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Vermont: Stop Landfilling Compost From Composting Toilets
As Vermont embarks on its Climate Action Plan, how are our toilets helping us get to the sustainable future we need? Compost toilet systems can protect water resources, complete the nutrient cycle, and even help build climate resilience.
Many Vermonters use composting toilets to safely and affordably transform their human waste into a high-quality compost that can be used to fertilize plants. Unfortunately, Vermont regulations essentially require that homeowners send this compost to the landfill as trash. This is a waste of a resource, and causes climate-damaging landfill methane emissions.
On January 12, 2022, Bill H.586 was introduced by Reps. Rogers of Waterville, Burke of Brattleboro, Dolan of Waitsfield, Kornheiser of Brattleboro, McCullough of Williston, and Pajala of Londonderry. This bill will lead to regulations and best management practices to guide the on-site composting of human waste and the safe use of the resulting compost.
Regulatory barriers are currently creating a major roadblock to implementing closed loop systems in Vermont–systems that we need to complete energy, nutrient and water cycles, and help our communities to thrive. “I introduced H.586 to bring the state’s rules around waterless toilets and eco-sanitation in line with current best practices and scientific knowledge,” says Rep. Rogers of the bill.
Flush toilets are the largest single user of water inside the home, turning potable water into wastewater that is expensive and resource-intensive to purify. The nutrients from wastewater systems are often discharged into water bodies where they contribute to nutrient pollution, harmful algal blooms, and other damaging ecological effects.
Dry toilets can collect our “waste” without using precious potable water, and reclaim it as compost to build soil and support local food systems. Instead of causing nutrient pollution in local water bodies, our nutrients can be composted to safely and effectively grow plants and support local food sovereignty. Compost toilets can also help prepare Vermont communities for climate change by offering safe, resilient, decentralized sanitation during extreme weather events and in the face of rising water tables. Additionally, since inadequate wastewater treatment capacity is a primary barrier to expansion of Vermont’s village centers, composting toilets facilitate village development by reducing the load on existing wastewater infrastructure.
Many people throughout Vermont are already using compost toilets, (including Vermont’s own state park system,) with benefits to our shared environment–but their adoption is slowed by the absence of any legal method for the safe and practical use of the resulting compost.
What can you do?
Contact a member of The House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish & Wildlife to voice your support for this bill!
Representative Amy Sheldon / / (802) 828-2228
Representative James McCullough / / (802) 622-4035
Representative Harvey Smith / / (802) 828-2228
Representative Seth Bongartz / / (802) 828-2228
Representative Nelson Brownell / / (802) 828-2228
Representative Paul Lefebvre / / (802) 828-2228
Representative Leland Morgan / / (802) 828-2228
Representative Kristi Morris / / (802) 885-2949
Representative Larry Satcowitz / / (802) 828-2228
Representative Thomas Terenzini / / (802) 828-2228
Here is an example of a message to use:
Dear Representative [Name],
Vermonters are in need of a safe, sustainable option for returning our bodily nutrients to the land. Compost toilets save precious potable water, prevent downstream nutrient pollution, and help build soil. I believe that the current sanitation laws of Vermont are outdated and should be changed to allow for managing compost toilets in a way that actually allows them to produce compost. I support bill H.586 and the creation of a working group and best management practices for compost toilets in Vermont.
Please vote YES on this bill to create a regulatory pathway for human waste composting. We need to ensure that Vermonters have the best management practices and resources they need to to deal with the solids from their toilets safely and effectively.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
If you feel aligned with this movement please share this message with others who might also want to help enable eco-sanitation in Vermont. The more support that Vermont representatives receive, the more likely we are to achieve success in creating the working group and legalize methods for nutrient-recovering sanitation.
