Composting toilet

A composting separating toilet, often used in campervans and tiny houses, is designed to separate liquid and solid waste to facilitate the composting process, reducing odors and the need for frequent emptying. This system is ideal for mobile or small living spaces where water usage and waste disposal are limited.

Composting toilet accessories

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Composting toilet – the best toilet to use at your allotment and garden

How does the composting toilet work?

The composting toilet requires no water and turns human excrement into safe compost. The composting toilet accepts faeces in the same way as a normal, flushable toilet. The main difference is that instead of being discharged through sewer pipes to a sewage treatment plant, the faeces are separated into urine and solid faeces, which is then stored and requires someone to stir it from time to time to aid the composting process. As with a regular garden composter, the compost in the toilet needs to be stirred to allow faster decomposition.

To speed up the composting process and keep the smell down, add additional moisture-absorbing material to the solid faeces bin. This could be peat moss, sawdust, wood shavings, coconut fibre or cat’s litter.

What is composting toilet made of?

In its simplest form, the composting toilet consists of:
– a separator to separate the urine from the faeces,
– a container for collecting urine
– a container for collecting solid faeces, which is then covered with sawdust, wood shavings or other dry organic matter. Used toilet paper can also be deposited in it. Once the bin is full, its contents should be emptied at a controlled location to ensure it is turned into compost.

How long does it take to compost faeces?

After a period of at least six months, faeces composted in this way are safe enough to be used as compost without causing health problems. While a period of six months is not a problem in an allotment or garden, in a campervan or caravan there is usually no space to accumulate and compost faeces for such a long period. Therefore, separating toilets that only separate the urine from the faeces so that we can dispose of them safely and conveniently will work better in this case.

What are the advantages of a composting toilet?

The main advantage of this type of toilet is that no water is used for sanitary purposes, which makes it very economical. This means lower maintenance costs for the wastewater treatment system, allowing it to be implemented in areas where it would be difficult to set up such a system. As the faeces are a source of fertiliser, the nutrients in them continue their natural cycle without having to be diluted and then reconsolidated in water treatment plants.
Therefore, the advantages of composting toilets are:
– They do not pollute
– Saves water and electricity
– Easy installation
– They are cheap
– They do not produce bad odours if they are well constructed
– They do not need sanitation
– Can be placed anywhere
– Enable hygienic sanitation for communities with few resources

What are the disadvantages of a composting toilet?

Among the biggest disadvantages, it is worth highlighting the difficulty of implementing this type of toilet in some places, especially in very dense urban environments, although it is still feasible if installed correctly.

Special attention should be paid to the ventilation of possible odours. Foul odours arise if there is insufficient ventilation in the container into which the faeces enter, giving rise to anaerobic fermentation. For this reason, some composting toilets are sold with an integrated ventilation system.

How do you get rid of urine?

Urine is an excellent fertiliser for mature trees, or diluted with water it can also be used to fertilise other plants. Diluting the urine half-and-half with water or in other proportions, depending on the type of plant, should provide a good, liquid fertiliser.

How do I dispose of composted material?

In many cases, the composted material should go into the compost pile to complete the composting, or if you are simply looking for a way to dispose of it, it can be thrown into a bin bag as needed. However, it is not recommended to use this type of compost to fertilise plants for human consumption.
Does the composting toilet smell?
When people first see a composting toilet in operation, they assume that the toilet will smell, which is not the case. In fact, there is very little smell, which is similar to the smell of wood or mulch.

Can I use toilet paper in a composting toilet?

Unlike cassette toilets, there is no need to buy special wipes in composting toilets. Composting toilets do an excellent job of breaking down any toilet paper that is thrown in with human excrement. Any type of toilet paper will be ok, but single-ply paper will decompose faster.

Can you pee into a composting toilet while standing?

You can stand to urinate when using the composting toilet, but it is advisable to sit so that the fluids do not end up in the faecal container.

Can minus temperatures damage a composting toilet?

For composting toilets the main problem will be urine. The container, or urine bottle, is best emptied at low temperatures. However, the compost and toilet will not be damaged in cold weather. Composting toilets can be used in all climates. The composting process will be halted during very cold weather, so in this case, if possible, it is a good idea to keep the composting chamber in a heated part of the house or insulate it.

How do you keep the separator clean if there is no flushing water in this toilet?

The best way is to keep a small spray bottle of water next to the toilet. If the separator gets a little dirty, just spray it with a few drops of water and wipe it off.

Do composting toilets need electricity to operate?

Many composting toilets require a small amount of electricity from a battery for the fan, which removes odours and ensures that the composting bin is properly ventilated.

Are there flies or insects in the composting toilet?

Most users of compost toilets do not have any problems with insects. As there is no smell, the toilet does not attract insects, especially when the fan that generates air movement is running.

Separation toilet

A separating toilet, also known as a dry toilet is the best toilet for a campervan or caravan.

The separating toilet works almost the same as composting toilet which is by separating urine and faeces into two separate containers. By separating them, the smell in the toilet can be minimised. In fact, the separating toilet smells better than a traditional flush toilet. When poo and urine mix together, there is an effluent creating an odour that is associated with a typical toilet. When faeces and urine are separated, two materials are created that can be reintroduced into the environment as fertiliser.

The difference between separating and composting toilet is that we don’t composte solid faeces but dispose it in an appropriate place.