Composting heads for long term Cruising?

[JPA Cate]

Just a note: urine is sterile only when there is no bladder infection.

Ann

[Kenomac]

Ann,

As a registered health professional, I can tell you with certainty that nobody will contract a bladder infection via another person peeing in the ocean who has a bladder infection. It would be impossible for many reasons.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Just a note: urine is sterile only when there is no bladder infection.

Ann

The idea that any urine, even in a healthy body is sterile is a myth. It's simply not true. Many many studies have been done that even very healthy people have been found to have bacteria present. Of course even less sterile if they have an infection or other medical issue.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Ann,

As a registered health professional, I can tell you with certainty that nobody will contract a bladder infection via another person peeing in the ocean who has a bladder infection. It would be impossible for many reasons.

I don't think Ann was suggesting that Kenomac!

[Scout 30]

E.coli bacteria is everywhere in the environment. If the bacteria in our poop was lethal we'd all be dead. The E.coli O157:H7 strain which makes us sick comes from contaminated food.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

E.coli bacteria is everywhere in the environment. If the bacteria in our poop was lethal we'd all be dead. The E.coli O157:H7 strain which makes us sick comes from contaminated food.

Contaminated with what? ahh, contaminated with Ecoli of course. And which particular strain of Ecoli that's in 'poop' is the most serious? �� 0157:H7 of course ��

Ecoli is everywhere in our environment because everything animal poops and in all that poop is Ecoli, which is formed in the gut of humans and animals. Your right that most strains of Ecoli are reasonably harmless, but a number of strains are also exceptionally harmful and the worst of these is 0157:H7 strain.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Contaminated with what? ahh, contaminated with Ecoli of course. And which particular strain of Ecoli that's in 'poop' is the most serious? �� 0157:H7 of course ��

Ecoli is everywhere in our environment because everything animal poops and in all that poop is Ecoli, which is formed in the gut of humans and animals. Your right that most strains of Ecoli are reasonably harmless, but a number of strains are also exceptionally harmful and the worst of these is 0157:H7 strain.

I'm not an expert but I believe your contention that E.coli is formed in the gut is incorrect. We ingest E.coli, we don't create it although it does flourish in us, as do many strains of bacteria, if we're healthy. We have a symbiotic relationship & cannot live without it or the many other bacteria inside us. It's a particularly strange contradiction that sailors that immerse themselves in nature still cling to the mistaken belief that they're separate from it.

[RaymondR]

The blockages invariably were caused by a paper jam

You must be a wadder, if you fold it seldom blocks.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I'm not an expert but I believe your contention that E.coli is formed in the gut is incorrect. We ingest E.coli, we don't create it although it does flourish in us, as do many strains of bacteria, if we're healthy. We have a symbiotic relationship & cannot live without it or the many other bacteria inside us. It's a particularly strange contradiction that sailors that immerse themselves in nature still cling to the mistaken belief that they're separate from it.

I'm not an expert either and I admit it's been over 30 years since I had to learn about it. But the common understanding remains, that Ecoli is flora of the gut. Yes, we ingest it too, but it's already there in the gut. And the only way we ingest it, is because some animal has shat it out. You can't have a healthy gut without Ecoli flora. There is from my memory just one place that one very specific strain of Ecoli has survived entirely separate from the animal gut and that is in some hot springs somewhere.

But, we are both really just discussing semantics now anyway.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

I'm not an expert either and I admit it's been over 30 years since I had to learn about it. But the common understanding remains, that Ecoli is flora of the gut. Yes, we ingest it too, but it's already there in the gut. And the only way we ingest it, is because some animal has shat it out. You can't have a healthy gut without Ecoli flora. There is from my memory just one place that one very specific strain of Ecoli has survived entirely separate from the animal gut and that is in some hot springs somewhere.

But, we are both really just discussing semantics now anyway.

I was listening to a show on NPR the other day & there was a biologist on who was discussing bacteria. She was talking about E.coli bacteria & went on about how it's really everywhere including all over the outside of our bodies, even our hair. I doubt Australia is as bad as the US but here fear of bacteria is really out of control. It's really amazing how many products designed to kill bacteria are sold here. I think our government would do well to worry less about sailors pumping their poop into the ocean & worry more about the massive amount of antibiotics being fed to our livestock.

[RaymondR]

My understanding of municipal sewage treatment systems and household septic systems is that basically they hold the sewage in a tank until the naturally occurring bacteria have broken down the feces thereby destroying or rendering any pathogens harmless. If this is so, how long must the material being treated (assume it has been turned into a dilute slurry by maceration) be retained before it reaches this condition?

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I was listening to a show on NPR the other day & there was a biologist on who was discussing bacteria. She was talking about E.coli bacteria & went on about how it's really everywhere including all over the outside of our bodies, even our hair. I doubt Australia is as bad as the US but here fear of bacteria is really out of control. It's really amazing how many products designed to kill bacteria are sold here. I think our government would do well to worry less about sailors pumping their poop into the ocean & worry more about the massive amount of antibiotics being fed to our livestock.

I would agree with that

I completely agree with legislation and enforcement in rivers, and areas where there is bathing/beaches and also fish farms, especially shell fish and perhaps some detrimental environmental sensative areas. But beyond that, boating is not the cause of any real problems.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

My understanding of municipal sewage treatment systems and household septic systems is that basically they hold the sewage in a tank until the naturally occurring bacteria have broken down the feces thereby destroying or rendering any pathogens harmless. If this is so, how long must the material being treated (assume it has been turned into a dilute slurry by maceration) be retained before it reaches this condition?

That's true of 'septic' systems, after all that's what the word means. But that's not what happens in municipal systems. Not ours anyway. Though bacteria (septic process) still has a place. Municipalities, especially larger city areas can't have the time, they have to process much larger quanities.

[RaymondR]

Municipalities, especially larger city areas can't have the time, they have to process much larger quanities.

So how do they render them harmless?

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

So how do they render them harmless?

I believe it's a combination of physcial screening, and then processes that differ with chemical and biological aspects. I don't have time to go looking at the moment. But I know our city has repeatedly done a lot of consideration and there's frequently arguments with the city council over funding and types and what's the most modern sort to clean up our **** hole of a river down here. They talk in volumes of water and time to go through the system, which is X amount of litres per 24 hours. So it's very quick.

I read also of a system in Germany or some European country that uses sunlight?