Composting Toilets USA – the Official Page
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Modern composting toilets and urine diverting waterless toilets offer an environmentally friendly and odor-free method of dealing with human waste. There are many models available at different prices, each with advantages and disadvantages.
Thinktank Waterless Toilets Solve Many Problems
My first experience with composting toilets goes back about 30 years. After delaying it as long as possible, I had to make a trip to the dreaded outhouse in a Washington State park. However, I immediately noticed there was absolutely no odor. This was unlike every other “outhouse” I had used – where the smell is usually unbearable. A small plaque announced it was a composting toilet – producing natural fertilizer rather than toxic sewage. “Why didn’t someone think of this before?”, I asked myself.
It turns out they had.
In Europe, composting toilets have been around for generations. They are installed in homes, offices and government buildings – wherever a toilet is needed. Contrary to a popular misconception, there is no unpleasant smell if a composting toilet is installed properly. North Americans have been much slower to adopt composting toilet technology. However, fresh water is becoming a scarce resource in many areas. It seems wasteful to flush away gallons of pure drinking water every time we use a toilet. Americans flush away 123 billion gallons of clean water annually, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report.
Conventional sewage treatment is sometimes impractical or too expensive. Septic systems have many potential problems, not the least of which is disposal of the contents in an environmentally sound manner.
How do composting toilet systems actually work?
There are actually two basic types of toilets which are referred to as “composting” toilets – true composting toilets and urine diverting waterless toilets. A true composting toilet attempts to turn the waste into compost within the toilet itself. They may use internal heaters and usually have an internal rotating or raking mechanism. You typically add an additional organic medium like sawdust or peat moss, and/or microbes.
While a wonderful idea, in practice the results are mixed. The contents are rarely fully composted inside the toilet. It just takes too long. This means the waste is still a health risk, and must be removed from the toilet stored somewhere else like an outside compost bin for a significant period of time. It’s a lot of work. There’s a better way.
To solve some of these problems, urine diverting waterless toilets were developed that (1) divert the urine – usually to a gray water system, tank or French drain, then simply store the solid waste inside the toilet, within a compostable bag. The waste loses moisture, loses odor, and shrinks – allowing for many uses between emptying (Note: it never actually dries out completely.). When full, the waste container is removed from the toilet and the contents are placed in an outside bin with other organic materials for composting. It’s very easy to compost the waste outside in a drum or other composter, and the complexity of true “composting” toilets is avoided.
Urine Diverting Waterless/ Composting Toilets are NOT Gross to empty
Here is a video on emptying the Thinktank Waterless Toilet. It’s easy, clean, and most importantly – not gross!
Take away: While not technically “composting” toilets, urine diverting waterless toilets accomplish the same thing with less effort and fewer problems.
The final result is a safe, non-toxic final product that can be placed on ornamental plants. No expensive or energy intensive treatment is required, and no toxic sludge is produced. Best of all, once the composting toilet system is installed, it costs almost nothing to operate.
In a “urine separating composting toilet”, the liquid can be diverted to a small gravel pit (or “French drain), where it percolates safely away
Urine Diversion is a BIG Improvement!
The best composting toilet systems utilize urine diversion. Combining pee and feces together produces that horrible sewage odor we have all experienced. By diverting the urine from the feces, this is avoided. Excellent examples of urine diverting waterless toilets are the Thinktank Composting Toilet and Separett.
In urine diverting toilets, the pee can be diverted to a gray water system or a small gravel pit (sometimes called a French drain), where it percolates safely away. Urine is virtually sterile, and does not pose a health risk. Alternatively, urine can be drained to a tank and removed for disposal elsewhere, or diluted with water and used as fertilizer.
Ventilation of the composting toilet is extremely important.
Commercially available composting toilets use fans to evacuate moisture and prevent odor. These fans are usually very quiet – 30 db to 40 db. (Which is between a whisper and a refrigerator in volume). They usually run all the time, 24/7. The fans pull air from the bathroom area, through the composting toilet and out a pipe to the outside. You never smell anything, even when sitting on the open composting toilet. This is because the fan is pulling air away from you. The fan will exhaust any odor outside, and it cannot waft up into the room.
Size and features REALLY matter!
Several toilets on the market are very small and simple – some little more than a seat on a box . While they fit in a small space and might look cute, they have many shortcomings. Simple is not always better with composting toilets.
For example, they often have a tiny solid waste container – under 3 gallons. This means you will be emptying the solids container frequently – possibly every few days or even daily. It’s far better to have a larger capacity toilet – where the users will only empty after every 50 or 60 uses.
Some toilets don’t even have a view screen or trap door to conceal the waste. This means that as soon as you lift the lid, you are staring at human waste. We strongly recommend using a toilet with a view screen or trap door.
Some toilets do not vent to the outside, and do not have fans. That means that they rely on the user to bury the waste under sawdust or another organic medium – and hope it doesn’t stink. And it will inevitably stink. A vent to the outside with a fan is vital if you want a 100% odor free installation.
Compare the most common composting toilets here.
The Development of the Thinktank Composting Toilet
For many years I was a dealer for numerous major brands of composting toilets. I dealt with thousands of customers, and learned what worked – and what didn’t. Eventually I decided to develop a new composting toilet that would combine the best features of existing toilets, as well as introduce several new, innovative (and patented) ideas that solved common problems. For 5 years I worked with a team of engineers, to develop and refine the Thinktank Waterless Toilet. It is 100% odor free (really!), pleasant to use, energy efficient and easy to empty.
Composting the solid waste – humanure.
You can read a more detailed article on how to compost human waste here.
Thinktank Toilet with Airtight Seal in Lid
How long it must sit is a matter of some debate. It depends on the temperature. Below about 12 degrees Celsius or 55 degrees Fahrenheit composting will slow or stop. Some experts believe letting the compost sit for 12 weeks at room temperature should render pathogens harmless. Others recommend a more cautious 6 months, or even 1 year or longer. It is then safe to use the finished compost on flowers or other non-edible plants. “Hot” composting in an insulated bin speeds things up drastically. Adding lime also renders pathogens inert much more quickly.
Can it be thrown in the trash?
If absolutely necessary, and as a last resort, you can bag and seal the solid waste from a composting toilet in a heavy duty plastic bag and dispose of it elsewhere. Many people ask if it is legal to put it in the garbage, and there is no clear answer on this. While this is not illegal anywhere I personally know of, it is not expressly permitted either. Throwing human waste in the trash is a bit of a gray area. However, I don’t see it as much different from throwing out disposable diapers. I suggest double bagging it in strong plastic bags if you must go this route.
Aren’t they gross to empty?
Wood shavings may be added before emptying the toilet
No! Because of urine diversion the solid waste is much less offensive than you might expect. You can put use a few scoops of cover material like wood shavings down the chute prior to emptying – to completely cover the contents, although it isn’t necessary.
Composting toilets require almost no maintenance and are impossible to plug.
Composting toilets and waterless toilets are hygienic, inexpensive in the long run and environmentally benign. As fresh water becomes ever more scarce we are sure to see wide spread acceptance of this technology.
Please also see the pages on how to safely compost human waste, Separett Waterless Toilets, and Thinktank Composting Toilets.
Note: Canadian visitors can get important information here: compostingtoiletscanada.