Sanitation

While it might not look like it at first, the issue of sanitation is quite important to health. See, once the food has been eaten, it has to be digested. Then from there it needs to have someplace to go. Sure, you could have a fish with money in its' mouth swimming around in the lake as in Jesus' day just waiting to pay taxes. At the same time though, what comes out does not always equal what goes in nor is it always in the same form. If food costs money going in, in theory it should equal money coming back out, right? Anyway, sanitation does in a way cost something for it doesn't just happen for free. Without it, society could go back to the dark days of history again where rats ran rampant through the houses and the plague went free. In my mind, as in many others of that day and those since, the plague was due to the closeness of the people to rats, waste, and other disease. Certainly, once dead bodies were added to the mix, these had to be taken back out. So, the town criers would set out every day with a wagon and pass through the town. These were armed with a little bell, and at each house they would ring them and call 'bring out your dead.' Now, we're not exactly in the dark days of history, are we. As such, I would like to think we now know what not to do just a little bit better.

Waste material in whatever form exits through one of two areas in the body. From there, keeping it contained and well away from the house is the main priority. Certainly, modern times have called for modern solutions. Some have even taken to running pipes through their houses, installing toilets, and calling it indoor plumbing. These then run down to a tank below ground that is fed by the slope of the line. This is known as a storage tank for waste material. The problem is though these are costly to install and even more expensive to maintain. Some of these things even require pumping every so often to empty the waste that has built up so that nothing overfills. It's a neat solution at least. Now let's say you haven't that much funds but still wish to have sanitation. You could always build your own toilet seat from bricks laid on the ground. Then you could have a waste pit below. The issue with that is it's near the house often so small children and pets can fall in. The other reasons have to do with the sanitation station being outdoors in full view of everyone. It's much better to have a private area concealed with a building or outhouse upon it. Then you can dig down into the earth for a proper holding container. From there, a cover can be added as well as a seat. Sure, it won't smell the nicest, but for a time it'll do.

The main thing you don't want though is to have the waste near a river, lake, or stream contaminating the water. Basically, contamination refers to when something toxic is added. It won't bother the fish, but if you should come along and drink of the water later, it can make you quite sick. Disorders include nausea, vomiting, distress, upset, and diarrhea. This is often due to the ingestion of something you shouldn't that includes waste or poorly cooked foods. Beyond that, you want to keep your water source as clean as possible for use later. You will also need to select a site for the waste disposal that isn't right beside or near said the source of water. This is because water runs downhill as a general rule, and can wash the contaminants into the lake or body of water. What are some other ways you can think of to manage the waste containers?