ample access to minerals/chemicals that would not be broken 
> down in this process. How many people have boxes of powered heavy metals 
> or persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), like DDT, laying around that 
> they want to flush down their toilet?
> Steven
>
>
> soapboxes are good; they make us look taller.
> I also believe this material should be reused, esp on areas that need to 
> be
> reclaimed and regrown. And I agree that many of the bad elements will
> degrade in the soil--but they are there in the beginning and that's what
> worries me the most.
> I would personally use the Disney World compost--poop and chopped up
> pallets--(you should see the set up they have!) because there's no 
> industry
> there and no idiots changing their own oil and then killing millions of
> amphibians to save a $2 disposal fee. But in a community garden? I
> personally would not.
> The best risk is the one not taken.
>                                                                ---McG
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steven Garrett" <geografood at yahoo.com>
> To: <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
> Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 12:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [Community_garden] response to question about biosolids
> (AKApeople poop)
>
>
>> Kristen,
>> Thank you for your detailed response. I live in Tacoma and use (and
>> contribute to) TAGRO. I gotta admit it took me a while to get in touch
>> with my scientific side (unlike organic soils and inputs, it is tested
>> thoroughly and often) and start using TAGRO for the food in my home 
>> garden
>> (and the community gardens that I used to manage). However, as Kristen
>> points out, TAGRO is somewhat unique. It is purely residential; no street
>> or commercial input. I would not trust the vast majority of bio-solids on
>> my food, nor knowing what I know now, would I condemn all bio-solids.
>> Steven
>>
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm writing in response to the question about the safety of biosolids
>> for community garden plots.
>>
>> Yes, biosolids is the polite term for the solids left over after the
>> wastewater treatment process.  Prior to the Clean Water Act's passage
>> in 1971, most solids (poop) went out into nearby bodies of water.
>> Now, federal regulations require that municipalities separate and
>> treat their biosolids, and there is almost 40 years of research on
>> how to do it well.  They are tightly regulated by the EPA for
>> pathogens, vector attractants (how bad it stinks), and heavy metals.
>>
>> In 1993, there was an amendment to the law that created different
>> classes of biosolids:  Class B, Class A, and Class A "Exceptional
>> Quality".  Class B is subject to regulations and requires a permit to
>> use, but is routinely applied to farmland (true, not organic farms).
>> It is rich in organic matter and serves to replace petroleum-based
>> fertilizer at low cost to farmers.  Class A is treated to a higher
>> standard (often processed twice), is free of pathogens, and approved
>> for home use by residential customers.  Class A "Exceptional quality"
>> biosolids are an even higher class - free of pathogens and also
>> adhering to even stricter standards for reduction of heavy metals.
>> (Both Class B and Class A meet heavy metals standards that are
>> already quite low - and certainly safe).
>>
>> The research shows thats the prescription drugs, solvents, etc. that
>> end up in the wastewater system break down rapidly in an aerobic soil
>> environment.  The bacteria that "digest" sewage are really
>> remarkable, and can break down the complex molecules that form many
>> of the "compounds of concern" - endocrine disruptors from birth
>> control pills, for example.  The real problem with environmental
>> toxins in wastewater treatment is in the wastewater.  Because things
>> in water are in an anaerobic environment, they don't break down as
>> quickly, and can cause problems for fish and other wildlife.  We want
>> those compounds to end up in the biosolids because the bacterial life
>> that exists in biosolids (and in healthy soil) knows how to take them
>> apart.  (Heavy metals can't be taken apart, then must be kept out in
>> the first place, which requires a good source control program).
>>
>> Sewer treatment plants act as the liver of the city, digesting many
>> of the compounds that we humans, in our love of chemistry, have
>> released into the environment.  There is much research taking place
>> on how to improve the work, but the process as it stands today is
>> remarkable and under-appreciated by most.
>>
>> I am not familiar with the wastewater treatment program in your area,
>> but Class A biosolids are safe for home use, including vegetable
>> gardens.  Yes, biosolids as a category are excluded from the National
>> Organic Standards Act, but by using biosolids you are recycling a
>> local product, and in a very real sense, closing the loop in the
>> local food system.
>>
>> In live in Seattle, WA, and work in Tacoma, WA, where I use the Class
>> A "Exceptional quality" biosolids from the City of Tacoma, (TAGRO -
>> short for Tacoma Grow) in my work with the community gardens of
>> Tacoma, and at home to grow my own food.  The heavy metals in Tagro
>> are lower than background level soil in the Puget Sound region, and
>> levels of lead and arsenic are lower than our region's yard waste
>> compost. (Levels of zinc and copper are higher in Tagro, because
>> those are in your pipes...)  But all are comparable to the soil in my
>> backyard.  Check out www.tagro.com.  It is so popular, that it is not
>> uncommon for demand to outpace supply by mid-summer.
>>
>> (Yard waste compost is not necessarily heavy metal free, and it is
>> not subject to the strict testing that biosolids are.  Still, it's a
>> good product to reuse for all the same reasons one should use reuse
>> biosolids)
>>
>> As cities work to become more sustainable, it seems to me that the
>> beneficial reuse and recycling of organic matter close to home is an
>> important step.  We won't always have someone else's backyard in
>> which to dispose of our messes, and transporting it far away is
>> getting more and more expensive every day.
>>
>> I hope this didn't turn into a soapbox!  I'm happy to answer any more
>> questions that you have.  Email me at kristenmcivor at mac.com.
>>
>>
>> I strongly recommend against it. "Bio-solids" is nice talk for
>> treated human
>> waste from the sewer plant. (What's "Class A"? Poop from expensive
>> neighborhoods?!)
>>     This stuff is rife with the residues of prescription drugs (at much
>> higher levels than the current drinking water scandal, especially
>> antibiotics) and its contaminated with motor oil, solvents heavy
>> metals and
>> other bad things idiots and criminals pour down the drain.
>>     I don't think its safe.
>>     I would not let children or people with any kind of illness near
>> it; and
>> it is forbidden for use in organic agriculture. See if you can get
>> that yard
>> waste they mix it with, but all by itself; that's the best kind of
>> compost...
>> -------------- next part --------------
>> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
>> URL:
>> http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20080313/5561cb1d/attachment.html
>> _______________________________________________
>> The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of
>> ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and
>> to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
>>
>> To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
>>
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
>> http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________________________________
>> Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page.
>> http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
>> -------------- next part --------------
>> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
>> URL:
>> http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20080314/f7e77c71/attachment.html
>> _______________________________________________
>> The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of
>> ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and
>> to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
>>
>> To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
>>
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
>> http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
>>
>>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of 
> ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and 
> to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
>
> To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: 
> http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
> Be a better friend, newshound, and
> know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now. 
> http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: 
> http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20080314/ddb67368/attachment.html
> _______________________________________________
> The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of 
> ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and 
> to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
>
> To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: 
> http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
>
>

More information about the Community_garden mailing list