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...and some seriously smelly countryside. |
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I haven't ever excavated a landfill, but I consistently read that the contents actually do not rot, with the typical example being still-legible newspapers dug up after decades in the landfill. Also, the copious amounts of liquid stored in the used nappies/diapers are bound up in gels such that the water might evaporate, but would not be released into the soil. It could nourish plant roots only if the roots found their way to the gel. |
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Modern "sanitary" landfills are explicitly designed to avoid biodegradation, for a couple of reasons. One is, you can't have biodegradation without groundwater (and ideally some air), and there's too much stuff in the trash stream that you don't want getting into the groundwater --- cadmium, mercury, lead, not to mention biological stuff and toxic organics. The other reason is that biological activity is going to produce methane, which has been known to cause fires and explosions near old-fashioned non-sanitary landfills. (There are cogeneration plants which do the garbage-->methane-->electrical power thing on purpose, but they're not landfills.) |
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Fun book on the subject: _Rubbish_, William Rathje & Cullen Murphy. |
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PeterSealy, the Chinese have been using human waste for fertilizer for thousands of years for agricultural purposes. |
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The problem with BSE is the direct consumption of a certain protein. (i.e. You can't get BSE from eating tomatoes fertilised with mad cow's shit) Given that the liquid is controlled by the absorptive gel it would be similarly difficult to transmit any disease. Perhaps the use of the word irrigation is inappropriate in this case, as it connotes spraying the crops with urine ( This should be enough to ensure you can't sell the produce anyway) |
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Hmm, this one gets my vote... |
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The osmotic pressure generated by plant roots would be able to extract water from the shredded nappy material. |
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A plant grown on 'nitrogenous waste' would not incorporate human viruses, etc (It would need a good wash though...) |
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