Sustainable Living Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for folks dedicated to a lifestyle that can be maintained indefinitely without depleting available resources. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I have lived in an urban setting for a couple of years, where I used a composting toilet. Now I live in an apartment in a major metropolitan area in California and would like to continue using composting toilets. I have access to a little back-yard.
Are there any laws that prohibit composting of human waste in US cities? Do I have to get permission of my landlord?
Most urban areas have zoning regulations that forbid the composting of human waste. There are two places you need to go to find out. First is the authority, name differs from town to town, that issues building permits in your municipality. The second is the Water Resources Board, although this government body often has a different name as well there will be an equivalent in your area.
The last place to check is with the zoning board. It is very likely there are prohibitions based on parcel zoning. While these restrictions won't affect the whole city it very may well affect your property.
