Composting Toilet for Green Living

Human wastes are rich in nutrients and when treated properly they can make good quality compost for plants. Ordinarily human wastes are flushed down the toilet into a septic system located miles away where they may be treated or allowed to run into streams or rivers that finally dump them in an ocean. This causes the wastes to contaminate water bodies. Besides, the process of flushing the wastes down into the septic system uses huge volumes of clean water. US Dept of Energy estimates that the average American uses nearly 7,600 gallons of water each year just for flushing toilets.

If the water and human wastes can be utilized in a more responsible way, we can have a greener environment. Saving the water also implies saving non-renewable energy associated with treating and delivering water to our homes.

A composting toilet achieves this goal. It converts human wastes into compost with much less water than a conventional toilet or without any water at all. Many manufacturers build in different features into their models. But the common features of a composting toilet are listed below.

• Toilets are connected directly or remotely to a composting unit which collects and processes human wastes. The composter typically allows the water contents to evaporate, reduces the volume of the wastes and uses micro-organisms to naturally break down the materials to form the compost. The composter comes pre-filled with saw dust and bark pieces which also decompose over time.

• Many units use vacuum based suction like the models on aircrafts - this reduces the need for large amounts of water for flushing.

• Some models do not used water for flushing at all. They have a lid covering the toilet's bowl to keep the collected wastes out of view. While being used, manually or automatically, the cover is removed and new wastes are deposited in the collector below. The collected wastes are passed on to the composter. The composter takes 3-12 months to generate compost.

• The composting toilets are usually fitted with fans that draw air into the composting chamber. This prevents foul odors in the toilet.

Most units are easy to install in all homes. They provide a high level of sanitation. They cost between $300 and $1500 depending on their features.

Composting toilets are very popular eco-friendly sanitation systems in under-developed and developing countries where they are not only used for making compost but also for generating bio-fuels from the composting matter to light up homes.

If you are renovating or building an eco-friendly home, go green and install composting toilets!