sign in sign up
<<
Home , Flush toilet, Night soil

Anthropology Now

ISSN: 1942-8200 (Print) 1949-2901 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uann20

What Happens When We Flush?

Nicholas C. Kawa

To cite this article: Nicholas C. Kawa (2016) What Happens When We Flush?, Anthropology Now, 8:2, 34-43

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19428200.2016.1202580

Published online: 29 Sep 2016.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 17

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=uann20

Download by: [Tufts University] Date: 04 January 2017, At: 14:38 features reach far into our houses with their tentacles, they are carefully hidden from view, and we are happily ignorant of the invisible Venice What Happens When of shit underlying our , bedrooms, dance halls, and parliaments.”1 We Flush? So what really happens when the mod- ern goes “flush”? The excreta it Nicholas C. Kawa handles most certainly does not disappear. Instead, a potential resource is turned into . But it hasn’t always been this way, and ost people who use a prob- it doesn’t have to be. Mably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about where their bodily fluids and solids will journey after they deposit them. This is be- Dark Earths and Night Soils cause modern systems are designed to limit personal responsibilities when it Much of my research as an environmental comes to managing these most intimate forms anthropologist has focused on human rela- of excreta. With the ability to carry human tionships to soils, particularly anthropogenic excrement out of sight, modern infrastructure soils of Brazilian Amazonia. As early as 2,500 and perpetuate the illusion that years ago and perhaps even much earlier, human excrement can be made to “disap- large indigenous settlements formed along pear.” Milan Kundera wonderfully captures the Amazon River and its major tributaries. this point: “Even though the sewer pipelines Through everyday food production and sub- sistence practices, the inhabitants of these settlements deposited mas- sive amounts of organic materials that became incorporated back into the soil. Manioc peels, cacao pods, palm fronds, half-burnt logs and sticks, animal dung and fish bones and yes, human excrement too, all piled up over years and years of vil- lage living. With time, this had a <{{Image 1 goes here}}> distinctive effect on the landscape, slowly transforming the very ground upon which people walked. Such former indigenous settle- ments can still be identified by their Figure 1. A handful of Amazonian Dark Earth gathered in Borba, Amazonas, Brazil. The soil is the product of long-term indigenous dark, fertile soils known in Brazilian settlement, including organic matter from human excrement. Portuguese as terra preta do índio,

34 anthropology Volume 8 • Number 2 • September 2016

Anthropology Now, 8:34–43, 2016 • Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1942-8200 print / 1949-2901 online • DOI: 10.1080/19428200.2016.1202580

Figure 2. Archaeologists Claide de Paula Moraes and his assistant take a break from excavating a test pit at an Amazonian Dark Earth site.

or what is often described in English as Am- societies, terra preta is prime evidence that azonian Dark Earth. In contradiction to the past human populations altered regional prevailing notion that Amazonian upland soils in ways that actually expanded their ag- soils inhibited the development of complex ricultural potential.

Nicholas C. Kawa What Happens When We Flush? 35 In pre-Columbian Amazonia, human ex- roads leading to the fields … were the loads crement may not have been perceived as of carried on the shoulders of men waste at all. Soil chemical analyses suggest and on the backs of animals … Strange as it that it was used — either deliberately or not may seem, there are not today and apparently — in that wild mix of composted materials never have been, even in the largest and old- that led to the formation of terra preta. Even est cities of Japan, China or Korea, anything today, the soils continue to attract contempo- corresponding to the hydraulic systems of rary farmers for the production of a number disposal used now by western na- <{{Image 2 goes here}}> of valuable cash crops, many of which are tions … when I asked my interpreter if it was grown in terra preta because of its distinctive not the custom of the city during the winter fertility. months to discharge its night soil in the sea Since the early origins of agriculture, … his reply came quick and sharp, ‘No, that farmers throughout the world have used hu- would be waste. We throw nothing away. It is man excrement as a , often known worth too much money.’”3 In the year prior to euphemistically as “night soil.” This is partic- King’s trip to Japan in 1909, statistics from the ularly well documented in China, which saw Japanese Bureau of Agriculture showed that the development of an elaborate network of almost 24 million tons of excreta had been night soil trade between urban and rural areas used on nearly 13.5 million hectares of ar- during the 16th and early 17th centuries. The able land. King believed that Western nations historian Yong Xue has shown that Jiangnan, could learn a great deal from East Asian soci- the most prosperous region in early modern eties, especially with regard to the manage- China, owed its remarkable rice harvests to ment of human and animal , which he intensive fertilization, which consisted in believed were “sacred to agriculture.” Holy large part of urban night soil collected by ru- shit, indeed. ral farmers.2 As the night soil trade expanded, many farmers eventually gave up their work in agriculture to become professional night The Origins of the soil collectors. The market was so lucrative “Culture of Flushing” that some less-than-honest individuals made a living by extorting night soil boat operators Prior to the , most Euro- — yes, there were even poop pirates! pean cities relied on night soil collectors to In 1649, authorities in Edo (what is now remove excrement from and privies Tokyo) banned that discharged into before trafficking it into the countryside for canals or rivers to prevent human excre- use as agricultural fertilizer, just as seen in ment from being foolishly wasted. Later, in China and Japan. However, by the mid-19th the early 20th century, the American agricul- century, the flush toilet had become widely tural scientist Franklin Hiram King observed sold and marketed in Europe as increased during his visit to Japan, “Among the most urbanization and industrial wealth made it common sights on our rides from Yokohama an attractive amenity for the social elite and to Tokyo, both within the city and along the those who aspired to be among its members.

36 anthropology Volume 8 • Number 2 • September 2016 Rather than having to rub elbows with the considered to be at serious risk from sewer- neighbors while relieving oneself at a local age.”5 The model of the private flush toilet or privy, the private flush toilet made encouraged this culture of flushing, comfort- it possible to comfortably and discreetly ably carrying urban excreta out of sight and evacuate one’s bowels within the confines out of mind into the rivers and out into the of the home. According to one survey, wa- open ocean. And so the modern hydraulic ter closet installation increased tenfold in sewage system was born. the city of between 1824 and 1844.4 Initially, private toilets were simply flushed into local cesspits, but the ballooning urban A Dying River population quickly led to catastrophic con- sequences for sanitation and public health. Although the spread of disease from With the growth in popularity of the flush leaking into is what spurred toilet, human manure became considerably the development of the modern sanitation diluted, which affected its value for agricul- system, the problem of keeping human ex- tural application. At the same time, the ex- crement out of water was never really ad- pansion of cities forced night soil collectors dressed. Instead, the system attempted to to cover greater distances to reach their mar- resolve this by just flushing it away, further kets in rural areas. In Victorian-era London, downstream, where it could become some- the cost of emptying a cesspit was double one else’s concern. Only very recently have the daily wage of an average skilled laborer, modern cities adopted wastewater treatment which presented an added challenge to facilities to sort this problem out. In many ur- timely disposal. These diverse factors created ban settings throughout the world, including a recipe for bacteriological disaster as leak- the outskirts of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, the ing cesspools began to contaminate drinking problem has yet to be addressed at all. wells. Between 1831 and 1866, Britain was In July of 2013, I traveled to Salvador to ravaged by four distinct epidemics, accompany a friend in her research on local losing more than 50,000 people in the year fishermen’s fight for access to waterways and 1849 alone. resources in the face of increasing urbaniza- At the time, there was much debate in Eu- tion and development. One afternoon, we <{{Image 3 goes here}}> rope over the flushing of into traveled up the Joanes River with an elder the new sewer systems that had been de- fisherman and his nephew, Paulo, to see the signed originally to handle city storm water problems they were facing. exclusively. With the outbreak of cholera, “If this river dies, it’s like a brother dying,” however, the need to quickly and effectively Paulo confided as we motored past the riv- remove human excreta from urban settings er’s mouth, where it met the Atlantic. Fifty made the idea of flushing feces into city families, largely fisherman and mollusk col- sewers the most practical option, especially lectors, were losing their livelihoods due to since, as Jamie Benidickson observed: “Run- pollution of the river. Meanwhile, luxury ning water, presumed to purify itself, was not condominiums continued to propagate on

Nicholas C. Kawa What Happens When We Flush? 37

Figure 3. The Joanes Rivers runs through seven municipalities in the state of Bahia before dumping into the Atlantic, just outside of the city of Salvador. Increasing pollution in the river is a threat to fishermen and their livelihoods.

its banks, directing their raw sewage directly the ocean meant traveling greater distances, into the waterway. “A state legislator has a spending more money on fuel and facing house right there,” Paulo pointed out. “The greater personal risk. Paulo continued, “Here houses are supposed to be built at least 30 in the river you catch almost nothing. Before meters away from the water, but nobody re- there were robalo (snook) and curimã (mul- spects the law.” He added wryly, “Getting the let). I am 22 today. In one day I could catch Ministry of the Environment to do something nine kilos of fish, 10 years ago. There was a is like trying to block the sun with a sieve.” lot of fish, a lot of fish. Several types of large Paulo and his uncle explained that a mero (grouper), schools of mullet.” big difference could be seen in the quality “When the stomach tightens, people try to of the water, even from just 10 years prior. catch something to eat. But the quality isn’t “You can’t support yourself from the river the same anymore because of the sewage,” anymore, only the sea,” Paulo remarked. His Paulo commented when we saw a woman uncle added that the increased reliance on and her child fishing in the river. “Most peo-

38 anthropology Volume 8 • Number 2 • September 2016

Figure 4. New condominiums developed along the Joanes River, such as these, frequently divert their raw sewage into the water.

ple won’t fish the river anymore, only the of big oysters.” He explained that since that <{{Images 4 and 5 go here}}> very desperate do.” time, he could only dive near the mouth of As we traveled further up the river, Paulo’s the river, where the water quality wasn’t quite uncle pointed to the raw sewage running as bad. “When there’s a big tide, you can still from the new homes and condos that stood dive in the river for fish.” But not like before. uniformly along the bank, glaring with white After arriving back at the beach, where paint. In some cases, people attempted to the Joanes River dumps into the Atlantic, we hide their sewage run-off pipes, but in others, watched kite surfers skim across the water. as he showed us, “they stick it out in the open With palms exaggeratedly swaying in the sun. They don’t think about anyone else.” wind, the setting aligned easily with popular- Turning home, images of the river as it ized images of tropical paradise. But Paulo’s once was seemed to gnaw at Paulo. “Sururu uncle wanted to turn our attention to the resi- (mussels), there were a lot here,” he recalled. dues of garbage in the sand. “There’s a real “When the guys went diving, they’d get lots lack of education,” he lamented. “Garbage

Nicholas C. Kawa What Happens When We Flush? 39 The problems of pollu- tion facing fishermen outside of Salvador are not unique to Brazil, or even the “de- veloping world.” The 2007 EU Commission’s report on wastewater treatment de- termined that less than two thirds of the big cities in Eu- rope complied with treatment requirements; 17 major cities had no treatment at all, in- cluding Milan and Barcelona. In the United States, it was not until 1992 that New York City stopped sending its sew- age sludge into the ocean. Even today, in many U.S. cit- ies including New York, run- off from large rain events of- ten pushes the sewer system beyond its capacity. Since rain and the water from toi- lets are handled in the same Figure 5. A large billboard reads “90% discount. This is a chance to pay your system, any excess is released debts.” Underneath raw sewage dumps into the Joanes River from a mixed commercial and residential district. into rivers and waterways through combined sewer out- lets, known as CSOs, when the system meets its capac- on the beach — bottles, plastic bags, plastic ity. In this manner, sewer systems through- cups. People come out here to barbeque and out the United States continue to dump raw, then leave their little cups of beer.” untreated sewage into lakes, rivers, streams Paulo, on the other hand, still seemed and oceans. caught up in thoughts of the river’s past and the life forms it had supported. “There used to be a lot of rays. They came from the sea into Rethinking Waste the river to lay their eggs,” he told me. “The <{{Images 6 and 7 go here}}> water was crystal clear. You could see the For most of humanity’s existence on this rocks down there. You could see fish swim- planet, people relied primarily on plants that ming below. Now you can’t see anything.” fed us, and we in turn fed the soils that sup-

40 anthropology Volume 8 • Number 2 • September 2016 Figure 6. Where the Joanes River meets the Atlantic, local wind surfers and tourists visit daily to practice the sport.

Figure 7. Fishermen’s boats docked just beyond the mouth of the Joanes River.

Nicholas C. Kawa What Happens When We Flush? 41 ported them with feces. Before the develop- first site for treating human excrement using ment of agriculture, this was likely done with- thermophilic co-composting. In a recent pilot out much thought. Yet with the emergence of study, SOIL used container-based sanitation farming, it became a management practice for services in a dense urban settlement, nearly many human populations across the world. eliminating reports of “open ” and When properly composted, the activity of thus mitigating health hazards as well.7 thermophilic microbes that break down hu- In parts of Asia, excrement has even be- man excrement will heat the organic matter come an engine for energy production. In well beyond the temperature needed to kill rural areas of China, India and Nepal, hu- most potential pathogens. After their work is man excrement and agricultural wastes are done, they leave rich humus that is ideal for collected under or outside peoples’ homes the production of many crops. Many people, for the production of biogas. Through the however, find the idea of composting their anaerobic activity of microbes, the decom- excreta too unsavory or inconvenient (not to posing organic matter releases methane and mention socially alienating) to attempt. other gases, which are then used as fuel for Nevertheless, there are places where peo- heating and stoves. Because meth- ple are bucking the modern sanitation system ane is 25 to 30 times as effective at trapping and taking matters into their own hands. Lucy radiation as carbon dioxide, its effect on cli- Pickering has studied how hippies in Hawaii mate change is much greater. Even while the actively their feces as part of their burning of methane still releases greenhouse commitment to a lifestyle that emphasizes gases in the form of carbon dioxide, it yields environmental sustainability as well as politi- a much less damaging byproduct. What is cal and economic independence. For them, also valuable about the biogas model is that using bucket toilets and transforming their the use of methane from excrement prevents excrement into rich, friable soil is a form of the release of CO2 currently sequestered in social critique directed at mainstream Amer- other sources, such as those buried under the ica. In her words, “In both their valuing of ground. In this way, it allows for a reduction bodily waste and their choice of toilet design, in net greenhouse gas emissions. It is esti- they simultaneously reframe their relations mated that over 30 million rural households to others through excrement: disconnection in China and approximately 250,000 in from the state and reconnection with the lo- Nepal are currently using anaerobic digest- cal environment.”6 ers.8 Some developed nations, especially in In the developing world, where sanitation Europe, have also adopted large-scale an- infrastructure is often lacking, many initia- aerobic digesters to produce energy while tives are looking at how human excrement cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions. can be managed to not only produce agri- And for individuals who want to “live off the cultural amendments, but also address pub- grid,” the use of biogas represents a chance lic health concerns. The organization SOIL, to enhance self-sufficiency and minimize de- for example, has been working in Haiti since pendency on the broader political-economic 2006 and has helped to develop the country’s structures that govern people’s lives.

42 anthropology Volume 8 • Number 2 • September 2016 Conclusion 2. Yong Xue. “‘Treasure Nightsoil as if It Were Gold’: Economic and Ecological Links Between In the Humanure Handbook, which has be- Urban and Rural Areas in Late Imperial Jiangnan,” come a sort of bible for those who compost Late Imperial China 1 (1959): 41–7. 3. Franklin Hiram D. King. Farmers of Forty their excrement, J. C. Jenkins makes a simple Centuries, or Permanent Agriculture in China, Ko- yet poignant observation: Everyone shits, but rea and Japan. (Madison, WI: Mrs. Franklin Hiram the creation of is a matter of King, 1911), 19. 9 human choice. We choose to throw things 4. Steven Johnson. The Ghost Map: The Story away rather than reuse them. Human ex- of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It crement is really only waste if we decide to Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. discard it and treat it as something devoid of (New York: Riverhead Books, 2006), 12. value. It has the potential to be many other 5. Jamie Benidickson. The Culture of Flushing: things, including energy for gas stoves, fertil- A Social and Legal History of Sewage. (Vancouver: izer for useful crops or simply organic mat- UBC Press, 2007), 4. ter that can feed the seas of microbes in our 6. Lucy Pickering. “Toilets, bodies, selves: En- soils. Depositing it untreated into fresh drink- acting composting as counterculture in Hawai’i.” ing water and river ways shows complete Body & Society 4 (2010): 33–55. 7. Yu Chen, Wei Hu, Yongzhong Feng, and disregard for the potential value of our ex- Sandra Sweeney. “Status and Prospects of Rural crement and for the water that is so vital to Biogas Development in China.” Renewable and human life on this planet. Sustainable Energy Reviews 39 (2014): 679–685. Can finding better ways of managing our 8. Sebastian Tilmans, Kory Russel, Rachel excrement help to avert a looming ecologi- Sklar, Leah Page, Sasha Kramer, and Jennifer Da- cal crisis? No one can say for sure. But it has vis. “Container-based Sanitation: Assessing Costs the potential, I believe, to push humanity and Effectiveness of Excreta Management in Cap toward a different way of thinking ecologi- Haitien, Haiti.” Environment and Urbanization cally. It may even encourage a new sense of 27, no. 1 (2015): 89–104. ethical engagement with what is perceived as 9. J. C. Jenkins. The Humanure Handbook: A waste, opening new pathways toward a more Guide to Composting Human Manure (Emphasiz- sustainable common future. At the very least, ing Minimum Technology and Maximum Hygenic it’s something worth thinking about next time Safety), 3rd ed. (Grove City, PA: Jenkins Publish- ing, 1994), 13. you flush.

Nicholas C. Kawa is assistant professor of anthro- Notes pology at Ohio State University. His research cen- ters on questions of human–environmental inter- Photos by Nicholas C. Kawa action, with specific focus on human relationships to plants and soils. He is author of Amazonia in 1. Milan Kundera. The Unbearable Lightness the Anthropocene: People, Soils, Plants, Forests of Being. (New York: Harper, 1984), 156. (University of Texas Press, 2016).

Nicholas C. Kawa What Happens When We Flush? 43