Emptying your loo when 'wild camping' (2 Viewers)

C

Chockswahay

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We spent a fantastic week on Islay last week, the weather was beautiful and we had a great time. We wild camped (parked?) in different places all week. This of course led to the inevitable dilemma of how to empty the toilet holding tank :whatthe:

Now then, in line with much of the advice given on this forum we use Tesco Value Bio washing liquid in the toilet holding tank. It seems to work 'quite well' (ish).

We did empty it once in a public toilet, once into a sewerage collection truck (yes really! :whatthe: and thanks to the two guys from Campbeltown who operated the truck :thumb:) and once in to a deep hole which we dug and then filled over with the earth that we had dug out (well away from people or water course).

I noticed that almost every public toilet had signs up forbidding the emptying of 'chemical toilets' due to potential harming of the sewerage treatment system so apart from the first time (no sign :Blush:) we did abide by this rule.

So then, a few questions ...........

Were we wrong to empty 'poo,pee,and washing liquid' in to the public toilet?

Were we wrong in burying the contents?

Other than the two campsites on the island where are we supposed to empty our loo?

Would you consider washing liquid to be as 'bad' as the proper blue stuff?

I do care about the environment and considered that the effect upon the environment was negligible (after all 'everybody' uses washing products) and everybody poo's and pee's.

This is a moral dilemma of sorts. What do you do?
 

Terry

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Since I don't carry a spade around I usually scrat a few leaves/dirt from behind a bush with my foot, empty then cover with the leaves and dirt.All about 30/40ft away van :winky:Don't want the dog uncovering my mess ::bigsmile:
terry

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JeanLuc

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We have used public toilets in the Highlands and Islands - never seen a prohibition notice yet, but we've not been on Islay with the motorhome.
I'm not sure whether bio washing fluid would have any effect on a septic tank but if in doubt, fit a SOG and don't use any chemicals at all. I fitted one a few years ago and it's been one of the best adaptations we have made. If you don't know about the SOG, search on here or have a look at this site: Link Removed
 

PP Bear

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During the 70's and 80's while serving in Germany, the main threat we faced was from the Red Hordes that were meant to invade Europe and we were the first line of defence. We'd get "crashed out" on major exercises at a moments notice and they would last for weeks and all within the woods and fields of Northern Germany, where we dug holes for everything including our poop and piddles, after all isn't it meant to be good for the soil:Smile:

I used to laugh and state how happy I was not to be a mole in a rush on any given day!! Nowadays we aren't allowed to use this method, as digging is considered not to be environmentally friendly, therefore during the planning phases of all exercises, portaloos have to be ordered, placed and emptied on a regular basis......I'm sure the "enemy" would know our currant and future locations, simply by monitoring the movement of the giant blue bogs, appearing at the edge of the fields and wood lines, the HQ, main armour, men and vehicles are all heavily camouflaged, while the big blue bogs gave us away....laughable nonsense in my books:Doh:

Often wondered where I will empty when required while wild camping. Think I'd have simply ignored the signs and put it down the loos, flushed the chains and that would be that.....not sure about the Tesco bio, I'd stick to the proper stuff, so it breaks down the matter, is septic tank friendly and is designed for the job (or jobbies!!!:ROFLMAO:) in hand:thumb:
 

vwalan

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the chemicals used arent good for sewage systems .
but if you arent using them its not a chemical toilet.
as an ex sewage worker i say ban all the blue and the green chemicals . they break it down into liquid but dont really break it down to go away.
use nothing at all is best.
 

Armytwowheels

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Is that it!! Come on, where's the passion, where's the angry mob? Are we not going to lynch Chockshay from there nearest tree. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

Jim

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The simple answer is do not put chemicals in your cassette. They are a total waste of money. With no chemicals you know you can dump your waste most anywhere without harming the environment. When we wildcamped a lot, I had a small daysack (rucksack) that would nicely disguise a cassette. I emptied anywhere I could, from pubs, McDonalds and Public loos. A packet of disinfectant wipes were in the daysack in case of splashes, no harm done and no one any the wiser.

I always try and empty when you have the room to yourself, because if there is anyone in the next loo, listening to you empty your cassette, they think your having a fast 3 gallon poo and might ask if you need an ambulance. :Eeek: This happened to me very early one morning in the public loos in Chichester, my emptying elsan woke a drunk in the next cubicle who was quite concerned about my welfare:roflmto:
 
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C

Chockswahay

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The simple answer is do not put chemicals in your cassette. They are a total waste of money. With no chemicals you know you can dump your waste most anywhere without harming the environment. When we wildcamped a lot, I had a small daysack (rucksack) that would nicely disguise a cassette. I emptied anywhere I could, from pubs, McDonalds and Public loos. A packet of disinfectant wipes were in the daysack in case of splashes, no harm done and no one any the wiser.

TBH Jim I had wondered about doing that, I just haven't been brave enough so far :Eeek: As you know we are relatively inexperienced at this MH caper. My plan was to try the 'bio' route first then see how we get on with that. I think I'll just give 'aux natural' a bash :whatthe:

Cheers :thumb:

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vwalan

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no , and the fact he asked sewage workers where to put it is a credit . i say in uk if you have ordnance survey maps sewage works are usually marked on them go ask i bet they would let you tip there. actually most are in quiet lovely sneaky places that apart from the works are nice places . usually by a stream or river.
 
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I carry two pairs of manhole lifters and a flat crowbar. I have used them on occasions on industrial sites. Make sure you know the difference between a storm drain and a waste drain though. Don't attempt to lift the ones in the road as not only is it dangerous due to traffic they also weigh a ton :Doh:

I will at a last resort dig a hole. Only needed to do this once in 4 years and I drove well out into the country and walked into a bit of overgrown woodland.

I usually book onto a campsite once a week to empty when travelling though.

In Europe no such problems :thumb:

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Armytwowheels

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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: Coward! :ROFLMAO:
Seriously, I like Jims idea of no chemicals and a discreet ruck sack to empty in public toilets, the trouble is that our cassette is the size of a small canoe, it would take a very big ruck sack to hide it!
 

Snowbird

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You think you got problems with those itsy bitsy cassettes. How do you think us black tankers go on. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=197qjxMWDfU"]Rv you got poop on you - YouTube[/ame]

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duane0001

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If you are going to empty it into the ground why don't you cut out the middle man and poop straight into the hedge bottom?
 

Snowbird

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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcpduI685Yw"]First attempt to dump the poop for the RV - YouTube[/ame] :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

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We free camp a lot and when we can't find anywhere to empty we often call in at a campsite and use their facilities to dump waste & refill with water - the most we have been charged is 5E but quite often 2 or 3E
 

spitfire

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We have used public toilets in the Highlands and Islands - never seen a prohibition notice yet, but we've not been on Islay with the motorhome.
I'm not sure whether bio washing fluid would have any effect on a septic tank but if in doubt, fit a SOG and don't use any chemicals at all. I fitted one a few years ago and it's been one of the best adaptations we have made. If you don't know about the SOG, search on here or have a look at this site: Link Removed


Not sure about a public septic system but we have a septic tank at home and there are lots of stuff I can't use for cleaning as it messes with the system and that includes Bio washing liquid . We always empty out loo at an aire on our way home for that reason.
 

vwalan

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spitfire is talking sense . thats the way to do it .

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