[GreenYes] rainbarrels

[Nicky Scott <NScott@devon.gov.uk>]

Hi I've been looking at the noticeboard since the zero waste conference here
in Brighton UK.
I live in the SW UK (Dartmoor) at the moment it never stops raining.  I
collect as much as I can for the garden.  I fill the pond with it - the
trouble is you can only store so much.  Most of our local authorities now
subsidise home compost bins and, increasingly rain barrels.  they are
usually made by the same company and it makes sense.  Even in a country
where it harly seems to stop raining we have dry periods and hosepipe bans -
usually a ridiculosly short time after its been raining for weeks on end!
After rading Joe Jenkins excellent book 'Humanure Handbook' our household
started a waterless toilet system.  That was three years ago and I wonder
how much water we have saved through not flushing.  Incidentely the idea was
promoted in Dorset (next County to me) by a Reverend Moule in the 19th C as
early water closets merely transported shit into open sewers in the street
and thpoid and cholera was rife.  The Moule closet deposited dry soil as a
flush and the bucket emptied daily into trenches in the vegetable garden!
he grew great rhubarb!  Our system is similar except we compost.  The system
is not smelly as it is always covered with compost/soil/woodhavings etc as a
'soak'.  Maintaining aerobic conditions makes for smell free composting.
Nicky Scott Devon Community Composting Co-ordinator
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