"Humanure" is a neologism designating human manure that is recycled via composting for agricultural or other purposes. The term was popularized by The Humanure Handbook, a 1999 book by Joseph Jenkins that advocates the use of this organic soil amendment.

Humanure is not traditional sewage that has been processed by waste-treatment facilities, which includes waste from industrial and other sources: rather, it is the combination of feces, urine, paper, and additional carbon material (such as sawdust).

Humanure is safe for humans to use on crops as long as the human refuse has been composted properly--this means that thermophilic decomposition of the refuse must heat it sufficiently to remove any harmful pathogens and/or enough time must have elapsed since fresh manure was added that biological activity has killed most pathogens.

To be safe for the crops themselves however, a curing stage is often needed to allow a second mesophilic phase to reduce phytotoxins .

Humanure is different from night soil, which is raw human refuse spread on crops.

See also

composting toilet

External links

The Humanure Handbook