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):

1. Five Top Questions about Composting Toilets.  Fast answers to some of the most common questions people have about compost toilets.
2. What are Composting Toilets? A discussion of the basics of a composting toilet system and how it works.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Where Can Composting Toilets be Used? You may be surprised at all the locations suitable for composting toilets.
7. What is Wrong with a Flush Toilet? Read this article to find out.
8. Are Composting Toilets Safe? This article answers some of the concerns you may have about the safety of composting toilets and humanure.
   
9. What are the Environmental Benefits of Composting Toilets? An excellent discussion of why composting toilets are a good choice for the environment.
10. 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.

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1. Top Five Questions about Composting Toilets
2. Composting Toilet Manufacturer Reviews

Here is a list of several different composting toilet manufacturers, and links to the reviews written about them at this website.

If you would like to suggest another company for review, please use the contact information listed in the “About Me” page listed above:

1. BioLet Composting Toilets
2. Clivus Multrum Composting Toilets
3. EcoTech Carousel Composting Toilets
4. Envirolet Composting Toilets
5. Homemade Composting Toilets
6. Nature’s Head Composting Toilets
7. Phoenix Composting Toilets
8. Sun-Mar Composting Toilets
   

For additional  information about composting toilets, including answers to some of the most Frequently Asked Questions about Composting Toilets, and articles about the basics of Composting Toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Homepage.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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Local health officials in many regions may be extremely biased against any nontraditional waste disposal method.  Many cities don’t even allow rainwater catchment, so trying to convince them that humanure is a great idea is quite a challenge!  For this reason, most composting toilet owners in the United States do not even bother seeking permits, instead using them clandestinely in their homes.  Just like the “solar guerillas” who often illegally set up solar systems in their homes due to oppressive regulations, there appears to be a large composting toilet guerilla underground movement as well.

But there is encouraging changes happening as the number of users of composting toilets continues to grow.  In a recent New York Times article (dated July 6, 2009), reporter Kate Galbraith noted that many cities are now at least considering a policy that encourages (or accepts) composting toilets in residential homes.  She writes that, “Last month the city of Austin, Tex., approved its first composting toilet. Columbus, Ohio is adding some composting toilets to its parks [and] Officials in Dutchess County, N.Y., are studying the concept [of approving composting toilets].”

Galbraith also interviewed Jim Weaver of BioLet composting toilets, who noted that manufactured composting toilets is definitely a growth industry, with BioLet currently selling over 1,000 a units a year (and BioLet is a fairly small company compared to some other composting toilet manufacturers, including Sun-Mar and Envirolet).

There are also additional attempts to create national standardization and regulation criteria.   The National Sanitation International Foundation is now setting manufacturing standards and certifying composting toilets in the United States and abroad.

Still, the approval process is still not easy for most regions in the United States.  This is an area where more activism seems to be needed, and although the permiting process can be grueling (and often unsuccesful), silently installing a composting toilet does little to help on this front (although it does undoubtedly to a lot of good for the environment).   Activism and education seem to be the key to encouraging people to switch from the wasteful flush toilet method to the more environmentally sustainable practice of toilet composting.

For more information about composting toilet methods, composting toilet reviews, and information on how to build a homemade compost toilet, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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This ecovillage relied heavily on Joseph Jenkin’s humanure toilet composting system, sometimes referred to the “Five Gallon Bucket” composting toilet because, as the name implies, it involves using five gallon buckets to collect human waste (along with dry brown organic matter – we used sawdust from a local mill – and toilet paper).  This was a relatively new ecovillage when I joined it, and many members were strapped for cash as they were building their homes (out of strawbales, cob and other local, environmentally sustainable materials).

Jenkin’s composting toilets were cheap and easy to make (read more about how to build a composting toilet based on Jenkin’s design here).  So during the “pioneer phase” of this community’s development, humanure composting toilets were placed in various buildings and outhouses in the community and a rotational system was put in place whereby each member had a shift for emptying and cleaning the five gallon buckets into the humanure compost bins.  It is probably no surprise that this rotation was not very popular in the village.  Many members came up with often quite elaborate excuses to get out of the humanure rotation when their turn came up, and it was a source of considerable tension in the village.

Over the two years I spent living in this ecovillage, I had the personal “opportunity” to process the humanure on about twenty different occasions.   Missouri probably is not the best of climate situations in which to have such a toilet composting system (although the lack of building codes in the region was also what made it feasible in the ecovillage).  During the winter months the composting buckets (which were stored outdoors to limit odors indoors) would freeze and we would have to bring them inside to thaw out before it was possible to carry the dozen or more (often quite heavy) buckets to the composting bins located about a quarter mile away from where they were stored (there was a cart that could be used for this chore, but it was often broken, or difficult to use during the winter months when there was quite a bit of snow on the ground).  And during the hot summer months, the compost buckets became quite foul smelling and also very liquid in nature, so it was difficult to empty them into the bins without having quite a bit of fecal matter splashing onto your clothes and body.

Besides the physical strength needed to haul the buckets, the physical discomfort experienced when emptying and cleaning them, and the social tensions surrounding the humanure rotation system, there were other considerable health issues as well.  The five gallon buckets were stored in a single location as they were filled which was also near the main water cistern for the community.  The cistern, unsurprisingly, eventually became contaminated with E. Coli bacteria.   At community dinner time, I also often wondered if some of the flies that ended up in our kitchen might have visited the humanure composting heap earlier in the day as well.

All in all, you could say my experience with this system was not positive.  However, this does not mean I discount this toilet composting system entirely.  I believe many of the problems with the system at the ecovillage was due to poor decisions made by community members about where to store the buckets, how to deal with disposing of the waste, and so forth.  I also believe the community had long outgrown the usefulness of such a system, and should have invested the time and resources into developing an easier to use system that could deal with the growing population of the village in a sanitary method (I believe the community would have benefited greatly by investing in a manufactured composting toilet system using both self-contained and remote composting toilets in their facilities).

I do still believe Jenkin’s humanure composting toilet system has an important role to play in the toilet composting debate.  For single individuals (or very small family units) with little financial resources and a strong commitment to composting their waste, I believe the system may work quite well for them.  However, for larger family units and for individuals with disabilities, busy schedules, or a general desire to minimize their contact with unprocessed humanure waste, a manufactured composting toilet model should definitely be considered instead.

If you are interested in reading more articles about toilet composting systems, including micro-flush and vacuum composting toilets, and composting toilet reviews, please visit the Toilet Composting Homepage.

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2. Composting Toilet Manufacturer Reviews

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.

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Q) What are Composting Toilets?

A) Like a compost pile or a compost bin, composting toilets use rapid aerobic decomposition to turn organic waste matter into a rich, compost that can be used as a soil amendment.  Most compost toilets use little or no water.  Instead, you “flush” using a dry medium like sawdust or peat moss, which helps keep the composting waste in balance.

There are two different types of composting toilet systems that are most-commonly used in houses: all-in-one  “self-contained” composting toilets, which are convenient for small spaces, and “remote” composting toilet systems, in which a large composting reactor is located away from the toilet (often in the basement of a house).  For more information, read the article “Types of Composting Toilet Systems.”

Q: Do composting toilets smell?

A:  If they are well-maintained, they should not smell at all.  Some models even have less arguably less odors than conventional toilets (vacuum-flush composting toilets).  If there is an odor, that means there is something very wrong with how the system is being maintained.  Modern day manufactured composting toilets bear absolutely no resemblance to outdoor outhouses.

Q: Why would anyone want to purchase one?

A:  There are many reasons people are interested in buying composting toilets.  For some, it may be because they are located in an area where septic and sewage systems are difficult or costly to build and maintain.  For many others, they choose composting toilets for environmental reasons (for more information, read “What are the Environmental Benefits of Composting Toilets “).

Q: Are Composting Toilets Expensive?

A: When you initially compare them in price to a regular flush toilet, composting toilets may seem a little costly.  But when you compare what the costs are over time, you will find that composting toilets are actually the better choice financially.  With a composting toilet you will save on water, sewage or septic fees, and also produce a valuable soil additive.  For more details, check out the article “How Much do Composting Toilets Cost?”

Q:  What is the end product of the toilet composting process like, and what do I do with it?

A:  After the composting process is finished, you will have a dry, fluffy odorless material that looks a little bit like soil.  It is safe to touch, and is a great fertilizing source for plants, shrubs and trees.  For more information about how to use the compost from composting toilets, read “What is Humanure and What Can I do with It?“  If you are concerned about the safety of composting toilets, you may also want to read “Are Composting Toilets Safe?”

Although these are some of the most common questions asked, if you have more questions answered, or want to read more articles and reviews of popular composting toilets models (including a Buyers Guide to Composting Toilets), please return to the Toilet Composting Homepage.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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Similarities between Homemade and Manufactured Compost Toilets

Each type of composting system will be used in basically the same manner.  After using the toilet, you will add some brown organic matter (for example, peat moss or sawdust) to keep the compost balanced between green and brown matter.  Also, both homemade and manufactured composting toilets will produce the same end product: a rich compost that can be used to amend soil around trees, bushes, flowers and non-edible plants.

Differences between Homemade and Manufactured Compost Toilets

One of the major differences is how the composting process will work with each of these systems.  With a manufactured system, the composting will generally take place within a centralized composting chamber located beneath the toilet, in a series of rotating buckets, or with self-contained models, right under the seat.

Some models will have a built in turning system to speed up the process, others will provide ample space so that the compost will move slowly downwards over time and will be fully composted by the time it reaches the bottom of the chamber.  With manufactured toilets, users will only come in contact with the toilet contents once they are fully compost and ready to be used.

Homemade compost toilets, on the other hand, generally rely on a small container under the compost toilet being emptied into an outdoors compost bin.  With a homemade compost toilet, users will have to empty uncomposted materials into the compost bin where the composting process will then take place.

Advantages of a Manufactured Compost Toilet

The ease of use is one of the main advantages of a manufactured composting toilet.  Users will not have to haul waste to an outdoor composting toilet, nor will they have to worry about turning the composting waste, animals entering the compost bins and so forth.  Although users do need to ensure that there is a right balance of brown and green composting materials in the chamber (by making sure they add brown matter when using the toilet), most manufactured compost toilets require little effort from their owners.

Other advantages of manufactured compost toilets are their aesthetics and comfort.   Many models look remarkably similar to flush toilets (there are even micro flush composting toilets that are nearly identical in appearance to flush toilets).  Most models are manufactured for maximum comfort and ease of use.

Finally, many manufactured compost toilets have been certified by different health and sanitation agencies, and this can assist with getting local permits approving these systems.

Advantages of Homemade Compost Toilets

The primary advantage of a homemade compost toilet is the price: you can build your own composting toilet for under $50 in materials.  For those wanting a quick and cheap set up, you can not beat a homemade compost toilet.

Many would argue that another huge advantage of building your own compost toilet is the sense of accomplishment you will have and the intimate knowledge you will develop regarding the composting process.

For more information, comparisons and reviews of toilet composting systems, return to the Toilet Composting Homepage.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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Envirolet is a Canadian based company manufacturering composting toilets since 1977 (they have distributors in the United States and Europe as well).  Sancor Industries manufacturers the Envirolet Composting toilets, and you are able to purchase these directly from the manufacturer.

There are currently four types of envirolet composting models available.  Their Waterless Self-Contained non-electric model is the most affordable, costing around $1750 USD.  This model contains a small wind turbine on the vent stack which assists with ventilation (instead of an electric fan).  Their centralized systems include both waterless and low flush models.  Their electric waterless remote system is sized for eight individuals, and costs about $2300 USD (not including installation costs).  Their newest model, the “FlushSmart” composting toilet, looks and operates in a manner that is remarkably similar to a flush toilet, and starts around $3300 USD.  You will need to install a drain system to work with the low flush systems.

Envirolet seems to be a good choice particularly for consumers interested in flush toilet composting systems.  These models still use considerable less amount of water than regular flush toilets, but some may find them distasteful in how they mimic a very wasteful and environmentally harmful technology (see “What is Wrong with a Flush Toilet?”).

EcoTech is a manufacturer of probably the most popular carousel composting toilet system on the market (for a discussion of different composting systems read “Types of Toilet Composting Systems“).  The EcoTech carousel is based on a Norwegian composting toilet design popular with residents of housing developments in Scandanavia. There are currently over 35,000 EcoTech carousel composting toilets currently installed in Norway.

The carousel features four rotating composting chambers that are meant to be emptied anywhere between twice a year and once every four years depending on model and use.  There are two main models available, the medium and large EcoTech Carousel.

The medium EcoTech carousel model is built for daily use by up to four individuals, and starts around $2700 USD.  The large model can accomodate up to six individuals with daily use, and starts around $4400.  (Listed prices do not include importanat accessories such as heaters, exhaust fans, pipes and fittings, nor do they include any installation or shipping costs).

A huge advantage of the EcoTech carousel system is that the system design ensures that no “fresh” material can mix with the older composting materials (which can be an issue with certain self-contained and remote composting toilet systems).  You will need a basement or similar space underneath the toilet in order to use this system as there are, unfortunately, no self-contained models.  The EcoTech carousel is well suited for four to six individuals using the system daily, and will thus suit most family needs.

If you are interested in reading reviews of other composting systems, including a comparison of the Sun-Mar and BioLet composting toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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For a long time, it was argued that the first commercially designed composting toilets were developed in Sweden in the 1930s or 1940s.  Apparently what prompted this development in Sweden was the extremely rocky soil conditions in the Swedish countryside that prevented the installation of sewage pipes or septic systems, and composting toilets emerged as a solution to this problem.

However, recent research at Envirolet has shown that there were much earlier models of composting toilets available.  For example, in 1881 there was an advertisement in “the Ironmongers’ Catalogue” for a “Self-Acting Earth Closet” which according to the advertisement is “A substitute for the Water Closet, securing healthy homes, inoffensive drains, and garden fertility.”  And an even earlier example is found in 1860 for the “Earth Commode” by the English vicar Reverend Henry Moule.  Moule developed this composting toilet in an effort to combat the ravages of cholera in London at the time which threatened the life of many of his parishioners.  Although some schools and military installations adopted these toilets, and they were also used in India as well, they never received the wide-spread adoption he had hoped for.  There is, however,  no doubt that in the mid-19th century there was experimentation with several different composting toilet models.

However, regardless of these early commercial composting toilet examples, it wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that composting toilets began to gain in popularity and use worldwide.  The design of modern composting toilet systems originated in Scandinavia during the 1960s.  During the 1970s, these designs started to be transported to Canada, Australia and the United States, which is when many modern composting toilet manufacturers got their start.

Some of the models developed during the 1960s and 1970s had issues with odor and ease of maintenance, and during the last decade or two there has been quite a few advances in the composting toilet industry.  Composting toilets manufactured today are practically odorless, easy to use and several models are are now certified as completely safe and sanitary for home usage by health sanitation agencies.  (Although just because a model has not received a formal certification does not mean that it is unsafe or unsanitary either).

There have been many changes in composting toilet designs over the past 150 years or so.  Modern composting toilets are clean, easy to use and appear to be here to stay.  If you are interested in learning more about the advantages and disadvantages of composting toilets, how composting toilets benefit the environment or answers to commonly asked questions about toilet composting systems, please visit the Toilet Composting Home Page.

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However, one huge advantage of having a composting toilet in your home is that it it will not only deal with human waste, but also a wide variety of different types of organic waste your household likely produces.  If you live in an apartment or other dwelling that does not have access to an outdoor compost bin, you will find that your composting toilet will serve this purpose well.  Composting toilets are able to recycle all sorts of kitchen scraps, be it vegetable peelings, burnt rice or leftover oatmeal.  You can also throw in your left over egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds.

But that is not all: composting toilets can also handle “brown” organic matter as well, including paper, disposable cotton diapers, organic tampons (with no plastic tags) and cardboard.  In fact, by using it to dispose of paper and other dry composting materials, you will help keep the compost mixture in balance. (For more information on how toilet composting systems work, read “How Toilet Composting Works“).

You can even place yard waste in your composting toilet!  Grass clippings, leaves, and almost every kind of waste plant matter that you might throw into an ordinary composting bin is also suitable for a composting toilet.

You can also compost old clothing made from organic fibers, cotton rugs, blankets and more.  Just be sure that when you add cloth to your composting toilet that it does not contain any synthetic matter.

In fact, you may find so many uses for your composting toilet in your home that you will regret not purchasing a larger model so you can compost even more of your home waste.  (For more information about how to select the right size composting toilet for your family, read the “Guide to Purchasing a Composting Toilet“).

Composting toilets help benefit the environment in multiple ways: by composting organic materials instead of sending them to landfills or sewage treatment plants, by saving on water, by saving on social expenditures, and more.  You will find that by installing a composting toilet in your home you will be able to dramatically reduce the amount of waste your family sends to the landfill and instead be able to turn that waste into a valuable natural resource (compost).

For more information about composting toilets, including plans on how to build a compost toilet, please visit the Composting Toilet Home Page.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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Sun-Mar Composting Toilet

If you are seriously considering purchasing a composting toilet there are several issues to keep in mind as you review different models, to ensure that the composting toilet model you purchase will work efficiently and reliably in your home.

First, you need to consider what capacity you really need given the location and daily use the composting toilet is likely to receive. Be certain that you are selecting a composting toilet  that is large enough for your needs. A good rule of thumb is to purchase a composting toilet model that has at least 25-40% greater capacity than you think you will need. That will allow both for a margin of error as well as the ability to add an additional user or two if circumstances change.  Often the price difference between a small and medium sized composting toilet system is often negligible as well.  An extra couple hundred dollars spent today may be well worth the expense in a few years when an unexpected family member comes for a long term stay!

When sizing a system you will also need to consider whether it will be used occasionally or whether it will have regular, daily usage.  This is especially true if you are considering purchasing a self-contained model. Although some self-contained models boost capacity for four or more people, this is only based on “occasional” usage.

You will also need to decide whether you will be purchasing an electric model or non-electic composting toilet.  Non-electric models are ideal for remote locations that are off-grid, and for cabins and houses where the toilets will only be having occasional use.  But for regular, daily use your family may appreciate the ease of the electric models.  You may find that you have many less problems with maintaining the correct moisture level and no odor problems with an electric model, while a non-electric model may require regular, often daily, maintenance to keep it in order.

Finally, you should look into the building codes for your area and see if there are any requirements that need to be met by your composting toilet system.  By installing your composting toilet up to code you will be able to avoid many problematic issues down the road if you ever decide to sell your home.

Switching from a flush toilet system to a toilet composting system is one of the best environmental choices you can make for your household.  It is estimated that a single composting toilet can save over 26 gallons a day of water that would otherwise be flushed down the toilet, and you will also be producing a valuable end-product (humus) that will further benefit the environment.

By keeping these criteria in mind as you review composting toilet models, you will be able to assure that the model you purchase is right for you and your family and avoid disappointment and frustration down the line.  For further advice regarding the environmental and social benefits of using composting toilets, and composting toilet reviews of popular composting toilet manufactures (Sun-Mar, Biolet and more), please visit the Toilet Composting Home Page.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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There are several reasons why flush toilet systems are actually quite harmful to both the environment and society, and why switching to an alternative system based on composting toilet matter should be pursued.  Below are three important reasons why flush toilet systems are the wrong choice:

1)  Flush toilets waste enormous amounts of water each year. Clean, potable water is a rapidly diminishing global resource that flush toilet systems are quite literally flushing away.  Besides the enormous waste of water flush toilet systems promote, there is also a massive financial burden as well associated with providing the water needed by these systems.

In order to keep the water flowing to flush toilets, expensive dams must be built, water must often be piped hundreds of miles, treated, and then after all of this expense and effort, over 40% of the water will be flushed away, and often sent to a sewage treatment plant which has its own expenses associated with building and upkeep. Particularly for struggling “developing” countries, flush toilets involve an enormous financial burden alongside the waste of a very valuable and important natural resources.

2) The effluent from flush toilet systems is causing enormous problems globally for human, animal and marine life. Sewage systems often fail due to broken pipes and or over burdened facilities.  In many cases, this results in untreated effluent running into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.  This effluent is a leading cause of dangerous algae blooms, and it can also harm marine life and humans using these waterways.

3) Flush toilets prevent the recycling of human waste into a valuable soil additive. When human waste is instead dealt with using a toilet composting system, the end-product is valuable and nutrient rich compost that is suitable to use as a soil amendment around tree crops and other plants.  Human waste is actually a valuable resource when recycled properly, but flush toilet systems instead treat it and dispose of it in an unproductive manner.  Instead farmer turn to synthetic fertilizers which are often dangerous in their own right.

The present tendency to rely on flush toilet systems is a  wasteful and expensive choice.  Although at first glance flush toilets may appear to be a necessary and convenient “modern” technology.  But in reality they create an enormous burden on both our communities and the environment.

If you are interested in reading more about the environmental benefits and the social advantages of switching from a flush toilet system to a composting toilet system, visit the Toilet Composting Home Page, where you will find numerous informative articles about compost toilets and reviews of different composting toilet systems.

Are you interested in using solar energy, but are discouraged by the high prices of solar panels? If so, click here to learn how to build you own solar panels for less than $200!

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However, improperly composted materials can pose a health risk, just as untreated waste from a flush toilet will threaten human health if let into the environment before being fully treated.   In many ways, however, composting toilets are safer for the environment than septic and sewage systems.  Septic systems pose considerable risks for groundwater contamination in many areas, and sewage systems often fail, the end result being that raw, untreated human waste is allowed to seep into our environment.  Composting toilets run none of these risks.

The process of turning human waste into an environmentally safe and usable product (compost) will take between three months to a few years depending on the system, the climate in which it is located and the temperature of the composting materials.  Some countries, Sweden for example, will allow the urine from certain composting toilet models to be used in agricultural applications in as early as six months.  Human feces pose a much greater risk to human health if not composted properly, and for this reason many countries (the United States included) ban the use of human compost on agricultural crops, although it is generally approved for for non-edible plant uses by most government agencies.

Many government agencies require that composted feces be allowed to break down for a minimum of one year before being used as a mulch around non-edible plants, trees and bushes.  However, many “humanure” advocates say that human feces are completely safe for all agricultural purposes once fully composted.  For example, Joseph Jenkins, author of The Humanure Handbook, is a strong advocate of using composted humanure for agriculture.  It has been argued by these advocates that the reluctance to use this compost agriculturally in the United States and elsewhere arises more from finding the idea aesthetically unpleasing than from real, scientifically-based concerns.

However, regardless of the agricultural argument surrounding humanure application to crops, as long as basic instructions are followed and adequate time is allowed for the composting process, the end-product produced by composting toilet systems should be safe to handle and use.  Composting toilet systems do require that owners assume the responsibility to monitor the composting process and ensure that the materials are fully composted prior to application.

Education about composting toilets is an important part of encouraging their use in the so-called “developed” world.  Many health agencies in the United States and elsewhere have little knowledge of these systems and treat them with considerable suspicion.  Misinformation and suspicion about composting toilets often makes it difficult to get a permit approving their use.  In order to combat this suspicion, it is important that owners and users of composting toilets be open to discussing the systems with others and promoting their use.

For more information and articles about composting toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.

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Fortunately there are now new portable composting toilet models being manufactured that are ideal for campers, boaters and RVs.  And if you aren’t interested in purchasing a ready-made composting toilet for your next outing, there is also the option to build a cheap portable composting toilet at your final destination in a matter of a few hours.

Manufactured Portable Composting Toilets

There are now several models of portable composting toilets on the market:

1)  Large Portable Composting Toilets

If you are looking for a portable composting toilet similar to the portable toilets you see at fairs and other outdoor event, you should take a look at the BIOWC portable composting toilet.  This model is suitable for events where there will be large numbers of people in need of a portable toilet.  The downside may be that it is quite large and you will need a trailer of some sort to transport it to the location where you will be using the portable composting toilet.

2) Medium Sized Portable Composting Toilets

If you are looking for a portable composting toilet for your recreational vehicle or boat, there are several decent ones available on the market.  Nature’s Head has a small self-contained composting toilet that is quite popular with boaters.  You will need no chemicals to maintain this composting toilet.  The only thing you will need to add is peat moss to keep the composting mixture balanced in terms of green and brown organic matter.  The Sun-Mar Mobile is another excellent choice in terms of medium sized portable composting toilet (although also a bit pricey – it costs around $1600 U.S.).

3) Small Portable Composting Toilets

Jimmy’s Thunderbox Portable Composting Toilet is ideal for camping and has a unique design. This portable composting toilet folds down to 1 inch in height and weighs under 10 lbs, and only take minutes to set up.  It is manufactured in Australia, however, so if you live in the United States and Canada you will have to plan for adequate shipping time.  The cost is quite low, and the toilet relies on you using degradable composting toilet bags which you will also have to purchase.

Another option is the Boi Toi Nature Bio-Toilet, which also relies on decomposable composting bags and is available in the United States at Cabelas outdoor stores.  It is only four inches high when folded (13×21 inches in diameter) and weighs under five pounds, also quite affordable.

Build a Composting Toilet on Site

If you are interested in an even cheaper option for a composting toilet outdoors, you can build a composting toilet toilet on site cheaply using five gallon composting containers.  If you are interested in learning how to build your own composting toilet, you can read the instructions here.

For even more information about composting toilets, including articles on How Toilet Composting Works and the Environemental Benefits of Composting Toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.

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If you are looking for a way to lessen your ecological footprint and participate positively in solutions to improve the environment, then you should seriously consider switching from a flush toilet to a composting toilet system.  Flush toilets waste enormous amounts of water each year, but composting toilets operate with little or no water and their end product (compost) is a valuable soil amendment as well.

However, one downside of switching to composting toilets is that the manufactured brands can be quite expensive – generally starting around $1500 for a basic, no-frills model.  However, it is possible to build a composting toilet on your own for well under $50 in materials.

Owner built (also called site built) composting toilets are generally passive in design – meaning they rely on natural instead of mechanical forces.  Since they do not have a built in electrical unit, they will need to be monitored more closely than manufactured composting toilets and involve more labor in terms of their care and maintenance (more on this below, in the section “How to Use Your New Composting Toilet”).  However, some would say that with this responsibility comes rewards including an intimate knowledge of how your body is literally recycling waste positively into the environment.

This project will only take a few hours once all items needed to build it are assembled.  The finished composting toilet will be 18” wide and 21” long.

Materials You Will Need to Build a Composting Toilet

• Four to five identical 5 gallon buckets with lids
• A standard sized toilet seat
• A hinged plywood top for the seat to rest on made of 3/4” plywood.  The main portion of the top should measure 18” by 18”, attached with hinges to a 3”x18” board
• A box for the plywood top (and seat) to rest on, measuring 18 by 21 inches in width, and 10” deep.  This can be built from two 10”x18”x1” boards and two 10”x21”x1” boards screwed together.
• Four legs to be attached to the box (3/4” x 3” x 12”) using screws (or a nail and hammer).

You will need to cut a top in the plywood where the seat hole is (draw a circle to cut out using the seat as a template on the top of the composting toilet).  The hole should be set about 1 ½ inches back from the front edge of the plywood.   When screwing or nailing the legs to the inside of the box, be sure that the top edge of the box is about 1/2” below the top edge of the five gallon bucket, so that the rim will sit tight against the underside of the toilet seat.

How to Use Your New Composting Bucket

Now that you have finished your composting toilet, it’s ready to use.  Well, yes, technically, but there are some additional materials you will need to keep the composting process in order:

1) A Compost Bin. Unlike most manufactured, active designs where the composting process takes place inside a chamber attached to the toilet, when you build a composting toilet based on the above passive design, you will have to transport it to a composting bin outdoors for it to undergo the composting process.  You may want to locate this composting bin in your garden next to your normal garden composting pile, and you may need more than one bin if there are many people in your household.  For more information about purchasing or building your own composting bin, visit The Composting Bin Website.

2) Organic “Brown Matter.” This will be used to cover your “deposits” when using the toilet in order to create a balanced compost formula. This can be sawdust, peat moss, leaves, hay straw, rice hulls or any other relatively dry and brown organic matter.

You want to ensure that your composting toilet creates a nutrient-rich compost that is clean and odor-free (this finished compost is often referred to as “humanure”).  To create this, you will need to ensure that whenever anyone uses the toilet, they sprinkle the organic brown matter on top.  The material in the bucket should be moist, but not wet.

Once a bucket is fully, you will need to transport it outside to your composting bin, while placing an empty five gallon bucket in the toilet to replace the full one.  In my experience, people often wait until they have three or four full containers (depending how many they have in reserve) to do all the emptying and cleaning at once.  This is not a terribly pleasant task, although it is also not as unpleasant as you might imagine it to be as well.  Be sure to cover the emptied waste with additional brown material, and to clean the buckets well so that no odors will linger.  You should not need to turn this material, and it should compost on its own to create a rich humus material in six months to a year.

For additional information and articles about composting toilets, please return to the Toilet Composting Home Page.  I hope you have found this information about how to build a composting toilet to be useful.

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