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Steve Thomas is the host of Planet Green's lRenovation Nation, a program that focuses on making green renovations to homes across the country. In his regular column on PlanetGreen.com, Steve goes behind the scenes of the show and offers additional tips and insight on green renovation.
The Moon Brothers, from the Salvage Brothers episode of Renovation Nation, were young. They were enthusiastic and they were committed to building the greenest house in all of Portland, in all of Oregon, in all of the USA. They were really cool guys.
The Moon Brothers were constantly pushing the envelope on what is acceptable in a residential home. A composting toilet is part of their effort to push that envelope. They—properly, I might add—view biological waste as a pre-decomposed version of fertilizer to put it delicately. The Moon Bros see bio-waste as a resource and not as waste.
These guys have been influenced by—whether they?ve read the book or not——Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough. McDonough says that there are two types of systems. There are biological systems in which waste decomposes and becomes a nutrient, and there are technical systems. You go mine something, process it, manufacture it, use it and throw it away. In our society most of our technical systems are cradle-to-grave.
McDonough argues that as the world becomes more populous and resources become scarcer, we will have to adopt a cradle-to-cradle model. So everything you throw away gets reused. The Moon Brothers get that and are trying to incorporate as much of that philosophy into their house as possible, which I love.
Watch the video: Saving Water with a Composting Toilet
Don't miss the Salvage Brothers episode Steve writes about!
More on Eco-Friendly Bathrooms
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3 Miraculous Mold-Killing Recipes from Green Cleaning Guru, Annie Bond
Just Use Less! A Bathroom Conservation Checklist
