Legal to dump "composting" head output into garbage?

[Dingfelder]

It's not necessarily about the poo in particular; it's just that some places have ordinances against dumping anything in private dumpsters. In So. Cal. I used to see it on signs posted by dumpsters all the time.

 

[Almost There]

If you look carefully at the signs you're seeing, they don't normally have a city ordinance/by-law # on them which they would do if they were city ordinance.

Rather, the signs are placed there by a)the dumpster company or b) the company that is renting the dumpster. This is generally done because the renter is paying by the hundredweight for the dumpster emptying and doesn't want to be paying for more than what that business places there.

The business could charge someone with trespassing amongst other charges if you're caught putting trash in their dumpster when it is posted.

Yet another reason to find a local transfer station or landfill site and use it instead of trying to throw our trash where it's not wanted. Some businesses, particularly in high tourist areas allow people to use their dumpsters as a good business habit, others wish that tourists would go home!

 

[lenny flank]

1. Are you aware of any localities that (try to) ban the practice?

I'm not seeing how they COULD? What are they gonna do, outlaw diapers? Arrest dogs and babies for pooping?

 

[John61CT]

It's not necessarily about the poo in particular; it's just that some places have ordinances against dumping anything in private dumpsters. In So. Cal. I used to see it on signs posted by dumpsters all the time.

Yes of course private property issues are a separate issue.

My question is wrt "the solid waste stream" of a county or municipality, not the specific means used for collection.

 

[John61CT]

I'm not seeing how they COULD? What are they gonna do, outlaw diapers? Arrest dogs and babies for pooping?

Yes, thank you for that input and I agree.

But governments are often inconsistent and irrational. Sometimes their attempted laws / regs are found later to themselves be illegal.

For example, there are harbors that try to ban these toilet types on boats, because the owners are depositing output in too-large quantities into too-few receptacles. They want pump-out style holding tanks only.

My question remains, and I'm happy if it just sits there waiting for a counter example to the default presumption

that this practice is legal across the US.

 

[Jack]

I had this same question come to mind today. If it's a true composting toilet for solids only, once it's composted, can't you just spread it around a tree somewhere? Sorry if this is an ignorant thought but that's my understanding of compost. It's fertilizer. I hear of people who only use their composting toilets when necessary (not regularly). I've heard them say they only have to empty it once every four or five months. (The kind that you turn with a crank to mix the solids with the composting material.) When they empty it, it looks, smells and feels like soil... so they say.

 

[highdesertranger]

no please don't do it. fertilizing public lands is not a good thing, it is not helpful, in many cases it does more harm than good. highdesertranger

 

[Almost There]

I had this same question come to mind today.  If it's a true composting toilet for solids only, once it's composted, can't you just spread it around a tree somewhere?  Sorry if this is an ignorant thought but that's my understanding of compost.  It's fertilizer.  I hear of people who only use their composting toilets when necessary (not regularly).  I've heard them say they only have to empty it once every four or five months.  (The kind that you turn with a crank to mix the solids with the composting material.)  When they empty it, it looks, smells and feels like soil... so they say.

Ditto what HDR says! To expand on that, the soil in most wild areas does very  nicely on it's own. It doesn't get depleted of nutrients from overuse and the plants that grow there are adapted to the soil content. Fertilizing a wild area changes that nutrient composition resulting in invasive species taking over and the natural plant life losing what could be their fragile hold on the environment.

In addition, I don't know of anyone who is lugging around a true composting toilet. We have one installed at the parental/family cottage and the holding tank is about the size of a 50 gallon drum turned on it's side. With only occasional seasonal use, it still takes up to a year for the waste to properly compost. If it was used full-time the composting time doesn't change but the volume of storage space required certainly would.

Can't imagine being full time and carrying around a years worth of human waste waiting for it it properly compost.

 

[John61CT]

And I used quotes on purpose.

True compost takes a long time, requires heat and moisture.

These units are marketed as such, like "solar generators" with no panels, falsely.

They would better be called dessicating or separating toilets.

The material does not smell foul, consistency of coffee grounds, but not yet safe to put in the veggie garden.

See a book called Humanure for more details, for further discussion along these lines please use a different thread.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

My son used a Nature's Head in the casita (insulated Tuffshed with all utilities except for sewer) in the backyard for 6-7 years. Full time alone, he had to empty it roughly every two months. The last week of the cycle, he would use the toilet in the main house. At that point, the human shit smell was quite diminished. Initially, he would put the stuff in a bag and dumped it in the garbage. Later on, it went into the humanure compost bin. Sounds worse than it is.

Son moved out and sold house. New owner thrilled to have it.
Ted

 

[Blanch]

No. It is not legal. My good friend is the number two person at solid waste at a California Solid Waste Transfer Station. I posed your question to the legal authority for the county where I used to live. Here is your answer:

Hi Deb,



You asked several questions about disposal of human waste in the trash. I’m going to take them one at a time.



1) Human Waste: Not OK to place in the trash.



2) Human Waste from a Composting Toilet: Not OK to place in the trash. Toilet composting systems should have a management plan as well as a use plan for the finished product. The composting process for human waste can take years, if not decades, so these have to be long-term plans. Usually they entail a vault of some type that the waste is flushed into and contained in until it is ready to use as compost. This type of system is not meant to be used like a holding tank that gets pumped out and disposed of when full. The whole idea is to have an end use for the compost. This often includes adding straw with each use, regular stirring, and some kind of curing process before the compost is usable.



3) Disposable Diapers: Not OK to place the solid waste in the trash. In the small print on the diaper packages, it says that human waste cannot be placed in the trash. That is how the companies get around the law. Just like cloth diapers (remember them?) you are supposed to place the solid waste in a regular toilet and flush it, then you can place the rest of the diaper in the trash.


I hope this helps.

Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lenny flank]

Well, good luck arresting the parents of every baby in the United States.

 

[Blanch]

Well, good luck arresting the parents of every baby in the United States.

I agree.
But the poster’s question was “is it legal?” And the answer is no.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[QinReno]

So this says every poop in a bucket person is ILLEGAL ... unless they
- poop in a bag,
- then empty the bag in a toilet,
- then take the (more or less empty) plastic bag to the dumpster.
- Nice.

Pretty much rules out using kitty litter or whatnot, which will probably clog the flush toilet. And thus ends the cheap RV living philosophy. Bad dogs.

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks Blanch. I have tried to explain this many times and it just turns into arguments. everyone always brings up "what about diapers". I know you are supposed to depoop them before disposing of them but like I said everyone wants to argue about it. thanks for getting confirmation. highdesertranger

 

[QinReno]

This crap just goes in endless circles. There is a lot of conflicting info on the web, but the BLM guide for the Rogue River float trips says the following (forget about the SCAT machines):
https://www.blm.gov/programs/recrea...-permit-systems/oregon-washington/rogue-river - cf Toilet Guide

https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/BLM website. 2019 Rogue RIver Info & Ethics.pdf
Human Waste disposal POST-TRIP: 
Disposal of untreated solid human waste in landfills is illegal and a biohazard.
Toilet systems may only be emptied at the SCAT machine and RV Dump stations.
Disposal of approved Pouch Toilet Systems are legal in trash cans or dumpsters.

Approved Pouch Toilet Systems: Biffy Bag, CleanWaste bags, ReStop2 bags.
--------------

That's pretty explicit.

 

[rvwandering]

Thread closed. I deleted a few posts due to back and forth bickering. I think the question has been answered adequately and there is no reason to keep the thread going.