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costs. The results are houses of the poorest quality of design and constructionallowable by the law. To be fair, some well -intentioned programs like CanadasR2000 standards are designed to set guidelines and standards for super-efficiency.These have resulted in higher resale values for these better-quality homes. However,for the vast majority of home builders there is little or no incentive to build beyondthe minimal standards. Sadly, this is more a reflection of society than of thegovernment bodies or developers. We must all demand simple qu ality, smart designand compliance with sustainable design principles so that government anddevelopers will find it necessary to change things.In a book called the Toilet Papers , Sim Van der Ryn outlines the key reasons whythese bure aucracies fail to allow for sensible, safe alternative solutions even as theenvironment so obviously needs them.1) As a general rule bureaucracies like to deal with other bureaucracies ratherthan with people. The more a problem can be centralized, the better.2) It is easier to come down on the little guy than the big guy. I have heard ofcases where permits were denied until the applicant could prove that dry toiletskilled viruses, which no conventional sewage trea tment can do.3) Regulatory processes are set up for routine. It is easier to say no rather thanrethink the problem and design a better procedure.4) Like most bureaucracies, the assumption of regulation follows Murphys law:If anything can go wrong, it will. Alternate systems do require more individualresponsibility than conventional systems. Bureaucracy assumes you are incapableand unwilling to take responsibility for such basics as managing your own waste.5) Regulations are ori ented towards control, not towards education. Most peoplewho are using or have built alternate systems are valuable sources of informationfor neighbors. Yet the person who rocks the boat is often viewed as part of theproblem, rather than part of the solution.6) A keystone of sanitation practice is water borne sewage. For years the UnitedStates Census measure of progress was the number of flush toilets in the country.Any departure from this practice, no matter how rational or safe, is looked at asa s tep backwards.7) Most local health departments are not set up to evaluate unconventionalsystems.We experienced an example of this bureaucracy related to our plans for compostingtoilets.231