Managing Human Waste in Wilderness Areas
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Tom Hopkins + John Cocks Managing Human Waste in the Wild New Zealand Alpine Club
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Managing Human Waste in Wilderness Areas
- 1. American Alpine Club Exit Strategies American Mountaineering Centre Golden Colorado July 30 & 31 2010 Managing Human Waste in the Wild Presented by Tom Hopkins thopkins@doc.govt.nz John Cocks john.h.cocks@mwhglobal.com
- 2. New Zealand Context New Zealand: • Population 4 million people • 2 million international visitors per annum • 8 million hectares of protected lands • Protected lands approx. 1/3 of New Zealand’s land area
- 3. Mountains…
- 4. Rivers…
- 5. Lakes…
- 6. Coastline…
- 7. What used to be… • Tourist Department Huts • Club Huts • Wild Animal Control Huts • Forest Service Huts • Research Huts • High Country Farming (Mustering) Huts
- 8. What used to be… • Rustic toilet facilities!
- 9. Today…. • 959 backcountry huts • 81 of these are owned by clubs e.g. New Zealand Alpine Club with 17 huts • Sometimes co-managed with Department of Conservation • 313 campsites, 106 of which are backcountry and not accessible by road • Popular walks now highly developed
- 10. ‘Great Walks’…
- 11. Alpine Huts…
- 12. Basic Huts…
- 13. Campsites…
- 15. Drivers of Change - Social • Aversion to pit toilets – sights and smells • Desire for higher level of service – flush toilets • “Human Waste Contaminates” • Restrictive Regulations
- 16. Photo title Environmental Drivers • Nutrients • Pathogens • Odour
- 17. Examples of Change – Fly Out/Pump Out
- 18. Mt Ruapehu and Iwikau Village • Nutrient Issues • Pipe waste off mountain
- 19. Examples of Change - Composting • Ambient temperatures • Operational demand • Bulking agent • Disposal of product
- 20. Examples of Change - Hybrid Toilet • d. Hybrid toilet
- 21. Examples of Change – Secondary Treatment • Reduced land application area • Lower contaminant loads • Secondary level of treatment with no power input, low operator input
- 22. Current Issues - Financial • Cost of waste removal • Operator skills • Compliance monitoring costs
- 23. Current Issues - Social • Sustainable solutions • Technological fixes • Distrust of natural processes • Staff turnover
- 24. Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi • Water is ‘taonga’ – treasure, giving life force • Holistic approach to physical and spiritual values Understanding and appreciating key concerns • Abhorrence of direct discharge of human waste to natural water • Objection of transporting sludge past waahi tapu ancestral lands/sites Cultural Protocols • Consultation with tangata whenua • Removal of all rubbish and human waste • Public education Current Issues - Tangata Whenua Cultural Well-Being
- 25. Current Issues - Environmental
- 26. Emerging Solutions – Urine Evaporator
- 27. Emerging Solutions – Natural Energy
- 28. Emerging Solutions – Carry Out
- 29. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- What used to be: Backcountry facilities previously built for a range of purposes including recreation
- What used to be: Toilet facilities, if they existed, were pretty primitive but usually appropriate for location and scale of use
- Today: Significant increase in participation in outdoor recreation activities domestically from the 1980’s, as well as sharp increase in the number of international visitors to New Zealand from the early 1990’s Facilities remote from road ends and often in sensitive locations – alpine, sub-alpine, close to water bodies, cultural sensitivities
- Great Walks: Nine of New Zealand’s ‘classic’ hikes e.g. Abel Tasman, Milford, Kepler, Heaphy Tracks, Tongariro Northern Circuit Range of environments – sub-alpine, coastal, heavily forested High visitor numbers – up to 61,000 over night stays per year on the Abel Tasman Track, 2000 people per day High standard of facilities, flush toilets and associated wastewater treatment systems
- Alpine Huts: 19 total, high level of service due to severe environment 12 in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, 4 in Westland Tai Poutini National Park and 3 in Aspiring Tititea National Park 8 owned by New Zealand Alpine Club Up to 2,600 overnight stays per year at Mueller Hut, 1,800 overnight stays at Kelman Hut Toilet facilities typically fly out drums
- Basic Huts: Vast majority of New Zealand’s backcountry accommodation are simple huts and bivouacs with up to 10 bunks Relatively low level of use Usually pit toilets provided, sometimes no toilet facilities at all (e.g. at bivvies)
- Campsites: Range in overall standard including toilet facilities - from flush toilets to pit toilets
- Drivers of Change – Cultural: Increasing respect for the indigenous people of New Zealand – the Tangata Whenua – and their beliefs: Rakinui – sky father Papatuanuku – earth mother Tane Mahuta – father of forests Tawhirimatea – god of storms and winds Tangaroa – god of the ocean Principles of Treaty of Waitangi now recognised in legislation: Conservation Act 1987 Resource Management Act 1991 Various settlements over grievances e.g. Ngai Tahu Settlement Act 1998 – statutory recognition of significance of Aoraki to Ngai Tahu
- 3. Drivers of change b. Social – aversion to long drops and more flush toilets, perception that “human waste contaminates” and technology is the fix – eg regulators rules against pit toilets
- 3. Drivers of change c. Environmental – sensitive waters (nutrients) – Ruapehu / Iwikau story
- Examples of change - Fly-out and pump out:
- Examples of change - Iwikau solution:
- Examples of change - Compost toilet: Low level of uptake, difficulties with ambient temps and operational demand
- Examples of change - Hybrid toilet: Low or no flush therefore low volume of effluent Septic tank to anaerobic up-flow filter Higher quality of effluent although results variable
- Examples Of Change – Foam Filters: E.g. James Mackay Hut, Heaphy Track two large septic tanks siphon-dosed single-pass foam filter bed siphon-dosed surface irrigation system Secondary level of treatment with no power input Septic tanks still require periodic desludging
- Current issues – Financial: Cost of waste removal – pump out to barge, fly out drums Cost of sophisticated technical solutions Cost of monitoring
- Current issues – Social: Dichotomy of reducing fossil fuels (carbon foot print) and climate change – customer desire for environmentally friendly solutions impacts and of increasing level of services Lack of commitment to/trust in natural processes Increasing concentrations of people/pressure of development in popular places eg Milford track, Routeburn, Abel Tasman, Tongariro Using human waste receivers for other waste
- Cultural: Aoraki Topuni: Removal of ALL human waste (affects 4 alpine huts), no discharge of human liquid waste, required replacement of all toilets, increased cost of servicing Visitors adapting to wilderness culture (i.e. aversion to long drop): Expectations of high standard of facilities e.g. complaints about odour in containment toilets at Kelman Hut Dependence on chemicals e.g. inappropriate disinfectants, cleaners, pharmaceuticals and disposal: Aoraki Case Study: Aoraki - the most sacred of ancestors for Ngai Tahu: Son of Raki the sky father With his brothers paddled the canoe known as Te Waka-o-Aoraki (South Island of New Zealand) around Papatuanuku Canoe over turned and turned to stone, the brothers climbed onto the high side of the canoe and also turned to stone The melt-waters that flow from Aoraki are sacred Three forms of ‘Recognition’ for Aoraki Mt Cook: Statutory Acknowledgement – Maori names formally recognised on maps etc e.g. Mt Cook becomes Aoraki Mt Cook Deed of Recognition – Ngai Tahu involvement with statutory planning that affects the area (e.g. management plans) Topuni – Encouragement of respect, accurate portrayal of Ngai Tahu’s association with Aoraki Required for the area covered by the DOR and Topuni: Consultation with Ngai Tahu re-development proposals and have regard to their views Removal of all rubbish off site Disposal of all human waste off site Provide public info re-the significance of the area to Ngai Tahu
- 5. Current issues d. Environmental – nutrients, helicopter noise/use of fossil fuels, spread of disease organisms eg gardiasis, chemical
- Emerging solutions - Urine evaporator: Concern about cost of removing human waste from alpine huts, following Ngai Tahu Settlement Act 1998 Department of Conservation engaged MWH (NZ) Ltd (John Cocks) to investigate options for reducing volume of waste Study identified evaporation of separated human liquid waste as being most feasible option (low capital cost, low operating cost, low energy input) Evaporator unit purchased for trials No funding/resources available for further investigation
- Emerging solutions - Natural energy: Use of solar power, siphons/flouts
- Emerging solutions - Poo Pots: Need for behaviour change and supporting infrastructure (eg dump stations) Refer Roger Robinson’s presentation