Flush Toilets Called 'Environmental Disaster'

CNSNews.com ^ | 6/12/03 | Marc Morano

[BlueLancer]

When I entered the service in 1972, I was told a story about the outdoor latrines used in Vietnam by my squad leader who had done three tours there:

Of course, the latrine was called the "sh*thouse" and it was a small wooden one-hole outhouse. The effluent was collected in a 55-gallon drum underneath the hole in the bench and the procedure was that, when the drum was full or once a day, the lowest Private in the unit was detailed to remove the drum from the latrine to a disposal area, pour in a diesel/gasoline mixture, and set it afire. The waste was pretty much burned down to a fairly dry semi-solid mass which was then buried in the waste dump.

One day, the most junior Private (who was also the most recently-arrived in-country) was detailed to perform the waste-disposal duties. The sergeant neglected to specifically instruct him in those duties and simply used the terms used everyday by those working the detail ...

"Private ****, go burn the sh*thouse."

And he did ... he burned the whole latrine to the ground.

Don't know if it's true or not, but that's what my old sergeant said.

[ffusco]

North America still has a few outhouses and dry toilets in national parks- maybe 99%.

[ffusco]

Great mental image!

[Aquinasfan]

When I move I'm going to the Home Depot and buying a couple of new toilets and taking my old trusty 5 gallon flushers with me.

I wish I thought of that. I have fond memories of my trusty 5 gallon flusher... < /wistful memory>

[Constitution Day]

What a great story!

My dad was in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968, and had not been in country long before his 21st birthday arrived.
That day was the first time his Sgt. assigned him to "burn the sh*thouse".

I never heard that story until my 21st birthday, when I had had to work 3rd shift and couldn't get the day off.
When he got tired of hearing me b!tch about it, he told me that story and I decided my 21st wasn't quite so bad after all.

[CobaltBlue]

My husband is an engineer who specializes in, err, "water purification," as it's called.

Anyway, he calls the new toilets "Gorelets", and says that the people who designed them knew that they would have to be flushed more than once for some, err, "loads," but you only have to flush once for pee so they really do save water. However, they also waste time, waiting for the tank to fill up so you can flush again.

We have the big old toilets, and are never selling this house.-g-

I don't see what composting toilets do that septic tanks don't, except use water to flush, and I can't imagine not using water to flush. The alternative is a porta-potty, which is NOT nice.

[B Knotts]

"It's dangerous, dangerous, dangerous. You are talking about all kinds of bacterial issues; human manure has human pathogens in it." Avery countered.

The fact that these eco-nuts propose using human fecal matter as fertilizer shows just how misiniformed they are. They should be ignored as the hysterical, insane fools that they are.

[mewzilla]

I've seen some of the lit on these toilets. Even the manufacturers' own info states that you have to be careful when disposing of the waste.

[wjcsux]

Time to buy more ammo.
Yup. The whack-jobs are getting restless again.

[BenLurkin]

You mean BLOAT for the 'float'?

[Kenton]

I used to have something like this at my deer camp, but we called it an "outhouse".

[Sloth]

The water pump in a washing machine could be used to pump water from the washer to the storage tank, where it is then piped back down to fill the flush toilets, so that the wash water is used twice.

Good idea, but having seen the condition of washing mashine discharge pipes, I suspect that the dissolved detergents might deposit all over the toilet valves & supply pipes and cause problems.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

They obviously don't remember the stench, flies, and other problems with OUTDOOR TOILETS...or having to go out and empty the "slop jar" at 8am when it's -10 degrees outside.

Nor are they old enough to remember the bad old days before the Salk vaccine when flies and outdoor privies were a major vector for the spread of polio.

[gdc61]

i am looking into different systems for property i have. sandmound,drycompost,ect. good post. will read later tks.

[bluejean]

LOL!!

The solution to the whole crisis is, they just need to figure out a way to keep certain people from being full of sh*t.

[TigersEye]

We all know a bear goes in the woods ... but where does Dingle bury?

[MineralMan]

"I want a toilet that flushes! When I have enough money, I hope to go to Canada and get one. "

Get on down to the local salvage yard. You probably don't have to buy a whole toilet...just the tank. Check the distance between the two bolts that hold your water-saving toilet's tank to the base, and the diameter of the hole at the bottom of the tank.

Then, find a larger tank that will fit. They're pretty standard, actually. Clean it up, put in a new flushing mechanism, and install it.

I put a 3-gallon tank on my Toto 1.7 gal toilet. It will now flush anything smaller than a cat.

An alternative is to ask your plumber about a commercial toilet. These are noisier in flushing than a normal household toilet, but flush much better. They're also about three times as expensive, but it might be worth it.

[Publius6961]

All right that does it.
There is a limit to the tolerance of stupidity.

When these retards start taking themselves this seriously, it's time to slap them down

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

Good idea, but having seen the condition of washing mashine discharge pipes, I suspect that the dissolved detergents might deposit all over the toilet valves & supply pipes and cause problems.

Didn't know that. Perhaps a special kind of detergent might help.