Efforts to rid rural Alaska of honey buckets have been long in the works. But still there are thousands of households across the state with no water or sewer, forced instead to use five-gallon buckets that serve as toilets. The process is sometimes messy and often smelly, but, for now, still necessary.
A new pilot project in Kiana is offering those without a flush toilet a modified, safer alternative to the old honey bucket. And it's quite simple, really. And cheap. In fact, data collected from the first months is actually showing the new honey bucket methods can save people money. Plus, the waste is composted, which makes for a safer, more environmentally friendly final product.
The key component is fine, shredded paper that is layered in the bucket between uses. There are no chemicals needed, just the right width and amount of paper strands.
At the Kiana Traditional Council office, there is no running water or sewer, so employees decided to try the inexpensive, odorless honey bucket method. That was back in November and since then, they've been promoting the venture community-wide. Other communities in the Northwest Arctic are also using the idea.
Once a bucket is full of waste and paper, it will be dumped into a compost bin, instead of the human-waste pit at the dump. Straw is added and over time the human waste composts into a usable fertilizer, said Jasen Stalker, the environmental assistant at the Native Village of Kiana.
"We can't start our compost bin yet and we don't have anywhere to store our bags so we've been taking it to the dump," he said. "But soon we'll be able to compost … that's our next step in continuing with this project. It's been a bit of a trial-and-error process, but now it's working out really well."
The process is an easy one and, considering the benefits, one that people should seriously consider, he said.
First, regular shredded paper is added to the bottom of an empty honey bucket with a finer, micro-shred added between each use. Any old paper will do, as long as the layering shreds are small enough. It absorbs the smell, alleviating the need for the often-used harsh chemicals like ammonia. If the bucket does start to smell, users can add more paper. The shredded material is paper that would have been thrown in the dump anyway, Stalker said.
"We're in the process now of getting our own micro-shredder," he added.
The idea was introduced to Kiana in November from the borough, but employees at the tribal office are managing the data collection and promotion on their own.
In a report prepared by Stalker and environmental coordinator Linda Stotts, the data shows that the office staff emptied the bucket about every two weeks and used 32 pounds of micro-shredded paper in just over two months.
"Someday we plan on having an assembly to educate our community about this project, and to inform our local offices about saving their shredded paper," read the report. "We were also told that the paper, after being used in the honey bucket, can be used for having that rich soil, which is a bonus for all the people who own gardens outside or plants in their homes.
"This is one of the many things that we can do to make a change in order to maintain a clean, green environment."
Currently, there are four households in the community participating in the project, three of which are the most recently built homes in the community, Stalker said. He added that while the Northwest Arctic Borough and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium are working to provide running water and sewer to all homes in the region, the reality is that most houses don't yet have flush toilets and therefore a better solution was needed in the interim. According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, there are 4,500 homes in Alaska that lack running water and a flush toilet. Some households in Selawik are also using the composting honey buckets.
"It's really picking up pretty good," Stotts said of the project.
"With this, there's no pollution and you're recycling; giving back to the earth," Stalker added.
Residents can even save money on fuel oil because airing out the house by leaving doors or windows open won't be necessary. But the benefits go way beyond odor. Fewer respiratory ailments or infections caused by constant exposure to human waste could go way down by using the composting method.
"People are breathing it in, or breathing in the chemicals that people use to contain the smell," Stalker said. "Instead of dumping honey buckets in a human waste pit at the landfill like we have here, we'll be able to help our community be cleaner and safer for the animals and our residents."
This story first appeared in The Arctic Sounder and is republished here with permission.