[est31]

In rural areas, one can often encounter off-grid houses disconnected from the central sewage system. They have to get regular visits from trucks that pump it off. Sometimes smaller villages have a central sewage collection site but digging a pipe to the next treatment plant would be too expensive so the truck visits that one collection site and doesn't have to collect from multiple tanks.

[monkeynotes]

This isn't entirely true. Rural properties have septic tanks that are maintenance free for years at a time. The waste is digested by bacteria in the tank and effluents runs off into a septic field. The tank is pumped out only when there is a substantial amount of undigested sludge filling the tank.

[frosted-flakes]

Depending pn usage, septic tanks can sometimes go 20 years before being pumped. My house has heavy usage (lots of people), so it gets pumped every 2 years or so. It could maybe go longer, but it's not worth risking it getting over-filled.

[barumi]

You're just stating that off grid houses are off grid. What's your point exactly?

[sokoloff]

It’s over 1/5 of homes in the US that aren’t connected to a public sewer system. That’s quite a bit more than what most people would interpret as “off grid”.

[brianwawok]

That means 4/5th are “on grid” for sewer. Solving a problem for 80% of the country seems good. Though it sounds like this tube system is economical for less than sewer.