Illustration of toilets on November 5, 2013. - M.Libert / 20 Minutes

  • A Bordeaux association promotes an alternative dry toilet network to the sewer system.
  • She will test her device with a hundred Bordeaux residents on the left bank, from the beginning of March.
  • It launched a crowdfunding to finance the construction of these ecological toilets.

The small corner gobbles up large volumes of water, valued on average at around 20% of water consumption per household. So how do we stop hunting in the city to preserve the resource? The Bordeaux association "La Fumainerie" (manure being human manure) proposes to develop an alternative network of dry toilets.

How did the idea for an alternative to sewerage come about?

The idea came from Ambre, one of the founding members of the Fumainerie, who wanted to install dry toilets at her home and encountered logistical difficulties such as the storage and recovery of the "compost" produced. Last year, the association identified more than thirty Bordeaux homes interested in moving from classic water-hungry cabinets to dry and ecological toilets and it is still looking for more.

What challenges?

"We do our needs in drinking water, it's scandalous", underlines Maëlys Horiot, member of the Fumainerie. And some of the micropollutants present in our excreta, and not filtered by treatment plants, are found in the Garonne. Created in February 2019, taking up the torch of a first association on the subject (KK Power), the structure will launch this spring a two-year experiment with a hundred Bordeaux residents to install dry toilets in their homes and offer promotion of their "productions".

How will the association proceed concretely?

"We remove the wet toilets and store them, then we install dry toilets with a bin positioned below," explains Maëlys Horiot. There are several models, some allow a separation between urine and excrement. "

Dry toilet testers will report their availability on a platform so that their bin is emptied. The emptier of the different "productions" will move to their home at the agreed time, in a scooter and will transport them to Mérignac where they will be stored.

Several types of recovery will be tested after transformation of the excrement into fertilizers, in collaboration with agricultural partners. Electricity production by the methanization technique is also envisaged.

How to manage odors with this type of toilet?

The association plans to issue a "good conduct booklet" to testers of dry toilets. Among the recommendations, sawdust at each passage in the small corner which allows a first composting. And to neutralize the ammonia smell of urine, "which is the most odorous" according to Maëlys Horiot, a few drops of white vinegar are enough.

How is the project funded?

Supported by the Metropolis, the Region and the Department, the Fumainerie launched a crowdfunding aiming to collect 8,000 euros to build the dry toilets. Each household can set the price it is willing to pay for this type of service. A drainer and a coordinator will be recruited part-time to lend a hand to the ten volunteers from the Fumainerie.

Unique in France on the scale of a city (the Bordeaux left bank), according to the association, this initiative will help to clear the subject. "We are going to be attentive to the rebound effects in the experiment, for example to see if the testers do not tend to extend their showers once they are fitted with dry toilets," specifies Maëlys Horiot.

It also remains to be seen whether the Bordeaux volunteers are ready to do without the comfort, which consists in simply pressing the flush button…

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