Toilet Composting » Resources

Frequently Asked Questions about Composting Toilets

M Day — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:58:58 +0000

If you are just learning about composting toilets, or have an interest in purchasing one for your home, cabin, boat or RV, you are likely to have many questions.

Below you will find links to articles from this website answering some of the most common questions I have encountered regarding composting toilets. (If you are unable to find an answer to your question, or have questions or comments about the answers I have posted, feel free to send me an email using the contact information provided above):

Five Top Questions about Composting Toilets. Fast answers to some of the most common questions people have about compost toilets.
What are Composting Toilets? A discussion of the basics of a composting toilet system and how it works.
What is Humanure and What Can I do With It? Answers questions about how to use and the safety of the compost produced by composting toilet systems.
What Can You Put in a Compost Toilet? Besides the obvious (human waste, toilet paper), there are many other ways most composting toilet systems can be used to process organic household waste. This article discusses the many different ways you can use a compost toilet in your home.
How Much Do Composting Toilet Cost? If you are considering purchasing a composting toilet, you may initially be surprised by the price tag. But composting toilets are actually an excellent investment for your home, and this article explains why.
Where Can Composting Toilets be Used? You may be surprised at all the locations suitable for composting toilets.
What is Wrong with a Flush Toilet? Read this article to find out.
Are Composting Toilets Safe? This article answers some of the concerns you may have about the safety of composting toilets and humanure.
What are the Environmental Benefits of Composting Toilets? An excellent discussion of why composting toilets are a good choice for the environment.
Where can I learn more about composting toilets? For more articles about the fundamentals of composting toilets and how they work, check out the “Composting Toilet Basics” section of this website. To learn about what kind of composting toilet system is right for you, you should check out “Composting Toilet Systems.” If you are interested in reading reviews about different manufacturers of composting toilets, check out the “Composting Toilet Reviews” category of this website. There are also pages devoted to documenting many Online Resources for composting toilets, and suggestions for Books on Composting Toilets that you can read. You can also return to the Toilet Composting Homepage to read the most recent posts about composting toilets.

Ecological Sanitation and Composting Toilets

M Day — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:27:01 +0000

Ecological sanitation is a new, and still emerging, paradigm for dealing with human and household waste in a manner that is beneficial for the environment. Sometimes referred to as EcoSan or Eco-San, one of the primary tenants of this paradigm is that human and household “waste” is actually a valuable resource instead of a waste product to be thrown away.

Ecological sanitation systems seek to to create “closed-loop” sanitation systems by working to make the nutrients from the output of human feces and urine available to input into agricultural uses (which then, by providing food for humans becomes “output” again). Ecological sanitation methods also promote soil fertility without using chemical fertilizers and work to assure food security for future generations.

According to biointensive agricultural expert John Jeavons, “Each person’s urine and manure contain approximately enough nutrients to produce enough food to feed that person,” and ecological sanitation methods aim to capitalize on this value of human “waste.” Ecological sanitation methods also aim to reduce the amount of soil, surface and groundwater contamination due to septic or sewage based waste disposal systems.

Composting toilets play an important role in many ecological sanitation based systems, as they are able to turn human and household organic waste into humus which can then be recycled into the environment in very beneficial ways. The composting toilets used in ecological santiation systems can be either high-tech and low-tech, and both homemade composting toilets and manufactured ones have a role to play in this system.

The homemade composting toilet system developed by Joseph Jenkins is one example of a low-tech (and nearly free) composting toilet that is integrated into an ecological sanitation paradigm. Joseph Jenkins has also long been an advocate for using the compost produced by these toilets (which he calls “humanure”) for agricultural purposes. (For more information about humanure, read Jenkin’s book (available online) “The Humanure Handbook.” You can also read a short article from this website entitled “What is Humanure and What Can I Do with It?“)

As long as the waste disposal system is a closed-loop system and beneficial to the environment, there are many different ways in which ecological sanitation systems can be organized. Other possible elements that ecological sanitation systems can include are vermicomposting (worm composting), solar toilets, and in some cases, leach fields and planter cells (such as with an earthship design).

For more information, you can read Christine Werner’s excellent article on the topic, “Closing the Loop through Ecological Sanitation” (PDF file). There are several EcoSan centers globally, including the EcoSan Center at the Norwegian University fo Life Science UMB and EcoWaters in the USA.

For more information on toilet composting systems and for answers about frequently asked questions about composting toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.

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The Composting Toilet System Book

M Day — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:40:20 +0000

The Composting Toilet System Book by David Del Porto and Carol Steinfield in 2000, covers a wide range of different options for installing a composting toilet in your home. This book is a must for anyone seriously installing a composting toilet in their home. The book goes into extensive detail on how to choose, install and maintain a composting toilet in your home. One of the best advantages of this book is that it sees the composting toilet not as a single appliance in your household, but part of a greater household system that can reduce pollution and save significantly on water costs.

One of the authors, David Del Porto, has sold and and serviced thousands of composting toilets since 1972. He has also help write industry performance and regulation standards, and designed composting toilets and graywater systems for Greenpeace facilities and for different developing countries. He is one of the leading experts in his field and really knows the topic well.

In The Composting System B0ok you will find descriptions of over forty different composting toilet systems, including both manufactured and site-built composting toilets. They discuss everything from what are the best toilet stools to go with your self-contained composting toilet to how to best install a micro-flush composting toilet in your home. The book has extensive tips on how to choose, plan, and install your entire composting toilet system, including some information that the toilet manufacturers themselves will never tell you about how to maintain and install their composting toilets. You will also find out how you can help reduce pollution and help protect yourself and your community against rising water and sewage costs in the future by choosing a composting toilet for your home.

The book also explains the manner in which new composting technology has improved so that composting toilets are now compatible with the most upscale bathrooms, while also providing extensive technical information about these systems (although it is about eight years old at this point and even more developments have been made in recent years). In addition, The Composting Toilet System Book provides important information about United States permitting requirements for different states, as well as how these composting toilet systems can be best integrated with graywater systems. If you are about to embark on the process of trying to get a permit for your composting toilet, you should definitely take a look at the information provided in this book.

You should be aware that the Composting Toilet System Book is not cheap, running around fifty dollars a copy. But it is easily the best printed resource available for people installing and maintaining composting toilets in their homes, and is well worth the price. The Composting Toilet System Book is available from many online retailers, and you can purchase it from Amazon.com here: The Composting Systems Book.

For more information about composting toilet systems, including additional reviews of composting toilet books, please return to Toilet Composting.

Books about Composting Toilets

M Day — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:55:49 +0000

If you are not finding the information you want online, or just want to read more about composting toilets, there have been several excellent books published on the topic. Here are some the best composting toilet books currently available through Amazon.com:

1. The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins

Possibly the best known book about composting toilet waste, Jenkins book is a must for anybody interested in understanding the composting process. Well researched, Jenkins has been one of the strongest proponents of using the compost from composting toilets for agricultural purposes. In this book he outlines why he feels this is safe, and what you need to know about building and maintaining your composting toilet. Not everyone agrees with everything Jenkins says, but he makes his arguments persuasively and with concrete evidence to back his arguments up.

2. The Toilet Papers by Sim Van der Ryn

This book was originally published in the 1970s, and made an important contribution to the back-to-land movement at that time. Chelsea Green Publishing has just brought it back into print so that a whole new generation an enjoy its informative and at times irreverent style. The book contains loads of information about the history of composting waste and several DIY plans for building your own composting toilet. Some may consider some of the information a bit dated, but all in all, a great book!

3. Composting Toilet Systems Book by David del Porto and Carol Steinfield

Another excellent choice for the home composting toilet library. Written in a less humorous and more serious style than the two selections above, this relatively recent publication has extensive information about current composting toilet systems and the public health aspects of composting human waste. More than 40 different systems are discussed and the authors also include invaluable information about the regulatory requirements for composting toilets in every state in the United States. Another must have!

For additional online resources about composting toilets, visit the online resources composting toilets page, where you will find an online version of Jenkin’s Humanure book, US EPA requirements for composting toilets and more.

For additional articles about composting toilet systems, please return to the Toilet Composting homepage.

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Online Resources on Toilet Composting

M Day — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:52:30 +0000

Here are some important links to further information about toilet composting:

Online Articles about Toilet Composting

Books about Toilet Composting

Online version of The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins

Plans and Instructions on How to Build Your Own Composting Toilet

The $25 (or less) Hinged-Top Humanure Toilet
Solar Composting Toilet - A very nice photo essay of people building a solar composting toilet at Dunton Farms.
55 Gallon Drum Compost Toilet

Composting Toilet Manufacturer Pages

Composting Toilet Reviews

Compost Toilet Reviews from Comparethebrands.com

For some great recommendations of published sources about composting toilets, view the article “Books about Composting Toilets.”

To read more online articles, return to the Toilet Composting homepage.

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