Date of Award
2017
First Advisor
Sarah Snyder
Second Advisor
Erin McMullin
Abstract
This thesis provides an analysis of composting toilets and the role they may play in transitioning our current methods of sewage treatment toward “greener” alternatives. Each chapter explores a separate aspect of the current situation surrounding alternative waste management technologies. The first chapter addresses the historical origins of composting toilets and gives a description of the various processes and technologies that make up our current system. The second chapter focuses on the present situation, highlighting the insufficiencies of our current systems and how these shortcomings could be remediated by application of composting principles. The third chapter in the body of the work describes the current status of composting toilet distribution and regulation, and proposes an ideal scenario for their widespread implementation. The final appendices apply the principles described in a physical setting. In aggregate, these topics present a cohesive picture of the future and the essential role that composting toilet technologies may play in it, and emphasise the need for us, as a populace, to work to overcome the personal and bureaucratic hurdles standing between us and this future.
Recommended Citation
Morgan-Davie, Jenifer, "[Insert Shitty Pun Here]: A Socio-Biological Analysis of the Composting Toilet as a Feasible Alternative to Conventional Human Waste Management Technologies" (2017). Senior Theses. 1154.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/sr-theses/1154
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