What is a Composting Toilet?

While trying to live green, there is a common aspect of humanity that is often overlooked or ignored. We tend to recycle plastics, aluminum, papers and compost kitchen scraps and other waste, but many stop short of recycling the most basic human waste: Poop and pee.

It doesn't have to be that way. Composting toilets have been around for several years and many homeowners have creatively composted human waste.

Composting toilets can be homemade contraptions as simple and cheap as buckets in which waste is collected then covered with sawdust or peat moss (and later emptied into larger barrels to sit and "cook") and later dumped into central bins for further composting.

For the homeowner who wishes to go a little more high-tech, there are several commercially-made composting toilets on the market. Prices range from $1500 for basic units all the way up to $5300 for upward flushing units.

Composting toilets work on the same basic principal as a compost pile. The composting toilet uses a balance of oxygen, heat, moisture and organic materials (human waste) to promote the action of aerobic bacteria. The aerobic bacteria works with the principals of decomposition and bacteria to break down the waste into a usable product.

There are different types of composting toilets: Self-contained units which are electric or non-electric (12V power), self-contained non-electric units, waterless remote units and low-water remote units.

The self-contained units look like a large box with a toilet seat on the top. They have a built in heater and a storage area where the waste is collected and heated.

The remote units usually look very similar to a regular flush toilet, except the flushing is activated by a step-on lever toward the bottom of the toilet. Remote units are actually two parts: A toilet and a composting unit.

The composting unit is a large box that is located in a basement, a crawlspace or an outside enclosure and is attached by a large pipe to the porcelain toilet. The waste is flushed into the composting unit where a heater works to speed up the decomposition and evaporation of the waste.

Generally, the remote units also require overflow drainage and disposal for liquids (what is allowed would depend upon local and state codes).

The composting toilet I have used in a home I once lived in was a low water remote unit.

To help promote the composting aerobic action of the beneficial bacteria, the company we bought the unit from provided beneficial microbes to add to the mix when necessary (about one time per month). In addition, we had to regularly (at least once per week) flush one cup of peat moss to aid in the composting.

After the composting action is finished, what is removed from the composting unit or self-contained toilet is a pathogen-free, virus-free, nutrient-rich fertilizer.

Composted human waste can be used to fertilize plants and trees, but not fruits and vegetables (although if composted correctly it is free of disease, it is best to not take the chance - hence the recommendation against using composted human waste for growing food).

Sources:

Personal experience

letsgogreen.com

sun-mar.com