Composting (drying loo)

[bluebenz1]

Just showing my composting creation...

 

[Jim]

Looking Good

 

[Googlebot]

That’s a neat solution.

How often does it need emptying?

 

[bluebenz1]

That’s a neat solution.

How often does it need emptying?

Its still to be installed ...new van being delivered on friday to start a conversion...

 

[Minxy]

As with the Simploo you're gonna need a slide/flap over the 'poo' bit as even with the fan it will still allow smells to permeate the camper I suspect.

Simploo Waterless Composting Toilets - Simploo composting toilets

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[bluebenz1]

As with the Simploo you're gonna need a slide/flap over the 'poo' bit as even with the fan it will still allow smells to permeate the camper I suspect.

Simploo Waterless Composting Toilets - Simploo composting toilets

hoping it won't smell !!!!!....as long as there is a constant draw of air from the contained area !!. we'll soon know after using it !!! I can always do some kind of cover later if need be....

 

[Neilfg]

In our limited experience of compost loos there is no smell if used right. We've used one in the house before, with and without a fan and as long as poo and wee are seperated and the poo is covered in a compostable material (we use cocoa husk) then there is no smell. We installed a fan with a carbon filter vented to the outside in the van to be sure, and to deal with the possibility of condensation, but no smells.

 

[bluebenz1]

In our limited experience of compost loos there is no smell if used right. We've used one in the house before, with and without a fan and as long as poo and wee are seperated and the poo is covered in a compostable material (we use cocoa husk) then there is no smell. We installed a fan with a carbon filter vented to the outside in the van to be sure, and to deal with the possibility of condensation, but no smells.

great news...good to hear...

 

[ManTheVan]

The only time I’ve ever used one they had miscanthus (elephant grass) for covering the solids. No smell to speak of. I just wouldn’t know how to dispose of the ‘compost’ when on a trip, apart from burying?

 

[Sundowners]

It's the more frequent disposal of the liquids that could create an issue????
From what I understand the "compost" would not need emptying on general holiday type trips---- but I would think it could be bagged and put in rubbish bins??
I am interested in the concept--it is becoming quite popular.

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[Jays2]

The liquid is no problem, how often do Men outside?
On our site it’s my preferred option.
Just pour the pee in a hedge row, under a tree , it a fertiliser.
Or in the compost bin.
The solids can also be used as a fertiliser, but not on crops you eat!
They do use it on grass that cows eat, then we eat the cows.
Circle of life!

 

[MisterB]

Well worth a visit to the centre for alternative technology in Wales. Very interesting to see their WC treatment plants. As has been mentioned, separating urine is the key ....

 

[bigtwin]

There’s a lot of debate on the Narrowboat fora regarding these beasties.

It seems that most folks are not composting the solids and are binning the solid waste in normal bins. This, it seems, is causing consternation and there is challenge that these should not be referred to as ‘composting’ toilets.

Ian

 

[bluebenz1]

There’s a lot of debate on the Narrowboat fora regarding these beasties.

It seems that most folks are not composting the solids and are binning the solid waste in normal bins. This, it seems, is causing consternation and there is challenge that these should not be referred to as ‘composting’ toilets.

Ian

agreed...hence my (drying loo) in the title... : )

 

[bigtwin]

agreed...hence my (drying loo) in the title... : )

You also had ‘Composting’ in the title. What is the significance of the reference to ‘drying loo’; genuine question.

Ian

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[bluebenz1]

You also had ‘Composting’ in the title. What is the significance of the reference to ‘drying loo’; genuine question.

Ian

It takes about a year to turn human waste into usable compost so the term 'composting' is wishful thinking. poo is about 80% water so a 'composting toilet' actually only dries out the wast.

 

[Neilfg]

The ones we have used/use require emptying weekly or thereabouts, composting certainly doesn't happen that quickly. I thought 8 weeks or so, but not an expert and not checked. The wee containers require emptying more frequently but not a problem we have 2 with very secure lids .

 

[Pusscat]

Really interesting thread!

Have a poo, have a wee, add more liquid as in fresh water to flush it all away out off sight’ = loads of polluting mess to deal with.

It’s a basic function that somehow we’ve managed to morph into a nightmare of a problem (overloaded sewage plants, final effluent and overflows to rivers and beaches, near raw discharges during storm events, overload of nutrients to our watercourses etc etc).

Good to read about drying and composting in relation to Motorhomes!

 

[Justmeandher]

Really interesting thread!

Have a poo, have a wee, add more liquid as in fresh water to flush it all away out off sight’ = loads of polluting mess to deal with.

It’s a basic function that somehow we’ve managed to morph into a nightmare of a problem (overloaded sewage plants, final effluent and overflows to rivers and beaches, near raw discharges during storm events, overload of nutrients to our watercourses etc etc).

Good to read about drying and composting in relation to Motorhomes!

Following on from the varied and interesting contributions on this topic, well worth reading is "How to $h1t in the Woods" , 3rd Edition by Kathleen Meyer, easily available online in the UK. While I am not in any way recommending or condoning the practice, sometimes "needs must" and you also have to bear in mind that the book deals primarily with the great outdoors in the USA, where there is much more wilderness. However, the author explains about how faecal matter "composts" and the potential hazards of associated bacteria getting into water courses.

 

[Herbyventures]

It's the more frequent disposal of the liquids that could create an issue????
From what I understand the "compost" would not need emptying on general holiday type trips---- but I would think it could be bagged and put in rubbish bins??
I am interested in the concept--it is becoming quite popular.

The attraction of a composting loo for us is a dislike of the smell of chemical toilets and a wish to reduce the use of chemicals in the environment. When we have been on a site I just take the bottle to the loo every morning and the pee goes down the loo. Then the bottle gets a daily wash, no smell at all. The poo part should apparently last two people up to a fortnight. We have not really tested it to that extent. We are using wood shavings for coverage and a compostable liner, so the intention is to add it to our (large) compost bins when home and leave for a year or so to meld with the garden and hen coop waste. If in the wilds (unlikely, OH prefers proper toilets) I'd simply pour away the contents of the bottle in some discreet spot, it's no different to peeing in the bushes, which we have probably all done at some time. If you preferred not to test the fortnights solid waste theory, or were away for longer, since dog poo can be placed in bins when bagged, I see no reason why a small amount of human waste, securely bagged, could not be regularly binned in the same way.
EDIT - have just thought that disposal in bins COULD become a problem if a lot of people started doing it. We'd need human versions of dog poo bins....

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[Herbyventures]

Really interesting thread!

Have a poo, have a wee, add more liquid as in fresh water to flush it all away out off sight’ = loads of polluting mess to deal with.

It’s a basic function that somehow we’ve managed to morph into a nightmare of a problem (overloaded sewage plants, final effluent and overflows to rivers and beaches, near raw discharges during storm events, overload of nutrients to our watercourses etc etc).

Good to read about drying and composting in relation to Motorhomes!

We don't have mains drainage at home so we have our own sewage treatment plant. We wanted to have a reed bed system but our soil is not suitable. I'd have considered a composting solution but for some reason my OH didn't fancy digging it out!

 

[Herbyventures]

It takes about a year to turn human waste into usable compost so the term 'composting' is wishful thinking. poo is about 80% water so a 'composting toilet' actually only dries out the wast.

I understood that it's called composting because the waste needs to be composted afterwards. You do need to have a good composting system to add it to, at home.

 

[Herbyventures]

There’s a lot of debate on the Narrowboat fora regarding these beasties.

It seems that most folks are not composting the solids and are binning the solid waste in normal bins. This, it seems, is causing consternation and there is challenge that these should not be referred to as ‘composting’ toilets.

Ian

It did cross my mind just now that if a lot of people started doing this, you'd need the human equivalent of dog poo bins! We are intending to add our solid waste to our compost heaps at home where it will be mixed with other matter and rot down for at least a year, then go on our vegetable garden as compost.

 

[Sid52]

The Mountain Bothies Association use composting toilets in some of the most popular bothies in Scotland such as the Corrour in the middle of the Cairngorms. Solid and liquid go in together followed by a couple of handfuls of wood shavings or sawdust. There are two toilets, one to use and the other sealed up to continue the composting process.
Two or three times a year volunteers walk in, pack the now composted waste and carry it out.
They deserve a medal!

 

[Spriddler]

We'd need human versions of dog poo bins....

Good idea as the ones around here are too high up...................


besides, there's no privacy.

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[bluebenz1]

Good idea as the ones around here are too high up...................


besides, there's no privacy.

View attachment 462797

Ha HAaaaaa

 

[Northernraider]

Having spent the last 3 months in greece where disposal points are non exsistant ive not been using my cassette toilet and have got completely used to peeing in a bottle and using dog poo bags for solids

So when i build my next camper ( hopefully this summer ) ill be building a separator toilet in it.
Dont think ill be going down the compost toilet route as i dont want to be carrying waste around ...but a simple 5 litre bottle for fluids and a bag lined recepticle to catch solids to then be binned will be my plan.

I have to say its extremely liberating not having to worry about finding a disposal point.

Urine goes in bushes or drains and the solid goes in landfill bins.

I'll be sourcing biodegradable bags

 

[Ian Bosman]

Just showing my composting creation...

View attachment 462416 View attachment 462417 View attachment 462418 View attachment 462419 View attachment 462420 View attachment 462421

these remind me of the Elsan toilets from my early childhood days on a farm with a trek down to garden to the toilet, come rain or shine, wind, snow and whatever could be thrown at you weather wise. The farm we moved to also had one until the owner built a bungalow with a flushing toilet feeding into a cesspit. I recall helping my father with the overflow drain running across a field into the main ditch alongside the road. Both were marked Elsan into which you had to put their fluid. Happy days?!