A User-Friendly and Sustainable Toilet Based on Vermicomposting

Fernando Alonso-Marroquin (), Ghulam Qadir (), Jad Nazha, Vanessa Pino and Arianna Brambilla
Additional contact information
Fernando Alonso-Marroquin: School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
Ghulam Qadir: School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
Jad Nazha: School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
Vanessa Pino: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
Arianna Brambilla: School of Architecture, Design, and Planning, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 16, 1-26

Abstract: Environmental awareness has sparked increasing interest in changing the way humans interact with their environment. This awareness includes the change in paradigm of considering human manure (humanure) not as a waste but as a valuable bioproduct instead. In this regard, composting is an age-old technique for nutrient recovery that has gained renewed interest, as it may be a sanitary and financially viable solution to closing the loop of human–nature interactions. This work investigates environmental solutions for toilet systems that are user-friendly and sustainable based on systems that filter nutrients via vermicomposting. The methodology is based on (1) reviewing several surveys across different continents to select the most appropriate interface of a targeted society, and (2) investigating the microbial dynamics of vermicomposting. The microbial activity was compared with the activity of the aerobic composting systems by measuring soil temperature, soil composition, decomposition rate, stabilization factor, and biological diversity. The microbial decomposition process in vermicomposting was faster due to the presence of earthworms, but the increase in temperature and volatile ammonia led to the earthworms burrowing into the soil. Overall, the flush toilet is still the most socially accepted toilet interface, and the connection of vermicomposting to this toilet interface poses challenges in managing high ammonia content and maintaining healthy conditions for the earthworm population.

Keywords: waste management; biophilia; vermicomposting; UN goals; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/16/12593/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/16/12593/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:16:p:12593-:d:1220779

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().