Night soil is a term most often used to describe the practice of using untreated human waste as fertilizer. This is a highly hazardous practice because of the human disease microbes in human feces. Nevertheless, in the third world it is a common practice. There have been cases of disease-carrying tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables being imported from third world nations into more developed nations. A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ...
The safe reduction of human waste into compost is possible, but fairly complex. Many municipalities create compost from the city sewage system, but then recommend that it only be used on flower beds, not vegetable gardens. Some claims have been made that this is dangerous or inappropriate without the expensive removal of heavy metals. For other meanings, see heavy metal The term heavy metal may have various more general or more specific meanings. ...
India's ancient caste system assigned untouchables with the disposal of night soil. This "manual scavenging" is now illegal in most Indian states, although the practice undoubtedly continues in many rural areas. In South Asias caste system, a Dalit (formerly known as untouchable or achuta) is a person outside of the four castes, and considered below them. ...
The proper disposal or recycling of sewage remains an important research area that is also highly political.
Humanure is a neologism designating human manure that is recycled via composting for agricultural or other purposes. ... Composting toilets are toilets that use bacterial processes to reduce human waste to a safe, environmentally friendly compost or fertilizer sometimes referred to as humanure. ... Greywater is wastewater generated by household processes such as washing dishes, laundry and bathing. ...
Nightsoil is a euphemistic term for human feces in regards to waste management, especially in developing nations or in areas that lack adequate infrastructure to have a sewage system, running water or septic disposal.
In isolated rural areas such as in farms, the household will usually dispose of the nightsoil themselves, but this practice is generally not referred to as nightsoil, though the eventual fate of the nightsoil, and style of handling, is similar.
However, nightsoil does not necessarily need to be reused as fertiliser and may merely be disposed of and remain unused.
Soil management practices have developed in response to the twin challenges of depletion and erosion, as well as the less common problems of salinization and soil compaction.
Modern soil conservation efforts, which from the 1930s were increasingly sponsored by governments, employed combinations of several additional techniques such as contour plowing, use of cover crops, conservation tillage, and various impediments to wind and water-all of which had historical precedents.
Soil ecosystems are probably the least understood of nature's panoply of ecosystems and increasingly among the most degraded.
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