[Greenbuilding] Composting Toilet

[Antonioli Dan]

We use the bucket system and have three “humanure haciendas” on the land. John Jenkins “Humanure Handbook” is an amazing read….you’ll learn more about bacteria in this book than in college biology!

We use five gallon buckets and then transfer the contents to used plastic pickle barrels. We date the barrels and let the contents sit in them for a year. During the dry season they lids are off, when it rains the lids are on. We sometimes add red wrigglers and bokashi to help break things down. 

Because we have the space, we empty the pickle barrels and let the humanure further biodegrade for 6-12 months. We then use it on non-edible landscaping. 

The pickle barrels can be a bit unruly, and we only fill them slightly above half-way so they’re not too heavy. You can also empty the contents into a well mulched pile and keep adding organic matter. If you don’t have a structure over it you can tarp it with a vinyl tarp during the rainy season. The pile we form is a ways away from the haciendas and we don’t want to have to carry the bucket that far every time we empty it. We just hosted a large workshop and it was convenient to have the pickle barrels next to the haciendas. We use sawdust when we have it, but since we ran out we’ve been using finely ground mulch we make with the mulcher, which seems to be better because it’s not only fine woody material that curbs the order, but it has more biodiversity to it and increases the metabolic processing. 

Cheap, convenient, no moving parts other than your arms and legs. Just takes a little getting used to if you’re not familiar with it. Definitely WAY better than many of the disgusting outhouses I’ve used, as well as the portapotties that get dirty and stink to high heaven!

Dan Antonioli
Laytonville Ecovillage




On Jul 11, 2017, at 3:19 PM, John Salmen <terrain at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Your not going to like this suggestion – all I can say is they are cheap, the technology works extremely well for composting - and as a reference I had a very motivated vegan client in Portland (ad Dr. no less) who used these in all of the bathrooms of his turn of the century house.
>  
> http://www.appropedia.org/How_to_make_and_use_a_sawdust_toilet
>  
> this plan is decent and works surprisingly well – no bins to empty – but I would spend a little mental energy on drilling out and attaching some venting (computer fan works well).
>  
> I designed and built quite a few toilet systems decades ago. Not an easy thing if you are trying to make everything work. It is difficult to make a vented, liquid tight system – which is why commercial composting toilets are basically useless. If they deal with liquid they use heat – baked poop. I did design a very nice toilet for a client that circulated liquid as a spray that both denitrifies and allows for some evaporation (it was a handpump – similar to a flush handle and children especially enjoyed that feature). This was a permanent installation that is still in use 20 years later but was expensive. The venting was complex but was essentially a well designed chimney. It was a flip system (2 containers – each lasted one year allowing the previous years collection to be emptied after a year – a dry compost at that point).
>  
> Ironically I think the bucket system is the best. Like a large dog poop bag – but with better followup.
>  
> For the 5 gal. bucket toilet - Swap the buckets out as soon as you want to – buy as many buckets as you need. Seal with lids (leaving the vent hole open) and date the buckets – leave them for 1 year or so and then use as a tree fertilizer – can give them a shake every now and then but mouldering is effective.
>  
> J john
>  
> From: Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Lynelle Hamilton
> Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2017 2:41 PM
> To: Green Building
> Subject: [Greenbuilding] Composting Toilet
>  
> Hi All,
> 
> Has anyone had any experience with self-contained composting toilets? I am putting one in my temporary living space, while I build. I may leave the unit in the structure afterward. I'd prefer one that does not require specialized venting parts (some do) and that does not require a drain to send liquids to the outside, but will consider one if the unit is clearly a better choice.  I've looked at Sun-Mar, Excel and one from Sutherland Ontario, but have no idea which models perform well. It's for one person. Cost, of course, is a factor!
> 
> Many thanks!
> 
> Lynelle
> 
>  
> 
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