Perhaps at sometime in history it made sense to mix potable water with raw human waste; this would appear preferable to walking through filthy city streets, aware that one could be hit with the contents of a chamber pot at any moment. However, today, with the threat (and reality) of water shortages around the world, the time has come to explore waste management options that involve neither potable water nor flying poo.
The first time we emptied our composting toilet, Steve puked out the window (good thing we have 30 of them), so I am not suggesting that there is a simple solution to the waste issue. Our bus has the best possible set up for using a small, self-contained composting toilet. All we have to do is open the bus's aptly named "emergency exit" door, unscrew the cleaning tray from the toilet, dump the contents into a garbage bag, rinse the tray down with a garden hose, and reinstall the tray. Most of this can be accomplished outside the bus.
The composted waste smells like an especially pungent swamp (the toilet's venting system keeps odor from entering the bus), but according to composting toilet experts, it should have very little odor. Recent research has led us to believe that the strong odor is most likely the result of imbalance in our carbon to nitrogen ratios, so we now add our toilet paper to the mix instead of putting it in a separate garbage can. If anyone out there has experience with composting toilets, please let us know what else we can do to minimize odor. To be clear, the toilet's venting system keeps it from making the bus stink most of the time, the issue arises only when we have to empty it.
Composted waste can be dug-in around non-food bearing trees or, in theory, finished in a compost pile and used around fruit trees. However, in the state of Washington, it is illegal to use composted human waste on food crops of any kind. Our toilet meets the WAC code for approved composting toilets in the state of Washington and can be purchased from Home Depot.
The Romans drained waste from their sewers directly into streams. Americans generally pump sewage to energy intensive treatment plants, often located in poor neighborhoods, or into septic systems, which studies have shown to be the primary source of ground water pollution in rural areas.
Do composting and incinerating toilets offer a viable alternative? What do you think?
Having pooped on your toilet, I can say that I could imagine using one the rest of my life....and even emptying it. I don't barf easily. And, yes, I believe composting toilets could be a solution to polution (it's dilution after all, right?). Not sure how long it'll be before it catches on in this culture, though. ;)
ReplyDeletewe built a wood case for a 5g bucket. The case has a toilet seat installed. We use sawdust donated from the local cedar mill near us. No problems with smell. When we empty it we cover it with sawdust and leaf litter into a bin made from pallets (also free) and it goes in the flower bed once cured. 1 year. No problems with smell the thing is in our 8x10' cabin under our bed.
ReplyDeleteDid you get the idea for this style of composting toilet from Anna Edey's book "Solviva" by any chance? I think it's the most simple and easy way to do a composting toilet.
DeleteNot sure if this will work for your composting toilet. but for our outhouse, we saved all the ashes from the wood stove and had a neat container and scoop to put in a scoop of ashes, after each poo use. People always commented that they were so surprised that our out house didn't "smell". Maybe that would work for you?
ReplyDeleteLove the bus. Composting toilet is the way to go!
ReplyDeleteThe Humanure Handbook mentions that ashes are not helpful to the Humanure Composting bin. Raw ingredients are best :-)
We may be firing the toilet up again soon. Another chance to perfect our technique. Thanks all!
ReplyDeleteI second the sawdust idea. Smelly "compost" is due to too much nitrogen (poop, or food scraps/ leafy greens), and not enough carbon (woody, fibrous things). This creates an environment harboring anaerobic bacteria, and won't really compost. Most people have this initial experience and get a false idea of what composting is. It should smell ripe and earthy, not revolting.
ReplyDeleteThe ideal ratio is 30 parts carbon to one part nitrogen. (You can find ratio charts online). That doesn't mean volume, though. Sawdust has is something like 500:1 C:N. You can compost your uncoated cardboard, paper recycling, egg cartons. I tell my clients to err on the side of too much carbon. The only downside is that it will take longer to break down.
I'm curious; what do you do with the garbage bag? I've worked with several farms that use composted humanure in their orchards, as possible pathogens are only really an issue when edible greens, for example, come into direct contact. It's my understanding that the animal-kingdom pathogens can't pass through the plant system into fruit.
By the way, love the blog so far. My fiance and I are planning on buying a bus in the coming year, so I look forward to hearing about your discoveries!
http://lunariagardens.com
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ReplyDeleteOnce more without typos!!
ReplyDeleteI have found the perfect solution to odor in bokashi bran. It does involve peeing and pooing separately though. I've explained it all in this blog post here:
http://kindredofthequietway.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/waer.html