Santa Cruz County expands composting toilet pilot program to speed up recovery and address sanitation needs

BOULDER CREEK, Calif. (KION-TV) -- In a groundbreaking development, the Santa Cruz County board of supervisors has approved an expansion of its composting toilet pilot program.

Now, they are looking for more eligible people to join the program.

This change comes as many people affected by the CZU fire have either chose to rebuild their homes or moved out of the area.

Santa Cruz County says that this initiative is the first of its kind in California.

It's a water-free waste system using sealable containers lined with biodegradable bags to collect waste and control odors and once full would be transported to a central site like the ben lomond transfer station where waste is composted.

The goal of this project is to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of composting toilets for areas that may not have running water.

"It's been extremely challenging for a lot of people in our county to build housing in the rural area because of new state septic system requirements," Manu Koenig Santa Cruz County Supervisor said. "Those requirements can drive the cost of a septic system up to over $100,000."

Plumbing takes a while to rebuild after a disaster and so the county is hoping this could get them back into their homes faster.

The county is hoping this could be a good alternative option.

“It was originally intended to, help families that were impacted by the 2020 CZU fires because many people were, living in emergency shelters," Alisa Puga Keesey Program Director for GiveLove said. "While they were waiting for permits to rebuild their homes and sanitation was identified as a problem."

Supervisor Manu Koenig originally proposed the program by GiveLove.

GiveLove has worked on similar projects in disaster stricken areas around the globe.

But, there were many hurdles they had to jump over.

"We ran into some challenges, particularly around permitting and insurance," Koenig said. "Insurance companies were like, well, wait, we've never seen anything like this before, so it took, you know, about a year longer than we had hoped to work out some of those kinks." "We have had a lot of strong interest from throughout the county, and so that's why, we've taken this step to open it up to more people.

The board agreed to extend the program to private residents with functioning septic systems as well as people with single family home building permits.

"I think it could be a way, I mean, people still don't have all the plumbing that they need or, access to water," Matthew McGee a Boulder Creek Resident said. "It sounds like something worth trying."

Supervisor Manu Koenig is advocating for the need for more innovative sanitation solutions.

This comes after past disasters like the Pajaro river flood in 2023, that disrupted sanitation services for 60,000 residents.

"We really want that message out there because, you know, not everyone is going to have a water hookup to a house in the future," Keesey said. "So this is kind of like a dry alternative to a portable porta-potty, you know, it's much cleaner and much nicer."

This program is looking for new participants who will benefit from a hygienic and safe system, reducing water usage.