Reclaiming biodegradable waste / episode 5

Composters
The Ekovores reclaim organic waste from food preparation by composting it in DISTRICT COMPOSTERS.
The Ekovores know that attenuated diseases can cure, a remarkable discovery indeed! The rise in temperature to 50°C – 70°C of the compost heap is the ideal tool to break down organic components into humus without killing off microbes. The Carbon/Nitrogen ration 2/3:1/3 is the basis of this alchemy.
Since the “compost for food” law enacted at the beginning of the latest decade, Ekovore houses are encouraged to compost organic waste to gain reductions on their subscription to AMAP vegetable schemes. Local composters are starting to pop up everywhere, because they are a genuine bargaining chip in kind.
Under the supervision of an authorised master composter who ensures the good quality of the waste composted, these schemes, open at certain times, collect the inhabitants precious organic waste. Everyone can track their weekly production by checking their compost credit on the lesekovores.com web site.
The composter displayed is sheltered under an awning/rainwater collector. The water collected is used to maintain the right level of humidity for the compost. The awning is also a friendly space for people dropping off compost to stop for a brief chat.

Composting toilets
The Ekovores support installing PUBLIC COMPOSTING TOILETS to reclaim human waste as fertiliser.
Urine and faeces are the new urban black gold. To date, vulgarly mixed with other effluents in the sewers (dishwater and soapy water, etc.), the nitrogen potential of human waste is raising genuine interest.
The latest HQE‐effluents standard which outlines composting toilets as a standard fitting in housing has recently been extended to cover public toilets.
Consequently, toilet cleaners do not simply ensure the cleanliness of the facilities but take on the new role of composting toilet supervisor, ensuring the transfer of the precious ‘ingots’ to the compost collectors.
By separating them early from other effluents, their costly processing at sewage plants is avoided. What’s more, these fertilising products can be used as a free soil improvement.

Hen houses
The Ekovores set up URBAN HEN HOUSES to reclaim leftovers of meals.
The cost of waste processing is so high that the Ekovores have decided to find efficient solutions to avoid collection. Since a certain time ago, embedded weighting systems and weight-based billing have persuaded households to sort and limit waste at the source, abandoning henceforth superfluous packaging in shops.
Organic waste from meal preparation and leftovers are not an exception.
The hen house supervisor gleans this valuable resource from interested public restaurants, private restaurants and households, to offer them to his brood of hens.
It is also been decided to give two hens to each resident volunteer with a garden. Each of them can become a formidable tool for transforming organic waste into tasty bits of chicken and nice yellow eggs!
However, as the holidays near, animal welfare groups sound the alarm. Families abandon their hens in the streets, since they can’t find anyone to look after them during the summer.
The public authorities suggest a collective hen-sitting scheme, leading to the emergence of Cocottes® hen houses.
These facilities are heaven for the hens during the summer, with access all around the hen house and excellent veterinary care. Each hen is coddled until it is returned to its owner. And let’s not forget summer flirting between cockerels and hens, leading to painful goodbyes when the holiday-makers return.
The rest of the year, the public authorities, with their own herd, maintains its service of reducing organic waste in exchange for nice fresh eggs.

Water butts
The Ekovores reclaim rainwater for watering gardens via the use of FAÇADE RESERVOIRS.
Since water treatment costs are excessively expensive, the Ekovores seek to reduce it by any means.
Water companies regularly increase their prices per cubic metre, justified by a hectic amount of treatment to combat pollution of soils.
This is a valid argument, but perhaps it’s best for the public authorities to give up using drinking water for toilets, street cleaning and watering.
As a result, the Ekovores start their ‘water‐revolution’.
By replacing old downpipes with rainwater butts, they limit the amount of water received by sewage plants in the case of storms and offer free water for the district’s gardens and street cleaning.
The scheme requires specific maintenance. To avoid damaging the butts, they must be emptied in winter.
In the spring, these domestic water towers resume work with their unending supply from the tanks.