Down and Dirty: 5 Ways to Go Seriously Green

July 1, 2009 — -- There may be something of an "ick" factor to this story -- but some environmental advocates say that's just fine with them. Maybe, they say, it will make people think twice about wasteful ways they never thought about at all.

The waste at issue is human waste. Some environmentalists ask why we go to so much trouble to get rid of it -- when, they say, it's full of microbes and nutrients that can be put to good use in farmers' fields as fertilizer.

What's more they say, why are people driving to gyms, working up a sweat on treadmills or exercise bikes -- and letting all that effort go to waste?

So here are five ideas they offer, some new and some old, that may strike you either as whacky -- or very clever in the way they conserve resources.

In Austin, Tex., a group called the Rhizome Collective has built a commode that uses no water. Instead, when you're finished, you pour sawdust down the toilet.

"This is a great system for environmentally conscious individuals and families," said Jennifer Melia, a member of the collective. She and her cohorts try to live a sustainable, off-the-electric-grid lifestyle -- though the powers that be took four years to give their approval for the system.

"It was just a new thing," said Jill Mayfield of the Austin Water Utility, which finally gave Rhizome the go-ahead. "It takes a while to make sure it's something that would be safe."

The members of the collective say they may not have a solution that pleases everyone, but they're doing their part for the environment. A flush from a conventional toilet, they said, takes 3-5 gallons of water -- clean water that could be used for drinking or cooking, and is in short supply in many parts of the world.

Meanwhile, people who checked out the sawdust-powered outhouse said it smelled mostly of sawdust, and not much else. There are commercially made indoor versions as well.

"They save immense amounts of water, they create healthy soil, and they save energy," said Melia. "These are far beyond the latrines of olden times."

Sanford, Fla., and MaxWest Environmental Systems Inc. of Texas have teamed up to convert the city's stream of wastewater sludge into renewable energy.

The logic, they say: Why flush stuff down the toilet when it can cut the city's natural gas bill?