Book reading
Practical Permaculture
Jessi Bloom and Dave Boehnlein
Pages 175 to 178: organic waste and human-waste systems
Pages 180 to 181: bioremediation
Book access & editionsModule 15 / 25
Waste and Bioremediation
Following water and materials through a design also means accounting for what leaves it. This module looks at reducing waste, cycling materials, and treating waste streams, then examines bioremediation and the limits of biological treatment.
The book reading and videos introduce household and manufacturing examples. The two remediation guides add the questions needed to assess treatment claims. You’ll use this material to extend your existing flow diagram, identifying a waste-reduction choice and a treatment or disposal question for your design.
Topics
- Conservation and recycling of materials in households and society
- Reclamation and re-use of greywater, blackwater, and soil and water on toxic sites
- Hygienic capture, treatment, and cycling of human waste
- Closed-loop manufacturing strategies (cradle to cradle)
What you’ll learn
Learning goals
- Guidelines to closing soil nutrient loops
- Assess personal practices regarding material use
Read, watch & explore
Getting the books · access & editions
Use your own copy, buy the book, or borrow it through a library when possible. If you are local to me, contact me about borrowing a copy. You can also contact me for information about digital or other access to assigned readings.
If your edition uses different page numbers, contact me and we can match the correct section.
For articles, excerpts, videos, and other resources, use the links in the lesson. If a video player does not load, try its source link. If you cannot access a reading or media resource, or it has no link, contact me with the module number and resource title.
Ask about books, readings or media access ↗Material cycles and waste
Watch
Living Machine Video
YouTube
Use this example to follow a waste stream through a treatment system, then consult the remediation guides for the limits to biological treatment.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
Cradle to Cradle video
YouTube
Connect the manufacturing perspective with the household examples by following what happens to materials after use.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
How to Make Humanure Compost with a Composting Toilet
YouTube
Use this as a case study of human-waste treatment, considering the handling, treatment, and maintenance questions alongside the book reading.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Bioremediation and its limits
Reusing materials also raises questions about what they contain and where those substances go. These guides explain the limits to consider when assessing the biological-treatment examples.
Read
EPA Community Guide to Bioremediation
semspub.epa.gov
Read this guide and the Government of Canada’s phytoremediation fact sheet for the limitations behind the examples. Biological treatment can break down some organic contaminants. Metals are not destroyed by biological treatment; they may be immobilized or moved into biomass that still requires controlled handling. A green-looking site is not evidence of successful cleanup. Suspected contamination calls for testing and a site-specific plan. Do not attempt a remediation trial as part of this course.
Open resourceRead
Government of Canada’s phytoremediation fact sheet
gost.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Open resourceTrace your material flows
Add waste routes to the same water/material-flow diagram used in Module 8. Identify one waste-reduction choice and one treatment or disposal question. Keep wastewater separate from drinking-water assumptions, and check local health and wastewater requirements before any installation.
Optional quick check
Select your answers, then submit to see your score and explanations. You can retry. Results are not sent or stored.
Readings & resources
- Practical PermaculturePages 175 to 178: organic waste and human-waste systemsPages 180 to 181: bioremediationIn lesson ↑
- Living Machine VideoWatchIn lesson ↑
- Cradle to Cradle videoWatchIn lesson ↑
- How to Make Humanure Compost with a Composting ToiletWatchIn lesson ↑
- EPA Community Guide to BioremediationReadIn lesson ↑
- Government of Canada’s phytoremediation fact sheetReadIn lesson ↑