The Alternative

The Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center (MASSTC) is a program of the

Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment

Ready to Pee the Change??

Interested in composting toilets and circular waste systems? This is the event for you!


We'll be joining our friends from Rich Earth Institute at Ocean Hour Farm in Newport, RI on June 10th for a conversation around creating circular waste systems in Rhode Island. Julia Cavicchi, Education Director at Rich Earth will be demonstrating Hayley's Urban Hydrolink--a mini wastewater system model--for the first time.

We'll be there weighing in on our current work with the Town of Falmouth as well as other partners and some of the exciting progress we've made.

Julia will also be looking at:

• How might urine recycling or other EcoSan systems address specific environmental, agricultural, or sanitation challenges in your community? What potential funding sources might be associated with addressing these challenges?
• What questions, concerns, or uncertainties do you need to explore further before advancing a urine recycling initiative?
• What core values (e.g. accessibility, efficiency, affordability, safety, equity) should guide the design and implementation of a urine recycling system?

If you don't know about Ocean Hour Farm, it's is an incredible center for education, scientific research, and a demonstration of regenerative agricultural practices, highlighting the critical connection between land and ocean health.

DM any questions and RSVP to Beth Alaimo at balaimo@oceanhourfarm.org

In the Falmouth Enterprise: MASSTC Hopeful for 2026 Pilot Program Start

Thanks to the Falmouth Enterprise for a recent article on MASSTC's progress with the Town of Falmouth and their urine diversion pilot program.

The Enterprise writes: "The effort to bring a urine-diversion (UD) pilot program to Falmouth is making steady progress. Installation of urine-diverting toilets could start as early as next spring in homes chosen to participate in the study, said Bryan Horsley, of the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Testing Center.

He told the water quality management committee recently that approval from state and other regulatory boards may come this fall."

A correction to the article where it says "In order to get a provisional use permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) 50 homes must install urine diverting toilets, which must be monitored for three years."

Bryan Horsley noted post-article that 50 systems monitored for 3 years is not immediately necessary nor required by the DEP.

Is A River Alive? Gives Pause About the Rights for Water

We read a lot of books on water because we are committed to supporting technologies and education around cleaning water! Robert MacFarlane's newest book Is a River Alive? is what we consider a must-read.

Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.

Interested in more books we love? Check out the MASSTC Waste No Water booklist here!

Wastewater Updates!

(Falmouth Enterprise) Plan To Expand Falmouth's Fertilizer Bylaw 'Headed In Right Direction

"Kim Comart of the town's freshwater ponds advisory committee spoke to members of the water quality management committee recently, asking for direction on creating expanded, reasonable and enforceable rules to limit the use of fertilizers in town."

(Sandwich Enterprise) Sandwich Select Board Hears Update On Wastewater Efforts

"The town of Sandwich has been pursuing two options to address the need for wastewater infrastructure, including connecting to Joint Base Cape Cod’s wastewater infrastructure and using the recently acquired 86.5 acres of undeveloped property in the area of Discovery Hill Road and Kiah’s Way to address the need."

(Cape Cod Times) Cape Cod voters overwhelmingly oppose the release of wastewater vapor from the decommissioned Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

"Voters across Cape Cod and nearby towns are sending a clear message for state leaders: they don’t want wastewater vapor from the Pilgim Nuclear Power Station, closed since 2019, released into the air."

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