Cheney couple embraces environmentally friendly sewage

By DAVID TELLER

Staff Reporter

Environmentally friendly alternatives are becoming more common and a Cheney couple has taken it one step further.

Curtis and Gina Erickson have composting toilets in their house, that converts human waste to useful garden compost, which is an alternative to a traditional sewer or septic system.

The Ericksons bought four of the units five years ago when they built their house on South Murphy Road. The cost of a having a septic system installed ran in the neighborhood of $20,000 so the couple, a pair of retired biology teachers from the Seattle-area, looked for other options.

“Financially, it's the way to go,” Curt Erickson said.

The Ericksons graduated from Eastern Washington University in 1970 and returned to the Puget Sound where they taught biology and environmental science in high school and community college until their retirement. After considering their options, which included living on the coast, they decided to retire in Cheney, where they already owned a rental.

“We really like the environment and the people,” Gina Erickson said.

She described the Olympia area as quite environmentally friendly and wanted to bring those ideals to Cheney. In deciding to build their home, the Ericksons considered the impact of their choice on the environment and looked for a better way to dispose of sewage waste.

While their house was being built the Ericksons lived in motor home and that was when they learned of the cost of the septic system and began considering alternatives.

Gina Erickson said water is not a renewable resource and there are two different types of household wastewater. She said there is grey water, which is household wastewater that does not contain sewage, and there is black water, which is household wastewater that does contain sewage.

She added that the human waste is particularly difficult to break down and that development patterns have been “self-indulgent and not very responsible.”

They learned about the composting toilet while reading about energy efficient resources. Gina said she learned that C.J. Mayer was a local distributor of SunMar, which is one of the best brands made. The Ericksons bought four of the composting toilets.

“We know they were a good unit,” Curtis said.

He added that not all composting toilet applications are suitable for residential uses.

The self-contained unit sits with the seat about three and a half feet off the ground and the collection drums need to be cleaned every three to four months. Curtis said he adds one to two cups of “fiber,” which consists of wood chips and peat moss, after every “solid” deposit. He also adds an enzyme to aid the composting process.

After each use, a folding, retractable handle on the front of the unit rotates the deposit with the fiber. Despite the time between drum cleanings, there is no smell. The end product looks the same as compost from the city of Cheney.

“It's all good stuff,” Curtis Erickson said.

Curtis makes a hole in the ground with a 12-inch auger and deposits the compost, where it sits in the ground for a winter. In the spring, the Ericksons plant trees at the deposit site. So far they have plum trees, choke cherry trees and other deciduous trees.

Curtis said he is planting a windbreak for his house, which requires about six rows of trees in order to be effective.

The trade-offs are minimal. Toilet tissue can be put into the toilet, but no other trash of any kind. Curtis Erickson said the seat is rather small and maybe awkward for large-frame people.

“This is a real change,” He said.

The piping on the unit is metric and the unit is somewhat unattractive, especially the venting pipes which go to an outside wall.

The plus side of the composting toilets is that there is minimal expense.

“We don't have to write a check to a septic service,” Gina Erickson said.

She added that the units are not a quick fix, but are a long-term commitment. She also said that if everyone in the U.S. converted to composting toilets we would save 5.8 billion gallons of drinkable water a day.

David Teller can be reached at [email protected]