Join the Twin Bucket Brigade

September 25, 2013
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Help your community prepare for emergency toilet needs by joining the Twin Bucket Brigade.  It’s simple.

  1. Put together a twin bucket kit for your own household.
  2. Make copies of the Twin Bucket Emergency Toilet leaflet.
  3. Share information.  Set up the twin buckets at meetings and events. Or go door to door passing out leaflets.
Kit is nested buckets with supplies inside.

Kit is nested buckets with supplies inside.

The Twin Bucket Emergency Toilet system has been endorsed by the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management. It was developed in Christchurch, New Zealand following their infrastructure destroying earthquake and is still used there today.

Individuals, neighborhood associations, civic groups, faith communities, school teams, and scout troops are invited to join the Twin Bucket Brigade.  Help your community prepare by collecting buckets, understanding why and how to separate pee from poo and knowing what to do with each in an emergency.

Your portable twin bucket kit should have nested pee and poo buckets, a snap on toilet seat and a good lid. You can pack other useful things in the nested buckets:  plastic sandwich bags with samples of carbon composting material, toilet tissue, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, a clipboard with sheets for volunteer sign-up and questions, and perhaps a colorful table cloth and a sign.

To help you get started, here’s a list of proposed Twin-Bucket Kit Contents;  cost is as little as $10 if you use recyclables. Twin-Bucket-Leaflet is a Word document that you can personalize with your logo or that of a sponsor. Copy the  3-panel leaflet in black and white on both sides of the sheet and fold.  Portland volunteers have contributed sample  Presenter Guidelines.  There’s also a tent card sign for the exhibit, a list of resources on resilient sanitation and a list of addresses of physical and online sites where you can find parts and supplies. (This complements the regularly updated page on the PHLUSH site).

What if there are questions you can’t answer?  Well, all people have to do is email questions to the team at PHLUSH.

We’re standing to respond to inquiries and refer you to useful links. You can also request an orientation by phone.   If you live in Portland, Oregon, kits are available on loan from Neighbors West-Northwest at 2257 NW Raleigh St (contact Anastasia Zurcher) and from Southeast Uplift (contact Jay Derderian).

Nothing says community like a bucket brigade. Chains of neighbors passing buckets have put out fires and saved their towns. Buckets of rubble passed hand-to-hand have enabled rescuers to reach survivors of earthquakes and landslides.  Join the Twin Bucket Brigade so you’re ready before disaster before strikes.

Our Mission Through education and advocacy, PHLUSH helps local governments and citizen groups to provide equitable public restroom availability and to prepare for a pipe-breaking seismic event with appropriate ecological toilet systems.

Our Vision Toilet availability is a human right and well-designed sanitation systems restore health to our cities, our waters and our soils.

Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human (PHLUSH) was founded in Portland, Oregon and today collaborates with groups across North America.

PHLUSH is a member of the World Toilet Organization and a partner in the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance.

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