4 ms·

Human civilization survived open sewers, massive public latrines and unseperated water supply and waste. Not something I'd like to go back to by any means. But

Human civilization survived open sewers, massive public latrines and unseperated water supply and waste. Not something I'd like to go back to by any means. But with modern knowledge and technology, and call me crazy if you like, I believe we can sanitize a few dozen poop disasters a day without bringing on a typhoid plague or breaking the bank.

derefr 4y ago
The more commonplace and universal something is, the less of a big deal people will feel it is to deal with. And vice versa. The very fact that we don’t all live in filth now, means that you have to pay a high premium to get someone to choose to be the person whose job constantly exposes them to it. See also: the profitability of electronics recycling (i.e. picking through piles of scrap for base metal to melt) in the developing vs. developed world. When people live in areas with mounds of trash piled all around them, they’ll dig through that trash for Pennie’s, because they already do thing like shoveling it out of the way every day. When people live in a nice house in a clean city, though, you’ll have to pay them a lot more to touch a scrap heap. (Or, to put that another way: it’s “but I might get tetanus!” vs. “My base risk of getting tetanus is so high that this job won’t increase my risk by much in relative terms… so sure, why not.”)
- DubiousPusher 4y ago
  My job for a long time involved digging up people's septic tanks and fixing them. I know other people who pump them for a living. I know others who buy the waste and dry it. And people of all stripes buy it after it's treated and mixed with mulch and put it on their lawn. This problem is much more minor than you think. Lots of us are not afraid of poop.
  - ben_w 4y ago
    "Lots" is not necessarily "enough". Does SF have only a few dozen "poop disasters" a day? The language in this thread suggests the number is higher and the nature is worse than your language would imply, but I wouldn't know as I've only been a tourist there. Even if "lots" was enough, how much did you earn doing that job? I don't know American politics beyond Team Red vs. Team Blue, are American cities willing to pay for enough cleaners?
  - krisoft 4y ago
    Cool. So we have these 3 public bathrooms around the city. How much do you charge to keep them clean and what is your SLA?
    - withinboredom 4y ago
      They charge ~€0.70 to use the public restrooms around here. They are always clean.
    - DubiousPusher 4y ago
      I don't really care what it costs. Just as I don't really care what it costs to fund the public defenders office. If a law is too expensive to enforce justly, maybe we need to reconsider that law.
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  Recycling of waste electronics is profitable. The only thing stopping it in first world countries is an aversion of democratic oversight of corporations. https://www.rts.com/blog/what-is-urban-mining/ https://www.rts.com/blog/what-is-urban-mining/

derefr 4y ago

The more commonplace and universal something is, the less of a big deal people will feel it is to deal with. And vice versa. The very fact that we don’t all live in filth now, means that you have to pay a high premium to get someone to choose to be the person whose job constantly exposes them to it. See also: the profitability of electronics recycling (i.e. picking through piles of scrap for base metal to melt) in the developing vs. developed world. When people live in areas with mounds of trash piled all around them, they’ll dig through that trash for Pennie’s, because they already do thing like shoveling it out of the way every day. When people live in a nice house in a clean city, though, you’ll have to pay them a lot more to touch a scrap heap. (Or, to put that another way: it’s “but I might get tetanus!” vs. “My base risk of getting tetanus is so high that this job won’t increase my risk by much in relative terms… so sure, why not.”)

DubiousPusher 4y ago
My job for a long time involved digging up people's septic tanks and fixing them. I know other people who pump them for a living. I know others who buy the waste and dry it. And people of all stripes buy it after it's treated and mixed with mulch and put it on their lawn. This problem is much more minor than you think. Lots of us are not afraid of poop.
- ben_w 4y ago
  "Lots" is not necessarily "enough". Does SF have only a few dozen "poop disasters" a day? The language in this thread suggests the number is higher and the nature is worse than your language would imply, but I wouldn't know as I've only been a tourist there. Even if "lots" was enough, how much did you earn doing that job? I don't know American politics beyond Team Red vs. Team Blue, are American cities willing to pay for enough cleaners?
- krisoft 4y ago
  Cool. So we have these 3 public bathrooms around the city. How much do you charge to keep them clean and what is your SLA?
  - withinboredom 4y ago
    They charge ~€0.70 to use the public restrooms around here. They are always clean.
  - DubiousPusher 4y ago
    I don't really care what it costs. Just as I don't really care what it costs to fund the public defenders office. If a law is too expensive to enforce justly, maybe we need to reconsider that law.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
Recycling of waste electronics is profitable. The only thing stopping it in first world countries is an aversion of democratic oversight of corporations. https://www.rts.com/blog/what-is-urban-mining/ https://www.rts.com/blog/what-is-urban-mining/