Permittable DIY Composting Toilets for Urban Dwellers - what was the process?

One of the things that really intrigues me about what you guys are doing is how you are making water harvesting a part of the urban fabric of life. I've participated in your Green Living Co-op, Green Streets projects and in your Water Harvesting Certification. I'm impressed that you've managed to sway government, engineers, etc to your cause. What challenges do you face bringing cost effective DIY toilets to urban dwellers in AZ? Are other states looking at AZ to lead the way on this? I want the straight poop!

The biggest challenge in moving through the pilot process here in Arizona was meeting the concerns of public health officials. A number of meetings, presentations, and even a few system tweaks were needed to keep the process moving forward positively. We were very thankful for the insight of our technical advisory committee that helped to provide direction.

There is a group in Oregon called ReCode Oregon also moving through a number of sustainable code issues including composting toilets.

Also, David Omick (omick.net) a technical advisory member for us is also helping to revise national standards regarding composting toilets.

Overall the movement seems to be picking up momentum as the issue is popularized and the hidden away systems that have been used for years are finally feeling confident to be more forward about their use.