BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation requires any home built after 2007 to have a septic system, and that waste from a home toilet can’t be used to fertilize plants.

The rules are running afoul of some compost toilet owners, who believe they should be able to use the compost as fertilizer. Earlier this year, six members of the Vermont House sponsored a bill, H.586, calling for the state to create a group to study Vermont’s wastewater management rules and develop best practices. The issue has been debated for years. And while the legislation languished, an informal group continues to meet online monthly to talk about Vermont’s septic rules and how they could be altered to make life easier for homeowners with compost toilets. Chinese Toilet

Compost toilet owners challenging state restrictions on use of waste

Darren Perron spoke with Seven Days’ Anne Wallace Allen, who wrote about the story in this week’s issue.