This article is about biological waste products of the human body. For other kinds of waste produced by humans, see waste.
Human waste (or human excreta) refers to the waste products of the human digestive system, menses, and human metabolism including urine and faeces. As part of a sanitation system that is in place, human waste is collected, transported, treated and disposed of or reused by one method or another, depending on the type of toilet being used, ability by the users to pay for services and other factors. Faecal sludge management is used to deal with fecal matter collected in on-site sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks.
Children's excreta can be disposed of in diapers and mixed with municipal solid waste. Diapers are also sometimes dumped directly into the environment, leading to public health risks.
The term "human waste" is used in the general media to mean several things, such as sewage, sewage sludge, blackwater - in fact anything that may contain some human faeces.[1] In the stricter sense of the term, human waste is in fact human excreta, i.e. urine and faeces, with or without water being mixed in. For example, dry toilets collect human waste without the addition of water.
Health aspects
Human waste is considered a biowaste, as it is a vector for both viral and bacterial diseases. It can be a serious health hazard if it gets into sources of drinking water. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that nearly 2.2 million people die annually from diseases caused by contaminated water, such as cholera or diarrhea. A major accomplishment of human civilization has been the reduction of disease transmission via human waste through the practice of hygiene and sanitation, which can employ a variety of different technologies.
Environmental aspects
Even high-mountains are not free from human waste. Each year, millions of mountaineers visit high-mountain areas. They generate tonnes of faeces and urine annually which cause environmental pollution. Human faeces pose a greater threat to the mountain environment than uncontrolled deposit of urine, due to the higher pathogen content of faeces.[2]
Methods of processing
Methods of processing depend on the type of human waste:
Fecal sludge from pit latrines is treated and managed with an approach called fecal sludge management
The amount of water mixed with human waste can be reduced by the use of waterless urinals and composting toilets and by recycling greywater. The most common method of human waste treatment in rural areas where municipal sewage systems are unavailable is the use of septic tank systems. In remote rural places without sewage or septic systems, small populations allow for the continued use of honey buckets and sewage lagoons (see anaerobic lagoon) without the threat of disease presented by places with denser populations. Bucket toilets are used by rural villages in Alaska where, due to permafrost, conventional waste treatment systems cannot be utilized.
Human waste in the form of wastewater (sewage) is used to irrigate and fertilize fields in many parts of the developing world where fresh water is unavailable. There is great potential for wastewater agriculture to produce more food for consumers in urban areas, as long as there is sufficient education about the dangers of eating such food uncooked.[3]
^Freeman, David (25 March 2015). "Human Waste May Be Flush With Gold, Silver, And Other Valuable Metals". Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
^Apollo, Michal (2017-01-02). "The good, the bad and the ugly – three approaches to management of human waste in a high-mountain environment". International Journal of Environmental Studies. 74 (1): 129–158. doi:10.1080/00207233.2016.1227225. ISSN 0020-7233. S2CID 113843846.
^Human Waste Used by 200 Million Farmers, Study Says, National Geographic News, August 21, 2008
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February 07, 2023
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This article is about biological waste products of the human body For other kinds of waste produced by humans see waste This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Human waste news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Human waste or human excreta refers to the waste products of the human digestive system menses and human metabolism including urine and faeces As part of a sanitation system that is in place human waste is collected transported treated and disposed of or reused by one method or another depending on the type of toilet being used ability by the users to pay for services and other factors Faecal sludge management is used to deal with fecal matter collected in on site sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks The sanitation systems in place differ vastly around the world with many people in developing countries having to resort to open defecation where human waste is deposited in the environment for lack of other options Improvements in water sanitation and hygiene WASH around the world is a key public health issue within international development and is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal 6 People in developed countries tend to use flush toilets where the human waste is mixed with water and transported to sewage treatment plants Children s excreta can be disposed of in diapers and mixed with municipal solid waste Diapers are also sometimes dumped directly into the environment leading to public health risks Contents 1 Terminology 2 Health aspects 3 Environmental aspects 4 Methods of processing 5 Uses 6 See also 7 ReferencesTerminology EditThe term human waste is used in the general media to mean several things such as sewage sewage sludge blackwater in fact anything that may contain some human faeces 1 In the stricter sense of the term human waste is in fact human excreta i e urine and faeces with or without water being mixed in For example dry toilets collect human waste without the addition of water Health aspects EditHuman waste is considered a biowaste as it is a vector for both viral and bacterial diseases It can be a serious health hazard if it gets into sources of drinking water The World Health Organization WHO reports that nearly 2 2 million people die annually from diseases caused by contaminated water such as cholera or diarrhea A major accomplishment of human civilization has been the reduction of disease transmission via human waste through the practice of hygiene and sanitation which can employ a variety of different technologies Environmental aspects EditEven high mountains are not free from human waste Each year millions of mountaineers visit high mountain areas They generate tonnes of faeces and urine annually which cause environmental pollution Human faeces pose a greater threat to the mountain environment than uncontrolled deposit of urine due to the higher pathogen content of faeces 2 Methods of processing EditMethods of processing depend on the type of human waste Sewage is treated via sewage treatment Sewage sludge is treated by sewage sludge treatment Fecal matter from dry toilets may undergo composting Fecal sludge from pit latrines is treated and managed with an approach called fecal sludge managementThe amount of water mixed with human waste can be reduced by the use of waterless urinals and composting toilets and by recycling greywater The most common method of human waste treatment in rural areas where municipal sewage systems are unavailable is the use of septic tank systems In remote rural places without sewage or septic systems small populations allow for the continued use of honey buckets and sewage lagoons see anaerobic lagoon without the threat of disease presented by places with denser populations Bucket toilets are used by rural villages in Alaska where due to permafrost conventional waste treatment systems cannot be utilized Uses EditMain article Reuse of excreta Human waste in the form of wastewater sewage is used to irrigate and fertilize fields in many parts of the developing world where fresh water is unavailable There is great potential for wastewater agriculture to produce more food for consumers in urban areas as long as there is sufficient education about the dangers of eating such food uncooked 3 See also EditBlackwater waste Ecological sanitation Excretion Human right to water and sanitation Improved sanitation Night soil Reuse of human excreta Sustainable sanitationReferences Edit Freeman David 25 March 2015 Human Waste May Be Flush With Gold Silver And Other Valuable Metals Huffington Post Retrieved 8 June 2015 Apollo Michal 2017 01 02 The good the bad and the ugly three approaches to management of human waste in a high mountain environment International Journal of Environmental Studies 74 1 129 158 doi 10 1080 00207233 2016 1227225 ISSN 0020 7233 S2CID 113843846 Human Waste Used by 200 Million Farmers Study Says National Geographic News August 21 2008 Wikipedia s health care articles can be viewed offline with the Medical Wikipedia app Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Human waste amp oldid 1108605078, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
