Composting Toilets

Composting toilets bring the concept of recycling to a whole new level. Plastic, glass and paper recycling are important but there are so many additional opportunities for smart reuse and conservation.

Composting occurs when decayed organic materials decompose to become water and enriched soil. Human waste can serve as a valuable nutrient and soil additive when it is properly composted. The resulting product is sometimes referred to as humanure.

There are many benefits to composting toilets over traditional sewer-based or septic systems. Some of the benefits include:

• Water use reduction: Traditional human waste systems rely on water to transfer the waste to a treatment system. In the case of a septic, this might be a nearby tank. However a sewer-based system might have a treatment system located miles away.
• Less contamination: There is another benefit to using a system less dependent on water, besides reducing the use of water. The oxygen in water causes sewage to breakdown. When the oxygen is used up, the sewage changes to microorganisms that are sometimes flammable and foul-smelling. This broken down waste often runs off into streams, lakes, rivers and oceans causing algal blooms. It also uses up the oxygen in the water. As a result, this run off is harmful to marine life.
• Better agricultural fertilizer: Human waste is well-suited for agricultural fertilization as long as it is not mixed with industrial fertilizer. Composting toilets create a pure composted product.
• Increased recycling: Many of these toilets will accept food scraps and lawn clippings which can be composted along with the human waste.
• Increased flexibility and lower maintenance: Composting toilets do not require the complex infrastructures required by sewer-based systems. Therefore they require less maintenance as well.

There are two main types of composting toilets: batch systems and continual process systems. With a batch system, a large container is filled and then replaced with a second empty container. Composting occurs in the sealed container and the containers are rotated as needed. Continual process systems continue to compost waste and need to be harvested, or cleaned out, every six to twelve months.

Sometimes tree bogs are built around composting toilets. The waste goes direct to the roots of the trees, providing them with rich nutrients.

Composting toilets can be installed in residential homes or large, commercial facilities. While these units appear to be priced much higher than traditional toilets, there is significant savings realized over the lifetime ownership of the product. Water rates tend to decrease between 20 and 50 percent and maintenance costs for commercial or municipal systems are lower too.

The risks of composting toilets are not much different that the risks associated with traditional sewage or septic systems. Contact with human waste can be harmful, as the waste contains bacteria and pathogens that can lead to disease. Therefore any system must be installed and maintained with care.

Waste must be fully composted before using it as a fertilizer and should never be applied to food-based crops or crops that are handled directly. Humanure is better suited as mulch for trees and shrubs.

For more information on composting toilets, visit the websites of the manufacturers listed below. They have plenty of information about how their specific systems work and the requirements for installation and operation.

• Envirolet is a brand of toilet made by Sancor Industries Ltd. The company has distribution throughout North America.
• Sun-Mar also distributes composting and waterless toilets across North America.
• Biolet is a Swedish-owned company that sells its toilets at Home Depot.

• Ways to Prevent Global Warming
• 50 Specific Actions of Green Living
• Examples of Sustainable Development

• United States Recycling Statistics
• Types of Pollution
• Air Pollution Statistics
• Effects of Water Pollution
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels

• Main Page
• How to Build a Rain Barrel
• Category:Low-Impact Living
• Low Flow Toilets
• Water Conservation Calculator