Some of you may already know what these are, or considered buying one for your camp.
Others may find this idea a little unsettling, as the thought of composting your own sewage sounds, well...gross!
Composting toilets help the environment by effectively converting human waste into helpful and clean soil.
They use little or no water, are not connected to expensive sewage systems, cause no environmental damage and produce a valuable resource for gardening.
By now you may be asking, "What's so wrong with the toilet I have now?" Well, there are a few things.
Besides pit toilets, present toilet systems are either “sewered systems” or on-site “septic or mini-treatment systems.”
Both are based on the principle of using water to transfer the “wastes” to a treatment system. Whether this is a septic tank just outside the house, or a sewage treatment plant 10 miles away, both must treat a large volume of raw effluent.
This historical use of water to “cleanse” away the toilet wastes is where the first problem occurs.
Raw sewage starts to break down by a process that utilises oxygen within the water.
Once this oxygen has been used up, the breakdown of sewage is changed to microorganisms that perform anaerobic (non-oxygen) respiration.
The byproducts of anaerobic respiration are nutrient-rich effluent and flammable methane and other foul smelling gases. This is the traditional smell associated with septic tanks and sewage treatment plants.
In many cases around the world, untreated effluent is left to run down natural streams and rivers into lakes and oceans. The high nutrient value of the effluent causes algal blooms in these waterways, which as they die and are decomposed by microbes which use up the dissolved oxygen in the water. This in turn reduces dissolved oxygen levels which kills marine animals.
The effects can be quite devastating up the marine food chain.
The waste of another natural resource, clean water, is another problem.
Building expensive dams, piping water hundreds of miles, treating it with expensive processes, and then using 40% of this treated water to flush away a small quantity of human byproducts is utter madness.
Overall, the present system of treating “humanure” is a wasteful and expensive burden on our communities and the environment. To reverse this system, and build a sustainable systems of “waste” re-utilisation is possible using systems such as composting toilets.
Both are based on the principle of using water to transfer the “wastes” to a treatment system. Whether this is a septic tank just outside the house, or a sewage treatment plant 10 miles away, both must treat a large volume of raw effluent.
This historical use of water to “cleanse” away the toilet wastes is where the first problem occurs.
Raw sewage starts to break down by a process that utilises oxygen within the water.
Once this oxygen has been used up, the breakdown of sewage is changed to microorganisms that perform anaerobic (non-oxygen) respiration.
The byproducts of anaerobic respiration are nutrient-rich effluent and flammable methane and other foul smelling gases. This is the traditional smell associated with septic tanks and sewage treatment plants.
In many cases around the world, untreated effluent is left to run down natural streams and rivers into lakes and oceans. The high nutrient value of the effluent causes algal blooms in these waterways, which as they die and are decomposed by microbes which use up the dissolved oxygen in the water. This in turn reduces dissolved oxygen levels which kills marine animals.
The effects can be quite devastating up the marine food chain.
The waste of another natural resource, clean water, is another problem.
Building expensive dams, piping water hundreds of miles, treating it with expensive processes, and then using 40% of this treated water to flush away a small quantity of human byproducts is utter madness.
Overall, the present system of treating “humanure” is a wasteful and expensive burden on our communities and the environment. To reverse this system, and build a sustainable systems of “waste” re-utilisation is possible using systems such as composting toilets.
The many benefits of using a composting toilet include:
1.Water Use Reduction (20-50%)
.
2.Odour Problems Reduced
The suction air flow in most composting toilets takes toilet and bathroom odor out of the room and acts like a constant extraction fan.
3.Lower Household Maintenance Costs
Draining (around $100) and eventual renewal (in the thousands) of septic tanks is not necessary..
4.End Product Recycled
While only small in amount, the solid end product is a valuable fertilizer that can be utilised around trees and gardens.
Recycling
The composting toilet possesses the ability to recycle much of your household waste. Food scraps, paper, lawn clippings and grease from you grease traps can be composted back through the toilet.
Unusual Sites
Composting toilets can be installed in many different situations which would not accommodate other systems. Rocky sites, high water table, no water storage, environmentally sensitive, close to running watercourses, and swampy ground. All these difficult site situations can be accommodated with a small amount of alteration to the basic system design.
Benefits to the Community & the Environment
Together with the personal benefits of the composting toilet there are overall benefits to the society and the environment.Water Use
A reduction in water use allows the large capital costs of dams and reservoirs to be spread over a greater population. It also enables decentralised water sources to be used.
Reduced Marine Pollution
Nutrient load on streams and rivers is almost negligible. This results in more oxygen being available in the water and a return to improved activity of marine life.
Pollution Detected Quickly
Without sewage systems to flush away wastes, It would be easier to ascertain where toxic wastes are being leaked into watercourses. Industry would be more willing to rectify these problems if it were easier to identify the sources.
Damage Limited
Miscalculation in individual composting systems has a much smaller impact than the same mistake in a large centralised system. It is also easier to rectify and return to normal operation.
Less Environmental Impact
Compared to sewage systems, on-site composting treatment has less impact on the environment:
• Large effluent releases into watercourses and oceans are avoided.
• Disruption to soils systems through pipeline installation is eliminated.
• Leakage of raw sewage into groundwater through pipe deterioration and breakage is eliminated.
How do they work?
There are 2 types of composting toilet systems:
BATCH SYSTEMS
With the batch systems, a container is filled and then replaced with an empty container. The composting process is completed inside the sealed container. The system may have a single, replaceable container. Or it may be a carousel system where 3 or 4 containers are mounted on a carousel and a new container is spun into the toilet area when the other is full. After a full cycle is complete, the first container is fully composted and ready for emptying.CONTINUAL PROCESS SYSTEMS
These systems are in a constant state of composting. Waste enters the system, composting reduces the volume and moves it downward where it is harvested after 6-12 months as fully composted material.
An example of one sold at Home Depot for $1449:
Installation
The installation of a composting toilet requires a venting pipe to be installed that connects to the outside to eliminate odours, and for most older models, you will need a liquid (urine) overflow drain that connects to a tank or goes outside into the ground.
The remainder, dried solids and toilet paper, is easily lifted out and stored outdoors for 6 months inside the container. This process inactivates human pathogens, so that it can harmlessly be composted or buried, in order to decompose fully. The end product is an organic fertilizer in your flower garden.
Composting toilets are well suited for cabins and camps with a lake nearby that you fish in, as using a composting toilet there will eliminate contamination to the fish you eat and water you use at the camp.
Home installation would require a little more work and dedication, as it is used more often.
There is also a new type of composting toilet becoming available that separates urine and feces and makes a more efficient system. Here is the link: Separatt toilets
Here is a video that shows the finished product soil from a composting toilet and the lady explains a bit about them as well:
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