compost toilets

[catalyst]

we've finally finished building ours... its fantastic, twin chamber.

it will take maybe a year to fill each side with the poo and lots of straw, then maybe a year to compost, but then we should have access to all those lovely nutrients for the garden.

yuk, imagine pooing in your house!!?

[Shirley]

Don't we all poo in our houses?? Generally within the confines of a loo.... composting or otherwise

Do you have any photos of your build? (preferably without poo )

[Clara]

Don't we all poo in our houses?? Generally within the confines of a loo.... composting or otherwise

Do you have any photos of your build? (preferably without poo )

Compost loos are generally built outside, but I think you can buy some premade types that could be fitted inside. I´ve never been on a compost loo indoors!

Aside from not pooing in your house and flushing it with precious water the main advantage of having an outdoor loo is the view!

Clara x.

[caithnesscrofter]

oh, i'd love photos too! good on ya!

oor humanure hacienda is coming along just fine. put the fascia on for the turf roof tonite and we finish the whole lot next week. will post a photo then as well. we are using a bucket system in the yurt.

can't wait to hear more about your dual chamber system as we will be putting a cob dual chamber in our hoose when we build! any advice and/or tips are welcomed!

[Cornelian]

yuk, imagine pooing in your house!!?

I spent about 30 years of my life with outside toilets, both composting and flushing kind,and quite frankly, if a toilet is no longer inside then I am not interested. I no longer care about the political correctness of anything on a cold and rainy pre-dawn.

[Muddypause]

Compost loos are generally built outside

I suspect that's right, but anyone who has visited LILI may have used their indoor one. Actually, IIRC, they extended their loo at the back of the building, and even though it is on the ground floor, it is quite high above the ground outside. The extension is built on stilts, and the 'container' is nothing more than a wheelie bin positioned underneath it, located under the seated box inside. When the bin is full, it is simply wheeled out (and sealed for a year) and another one wheeled into place.

I can't remember all the details of it, but I think there may be some way to separate solids from liquids.

[ina]

This somehow reminds me of the loos you see in old castles... Basically, you did your business into a hole in the outside wall, and the stuff splashed down into the moat. But they were indoor toilets.

Similarly worked a loo I found on a farm in Yugoslavia (ages ago, when it was still called that): A roofless shed over the edge of a pond, with a hole in the ground. Fed the ducks and the fishes. Nice duck eggs they had...

But I'm with Cornelian: PC or not - it's not much fun when you have to go in rain and storm, on a cold night, when you are probably suffering from rheumatism, arthritis or anything else that comes along when you get older!

[ohareward]

Here is a site selling composting toilets in NZ.

http://www.ecotech.co.nz

Your house would need some kind of basement or be on the side of a hill or slope.

Robin

[Shirley]

We are hoping to install a composting loo INDOORS at some stage - it's another thing on our wishlist - especially with our water supply problems. Seems such a waste to chuck potable (in our case pumped up from the well and filtered) water down the loo - alternatively we want to do something with rainwater for flushing.

We did get a portable composting toilet the other day - to use when camping etc. BioBags make it - it's like a plastic folding chair with a bag underneath it - you do your business and then tie up the bag - I think they suggest just one poo per bag but it is a blooming big bag and as such would be a waste...

[caithnesscrofter]

What we use is the "luggable loo". Which is just a bucket with a toilet seat on it. Each use you just line the bottom with sawdust, hay, grass clippings or something like that and it should last two people roughly 2 days maybe more.
After each "deposit" you sprinkle a bit of sawdust (is best) or other cover material and voila.. ready for the next deposit. When it's full into the humanure hacienda it goes, where you dig a wee depression in the centre of the pile and cover it back up with cover material. Give it a rinse with water collected off the roof of the hacienda, scrub a bit with toilet brush if needed (if you line the bucket carefully you usually dinna need to scrub) and throw the dirty water on top of the compost pile. You can buy the luggable loo on ebay for £20.00

http://search.ebay.co.uk/luggable-loo_W ... turnedZ300
If you are living in Scotland... "waterless closets" are now "allowed" under the Scottish Building Standards. Pretty much same rules as a normal toilet. Must have a certain amount of space in the room with the toilet in which case is a WLC instead of WC. Must be closed off from other rooms adequately and clean hand washing facilities must be located very near. However, I do not know what they would make of a bucket system in a permanent structure. My guess is that it would be allowed if the bucket didn't have to be transported through the house. Probably must be a wee hatch from the WLC to outside for disposing the contents into a proper compost bin. Then probably need hand washing facility at the compost bin as well?? I should maybe try and find out.

[Shirley]

I don't suppose it would matter if you were to use one - after all it's not a permanent fixture is it - and you don't need permission to use a potty ;)

[caithnesscrofter]

I don't suppose it would matter if you were to use one - after all it's not a permanent fixture is it - and you don't need permission to use a potty ;)

shoulda clarified. I was referring to if you were to use a simple bucket system in a house in place of a normal WC. LOL

[ina]

I used a "pottiloo" (I think they are called) for several months when I worked on a farm and lived in a caravan. It had water flush (with limited water supply, of course), and you were supposed to use some chemical in it to prevent it from getting smelly. But I found you really didn't need the chemicals; I just emptied the container regularly into the septic tank and it smelled no worse than any ordinary loo.

[catalyst]

cor blimey, loads of you want to see!
well, here it is on our blog:
http://www.portugalsmallholding.org/200 ... mpost-loo/

two good books on compost toilets: the humanure handbook, and lifting the lid.

a lot of portuguese villages dont have mains sewers (europe is now putting them in - crazy) and as far as i can tell most people use a bucket then simply put it on a compost heap. until now, we have used a wooden box (with toilet seat) over a hole, under a fruit tree. not such fun if it is raining.

[caithnesscrofter]

very good! I'd love to hear what it was built out of and more about the roof water heating coils if you wouldn't mind!