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Bio Toilet Opinion

posted October 28, 2006

BIO-TOILETS AND COMMUNITY CONTROL

BIO-TOILETS

Park friend and shinny hockey player Veronica Pochmursky, who works at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, sent in an article about “bio-toilets” by Elizabeth Rand-Watkinson, October 27 in the Globe and Mail. This writer describes a Japanese “bio-toilet” soon to be manufactured in Canada. It’s used in very cold climates in Japan and Russia, and in very busy places, e.g. Japan’s biggest zoo, where there are over 2 million visitors a year. The waterless, odourless toilet, with its little rotating augur and fan, sounds very similar to the one being installed at Dufferin Grove Park. But the manufacturer is careful not to call it a composter. He calls it a biodegrader.

The bio-toilet described in the Globe article, like the one that Georgie Donais got donated for the park, has very low maintenance requirements and some remarkable advantages. From the Globe: “Annual maintenance involves the removal and replacement of a third of the supply of sawdust in the unit three times a year. As an added green bonus, the spent sawdust has been effectively pasteurized and contains enough nutrients that it can be safely spread over your lawn as a natural fertilizer. So, you could say your waste produces literally no waste, because everything that comes out of the biotoilet can be put to good use.”

COMMUNITY CONTROL

The Globe writer anticipates a time when these toilets will gain broad acceptance, because – she says – they are so much better for the environment. As became evident this summer, though, acceptance is not quite here yet. Several close park neighbours have tried hard to stop the installation of the toilet in the park. For some time now, they have been calling for more formal community input on all decisions made about the park. Last November, the City called a public meeting at St.Mary's High School to find out whether other voices were calling for a more formal community advisory structure too. Every household in the area got an invitation, and the cafeteria was almost full. But at the end of the meeting it was clear that there was minimal enthusiasm for a formal community council, and no further steps were taken.

That was before the bio-toilet and then the arrival of Foodshare and their youth teaching garden in the park. To stop these initiatives, the question of "community control" was back on the table. It has even become an election issue: Ward 18 candidate Simon Wookey says he will work to create "Park Trusts" to "take the authority from the politicians and put it into the hands of the community." Would that mean -- perhaps -- that the community would have the authority not only to vote on a new kind of toilet, but also on replacing grass with a new garden bed, paving of the central path to make the park wheelchair-accessible, permission to hold a cultural event -- every detail?

If such a system is installed, here's a puzzle: who will be eligible to be a part of any community parks authority? If membership is by election, will everyone in the ward get to vote, or only the people who live within a block of the park? Will frequent park users be allowed to vote, although they live six blocks away, or even in an adjacent ward? (Dufferin Grove Park is only two blocks from a ward boundary.) If not, will that mean that parks are possessions of their immediate neighbourhood, not an amenity belonging to all Toronto residents? If yes, how frequently will a person have to use the park to be allowed to vote on the park authority? How will they prove frequent use?

This candidate’s idea may need a little more thought.

posted October 18, 2006

COMPOST TOILET MISINFORMATION

Here are some important corrections to Carol Seljak’s flyer about the compost toilet being built beside the playground. For a copy of the original flyer and also for more detailed compost toilet information, see www.dufferinpark.ca, click on “cob courtyard.”

1. The approval is not a secret. The owner of the park, i.e., Parks, Forestry and Recreation approved the project, in collaboration with Buildings and Toronto Public Health. Parks staff have been quite clear about this.
2. height: the cob structure surrounding the toilet is not fifteen feet tall. Its slanted “green” roof will be 8 feet at its lowest point, 12 feet at its highest. There is only one building, not many.
3. the description of the compost process is not accurate. The accurate description has been posted on the park web site since last June (see the link on the home page at www.dufferinpark.ca)
4. Where such toilets are currently used: not only in remote areas, but along busy highways, and there’s one in downtown Vancouver. Edmonton is about to add some.
5. Cost of a plumbed toilet: Toilet hookup in the park playground is not “readily available.” A playground washroom would cost close to $100,000, and the earliest the park would get one is in 2012. The money is not there, but the kids are there. This compost toilet will cost the City less than $10,000.
6. Responsibility for upkeep and repairs: No mystery – it’s the City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation. But friends of the park will most likely help, as they have for years. There’s a lot of interest in an environmentally-sound toilet that doesn’t add to the sewage sludge Toronto sends to Michigan, or to St.Thomas.
7. Handwashing facilities near the toilet – not missing from the plan. Available at the cob courtyard across the path, well within public health boundaries.
8. Complete details of the proposal were sent to the complainants in August, and posted on the dufferinpark.ca website at the same time. The complainants refused to talk directly with either Georgie Donais or the park manager about the project.
9. “Illegality” of the project: The Building Code specifically allows composting toilets. Ms. Seljak’s other references are too vague – citation numbers are lacking
10. Regarding Ms.Seljaks’ description of “so-called public meetings” that were “stacked” and “farcical,” without proper notice, and a general conspiracy to maintain secrecy about the project – although Ms.Seljak didn’t come, almost 100 other park users did come to discuss this project. Notice of the meeting was given with posters all over the park, a central posting on the park web site, a story on the front page of the Park Newsletter, and hundreds of leaflets handed out at the farmers’ market. There were also 350 flyers delivered in the neighbourhood through Councillor Adam Giambrone’s office.

Excerpts from project lead Georgie Donais’ letter to all the councillors whom Ms.Seljak e-mailed with her assertions:

“this flyer creates the impression that there is some kind of conspiracy by some people in the neighourhood to maintain secrecy about local community projects. Nothing could be further from the truth. We believe this community has one of the most, if not *the* most active communications efforts anywhere in the city:

• There is a monthly newsletter which is printed and distributed to 300-600 people per month
• The park website (www.dufferinpark.ca) has recently been getting about 35,000 page requests per month, and contains roughly 2000 pages of information collected over the years about park activity.
• There is a weekly email distribution of Farmers' market news to over 400 people
• There is an independent community mailing list that has over 300 members
• There is a weekly farmers' market, a weekly Friday night supper, converging around the playground during the summer, and around the rink during the winter, which actively promote community discussions
• The staff of the park are fully informed about all activities, and spend much of their time answering questions to anyone who asks
• There are always posters and flyers posted around the park regarding any significant activity.
• Individuals working on projects often have extensive email lists
• ALL project activities are convivial events at the park, and people are always encouraged to engage in discussions and ask questions on site

All of these mechanisms were brought into play in keeping the neighbourhood informed about the ongoing composting toilet project. In addition we prepared extensive information material which is posted at the physical project site in the park, and also in the rinkhouse.

We would add that Ms. Seljak's claim that Councillor Giambrone did not circulate flyers in the neighbourhood to announce a September meeting about the Composting Toilet Project is simply false. He did.”

posted October 14, 2006

A Neighbour Distributes a Flyer in the Neighbourhood

Full text of broadsheet distributed to all households on October 13 2006, signed Carol Seljak of the Bloor-Dufferin Residents’ Committee. Here also are responses from the composting toilet project leader Georgie Donais (as posted on the fence at the composting toilet project). Original text in black, responses in red.

Who approved placing a composting toilet in Dufferin Grove Park?
It’s a secret!!

[Not a secret. The owner of the park, i.e., Parks, Forestry and Recreation approved the project, in collaboration with Buildings and Toronto Public Health. Parks staff have clearly told this to the complainants.]

Construction of a composting toilet building with a leaching bed has already begun on a site just west of the walkway near the children’s playground area. The fifteen foot high building [The building is 12 feet high at its highest point. Most of it is less than that, going down as low as 8 feet. The roof is a green roof, growing flowers and grasses, so it will blend in well] containing the toilet is proposed to be located at the west end of the site with several permanent cob structures [There will be only one building, plus two small cob benches nearby (already in place)] (similar to the structure abutting the wading pool) enclosing the perimeter [no perimeter wall, just the composting toilet surround] of the site. The foundation of the toilet building appears to have been completed by volunteers. The Friends of Dufferin Grove Park are promoting the project and have obtained funding for the compost toilet.

What is a composting toilet and what is a leaching bed?

A composting toilet is a sewage treatment system. Human waste is slowly decomposed primarily by aerobic bacteria and through the addition of a bulking agent (usually wood shavings) which breaks the waste down into liquid effluent (human waste). It passes through a filter layer and drains to a leaching bed. A leaching bed means a filter bed located wholly in the ground, or raised or partly raised above ground to which effluent from a treatment unit (the composting toilet) is applied for treatment and disposal. [This is not an accurate description. See the August 21 technical responses sent to the complainants.]

Such toilets can be found in remote areas where connection to a sewer system is not possible [Not only in remote areas. The same toilet is in downtown Vancouver. Edmonton is planning for them, and the Department of Highways has used them along main highways for some years] i.e. in national parks. It is our understanding that this is the first composting toilet being proposed for a heavily used City Park where sewer connections are readily available for regular toilet hookup.

What are our concerns?

At a meeting on July 26 with a City Parks supervisor we identified several issues:

• location, no hand-washing facilities, possible ground-water contamination
• complications of inserting materials other than human waste on the toilet function
• under whose jurisdiction and responsibility does this project fall?
• Who is responsible for providing and maintaining construction site safety, for the installation of the toilet, the monitoring of usage, maintenance and repair? [All these responsibilities ultimately belong to the property owner i.e. the Corporation of the City of Toronto through the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division. Friends of the park will help out lots, as they have for years.]

We requested complete details of the proposal [All the requested details were sent to the complainants in August, and posted on the dufferinpark.ca website at the same time], an outline of the approvals process by City hall and a flyer outlining all of this information to be hand-delivered to area residents. We have since written to several City department heads and to Councillor Giambrone asking for confirmation of the following statements made to us by City staff in Buildings, parks and Public Health:

The composting toilet (with its leaching bed) is not a permitted use and contravenes the City of Toronto Municipal Act, the Ontario Building Code Act and the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing policies and procedures re qualifications as well as registration and licensing procedures for on-site sewage system installers. [This complaint needs specific citations. The Building Code specifically allows composting toilets and the other references are too vague – numbers needed.]

We have received no responses from the bureaucrats. [The Parks manager asked to meet with the complainants and they refused. They also refused to meet with Georgie Donais, the neighbourhood coordinator of this project.] In order to encourage these top City bureaucrats to respond in a timely fashion we have now written to the mayor and all members of Council requesting their help.

How did this construction get to far without neighbouring residents being consulted?

The friends of Dufferin Grove Park have been touting the notion that two so-called "public meetings" were held June 25 and September 12 and that all residents attending were in favour of the proposal. Unfortunately, notices of both meetings had only been placed in the park itself near the wading pool and on the Friends’ web site and through their internal e-mail list. [Both meetings were advertised on posters all over the park. They were also featured in the monthly park newsletter and on the home page of the dufferinpark.ca web site.] No notices were delivered to the surrounding neighbourhood. [City Councillor Adam Giambrone had 350 notices dropped into neighbourhood mailboxes for the September 12 meeting.] When we heard via the friends’ web-site about a proposed September 12 meeting, Councillor Giambrone assured us that he would arrange for hand-delivered notices of the meeting to be distributed to all neighbourhood residents.

So much for Giambrone’s promises! The notices were not delivered! It wasn’t until the Star wrote an article on the toilet followed by a letter to the editor response by Carol Seljak that many neighbourhood residents first got a whiff of it. People came out of their houses and began to share their surprise and disbelief with their neighbours. One neighbour felt deceived by a volunteer worker who told him that the project was simply more art sculptures making no mention of the composting toilet. [The composting toilet information sheets were posted on the project fence from the beginning of the summer, for everyone to read. No one was being sneaky about the project.]

How can you find out more about this project?

We area residents and park users need to have a real public meeting not a farcical, stacked meeting. [The September 12 meeting had almost 100 neighbours discussing all aspect of the project. But the complainants did not appear. How then did they know the meeting was “farcical” and “stacked”? If only Carol Seljak had consented to talk directly to Georgie Donais, or to the Parks manager, or to the friendly neighbours at the meeting, Carol and her friends would not have to worry so much now!] so that we can hear detailed information about the proposal, have our questions answered, and our concerns addressed. We need a fair meeting where speakers identify themselves and where they live. We need to have an impartial chair who allows various opinions to come forward.

We want an approvals process that gives area residents a say in what happens in our park!

---

[ed - for details of the project see The Composting Toilet Project Main Page and follow the links. For detailed news and events surrounding the project, see the Composting Toilet Project News page, and the Bulletins page. For previous responses to concerns raised, see Response To Neighbour Concerns and Responses To Concerns.

See also a Letter to the editor of the Toronto Star written by the author of the flyer, a rebuttal from the Toronto Environmental alliance, and another rebuttal published on this website.]

---

posted August 27, 2006

Composting Toilet Letters of Support

Now that the Composting toilet has gotten final approval from the city, Georgie Donais put out the word asking for thank you letters to Councillor Giambrone for his support.

Here are a few examples from the responses (printed with permission):

posted posted August 27, 2006

Composting Toilet Letter of Support - Michele Landsberg

Dear Adam,

Dufferin Grove Park is a miracle ...practically the best thing about Toronto. Maybe only a mother could fully appreciate what it means. I dreamed of that kind of community when my own children were small. Now, with my daughter (a single mother in your ward) and her two lovely little boys, I visit D.G. constantly through the summer. It's cool and fresh beneath the huge trees, children romp freely in the water and in the imagination-stirring creative sand pit. Every day they make new friends in the co-operative atmosphere of the park,. and mothers break out of their isolation and meet soul-mates in the great task of nurturing. It is truly "our village" that helps us raise the children.

I am not exaggerating when I say that the welcoming and open spirit of the park and its remarkable feeling of collectivity and sharing have made me feel more like a citizen and lover of this city than practically anything else in my nearly seven decades of living here.

There's organic food on sale, free books for children to read, community suppers, the glorious farmers' market, pizza-making for all...the glories are endless. The only thing lacking was a toilet near the playground and wading pool. It's an absolute essential for toddlers and even older children, who can't make it all the way across the park in an emergency. Imagine how a mother feels when she has to run with her toddler, toting a heavy baby, for such a long distance. The lack of a bathroom was the park's only flaw.

Thank you so much for facilitating this eco-friendly, people-centred addition to our park.

Michele Landsberg

posted posted August 27, 2006

Composting Toilet Letter Of Support - Nadya Burton

Dear Councillor Giambrone,

I am a neighbour of Dufferin Grove Park, and a user of the 'outdoor community centre' there for over a decade (with my two children). I want to thank you (and I'm sure I speak for many, many neighbourhood friends and families of the park) for your support for the compost toilet being built near the playground.

Within a park already a model for communities and community-building around the city (and beyond), this project is yet another brilliant example of people coming together to meet local needs in ways that are creative, community-enhancing, and environmentally sound. Locating a toilet in the area of the park most frequented by parents and children has obvious benefits, and we hope you are proud of what this community has been able to do to meet the needs of its participants. Dufferin Grove and those who volunteer their time to make it what it is are an inspiration - and we appreciate the support you lend to it.

Nadya Burton

Nadya Burton PhD
Adjunct Professor
Midwifery Education Program
Ryerson University

posted posted August 27, 2006

Composting Toilet Letter Of Support - Della Golland

Thanks, Adam, for cutting the red tape for the progress of this important facility!! Whether park lovers have children or not, even older park lovers feel that a facility like this is not just a convenience, but an absolute necessity. Thanks for your ongoing and future support of our neighbourhood.

- Della Golland

posted on July 4, 2006

THE ROLLER COASTER PROGRESS OF THE PLAYGROUND COMPOSTING TOILET

When the big cob-courtyard-building project was going on last summer, people kept asking: so where’s the toilet going to be? For parents and caregivers of young kids, the lack of a toilet near the playground has been a drawback for years. And Georgie Donais has been interested in the ecology of sewage forever – i.e. composting toilets.

The brother of a cob volunteer, living in the southern U.S., heard about the cob project and offered to donate an industrial-strength composting toilet (the kind used in campgrounds and highway rest stops). There was no place for it in the courtyard structure, but there’s a good spot nearby, just west of the playground. In the fall, Georgie started talking to the Parks manager about the idea. She proposed building another smaller cob structure to surround the composting toilet. The manager was interested, so last February Georgie designed a beautiful, sculptural little cob building and applied for two small grants to cover its cost. Both grants – $10,000 from the Toronto Arts Council, and $2000 from the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation – were approved.

The Parks manager has changed in the meantime, and on June 1 Georgie and several park staff met with Sandy Straw, the new Parks manager for Toronto and East York, and Peter Leiss, the new West Parks maintenance supervisor. Georgie showed them detailed drawings, specs, etc. (including the number of bums the toilet can accept before it needs a rest). But on June 7, the manager had to leave for a family emergency, and she didn’t get back until June 26. The supervisor was also busy or away for that whole time, and suddenly the whole project was in trouble because the permissions were not ready.

Georgie wrote: “I am getting more and more concerned that building season is passing us by; volunteers are now in the park, and we are missing the chance to make use of their skills.”

On June 29, we went into crisis mode and talked to everybody including City Councillor Adam Giambrone, about the possibility that Georgie might have to give back her funding if the project couldn’t get going. Lucky for us, we were able to get the attention of all those busy management people, and the project is going ahead after all. The foundation will hopefully be done by the middle of July, and then: let the cobbing begin! To find out more, go to Georgie’s web pages: dufferinpark.ca/cobcourtyard, or read the park bulletin boards. Georgie can be reached at cob@dufferinpark.ca.

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