Is there human poop in your store-bought compost and garden soil?

I've discovered a dirty little secret about home gardening that I cannot unlearn. While I'm not a scientist, I am a steward of the Earth, and I am a parent, so I cannot let it go without at least passing on the knowledge.

I discovered that a local soil company uses humanure aka human manure aka human poop in the bagged compost that they sell. They buy the compost made from biosolids cake and wood debris from a local biomass company and bag it to sell.

At first, I was perplexed, then outraged, and it didn't take long before I began wondering about the garden soil I've purchased.

Then I put on my logical hat as I was reminded that sludge from the city's water treatment facility is used on many local fields. Sure enough, I've seen them pull away with truckload after truckload of sludge heading west.

Sludge aka biosolids, is treated human poop. According to the EPA's Basic Information about Biosolids, "Biosolids are a product of the wastewater treatment process. During wastewater treatment, the liquids are separated from the solids. Those solids are then treated physically and chemically to produce a semisolid, nutrient-rich product known as biosolids. The terms ‘biosolids’ and ‘sewage sludge’ are often used interchangeably."

So while it's crazy to think that we have human manure in our bagged garden compost, it must be safe, right?

If farms are using it, it must be safe, right?

If the authorities and experts are okay with it, it must be right. Right?

Here's the thing: there are farms in New England that have had to shut down production because they had been using sludge as fertilizers on their fields for years. It turned out that they had an extremely high concentration of PFAS in their soil where they were growing foods for human consumption and where their animals were grazing.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection found that 60 Maine farms had unsafe levels of PFAS chemicals in their soil, water, and foods.

And what about microplastics? In her article Microplastics in Farm Soils: A Growing Concern, Kate Petersen says, "Microplastics arrive on farms through processed sewage sludge used for fertilizer, plastic mulches, and are even intentionally added as slow-release fertilizers and protective seed coatings. In just the last few years, an uptick in research has uncovered alarming potential impacts of this contamination on all aspects of agricultural systems, from soil quality to human health."

So what, you might think, PFAS and microplastics are everywhere. And you're right, they are. In fact, it's something that keeps me up at night ever since my son sent me a scientific article that showed how they had found PFAS in the rain on top of a mountain.

If PFAS are in the rain in the middle of nowhere, then what are regular gardeners and farmers supposed to do?

I don't have the answers, but I certainly wish I did.

Microplastics have been linked to numerous health conditions and diseases, including certain cancers, immune system diseases, low fertility, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic diseases, as is described in the article Microplastics are inside us all. What does it mean for our health? from https://www.aamc.org/news/microplastics-are-inside-us-all-what-does-mean-our-health

In fact, much of the microplastics in the sludge come from our bodies. According to Science News, "In recent years, microplastics have been documented in all parts of the human lung, in maternal and fetal placental tissues, in human breast milk and in human blood." https://www.sciencenews.org/article/microplastics-human-bodies-health-risks

The only thing I can do is my best. I try to prevent more plastic from coming into my garden through the soil. We don't use a lot of bagged soil or compost, only for starting plants inside. Other than that, we use our own compost made out of woodchips, leaves, garden waste, food waste, and chicken manure. We try to grow a lot of our foods at home, and every year we plant new fruit trees, and we plant new vegetable types, but we are still far from self-sustainable.

Besides, many of our plants are in plastic pots because they're waiting for us to find the acreage they need, and so much of the foods we eat are wrapped in plastics. And if the storebought foods already have microplastics in it, then us composting it just continues the cycle. It is a scary topic, which is why many people try to ignore it.

But it's there, I've got the knowledge, and now you do too, so what can we do to try to mitigate the microplastics we consume? The first step is to check the ingredient list on the compost/soil bags you use, and if you see the words humanure or biosolids, take notice. Even if they don't include these ingredients, you may want to contact the manufacturer to inquire about the actual ingredients in your bagged compost.

How to Reduce Microplastics at Home:

Start growing more of your own food.

Start composting to make your own soil.

Look for local, organic, and environmentally conscious farms and ask about their processes, the compost they use, whether they use weed barrier (plastics), sludge, etc.

Use reusable glass, ceramic, and stainless steel food storage containers, water bottles, plates, drinking cups, etc.

Bring reusable bags to the grocery store.
Use reusable produce bags.
Use water filters at home.
Boil your water before cooking or consuming it.
Look for foods with less plastic packaging.
Contact food companies to encourage them to look for better storage solutions (biodegradable plastics made out of sugarcane and plastic alternatives).
Buy secondhand clothes
Participate in local cleanup events to ensure plastics don't end up in your local soil and waterways.
Start educating yourself and your friends and family about microplastics.
If you have other tips, please leave a comment so I can add it to the list.

Below are a few articles on the topic, but beware that once you have the knowledge, you will look at the way you live, the things you consume, and the everyday items you use in a whole different light.