The cover material acts as a biological filter, suppressing odor, and aids in attaining a proper carbon-nitrogen ratio for composting. When the bucket is full, it is emptied into an outdoor composting bin. The additions are immediately covered with a clean, bulky organic material such as straw, leaves, or weeds, which eliminates odors and entraps air as the pile is built. After the heating period, the compost is left to age to allow for further decomposition and for the destruction of any potential pathogens that may remain. Rich in nutrients, composted human manure is a valuable soil amendment that helps to maintain fertility and crop yields.
Compost provides a multitude of benefits.
Humus in composts helps stabilize the soil, reducing erosion, improving water holding capacity and soil structure, and creating air spaces in the soil. Humus also chelates some heavy metals and other contaminants and can act as a nutrient storehouse, slowly releasing nutrients to plants. Compost applications help support microbial populations that maintain soil health . Recovering and recycling nutrients in human manure by composting, instead of disposing them as sewage, helps eliminate the pollution of surface waters with nitrogen and phosphorus. When composted using thermophilic methods, human manure poses virtually no health risk, as disease organisms are destroyed by heat and aging.