Composting toilet - pros and cons
Considering changing to a composting toilet (we boondock about 70% of the time). I would like to hear the pros and cons from those that either have one or have done some research.
Forum Discussion
where are you getting a 40 or 50 gal black tank to start with, I would like to know that's over a month of camping for me ha-ha.
you don't have to dump it all, most black tanks are in that 25 gal range so if you are getting full a macerator will let you take say 5 or 10 gal out of it to let you go longer till you leave. maybe not as clear as it should be with my choice of words, but there would be no difference in that or dumping a cassette over week, or even dumping your liquids from a composting. also composting doesn't really fully compost so what are you doing with your bio solids when you empty that? the only real waist free way is a incinerating toilet but they are in that 5K range.
Agreed. These "composting" toilets, that just kind of sit on the floor in a van-build and hold their contents, there is not sufficient holding time or volume of bio material in the toilet for there to be any composting or neutralization of the bacteria and bad stuff contained in feces. It takes quite a bit of time for natural processes to neutralize feces into "safe" compost that can be reintegrated into soil.
The dumping of the solids tank in a typical composting toilet is a process where the user has to open the device, pull out the solids bin and then figure out how to get it into a plastic bag that is then, usually, put in regular trash. And we've had comments here about how terrible it would be to pump black tank contents into a vault toilet or other outhouse, all the while it is perfectly acceptable to place a trash bag of poo covered peat moss or coconut shell husk into a hefty bag and dropped in your nearest park trash can or dumpster.
Yes, these composting toilets eliminate the individual camper's need to find a dump station or pay to dump, but at the same time, I'm not convinced they are any better at controlling how human waste is disposed of responsibly or in a manner that will not spread disease.
If you want to use it in your vegetable garden, very true that it takes a few months to address pathogens but I haven't met anyone using it in their vegetable garden and assuming it's your toilet and your garden, you have already been exposed to those pathogens, since you deposited them (we generally don't have random people using our toilet). I've heard from a couple of people who use it in their flower beds but they weekend and leave it sit over the winter or put it in their home compost bin and dump it in the spring...fully composted.
More typically, emptying the compost is pretty easy, slip a large trash bag over the top and flip it over. Tie off the trash bag and done. I also know of another unit that uses 5 gallon buckets. Each bucket is only good for a week or two but you put a lid on the bucket and swap out for another bucket, then the full bucket can be composted as long as you care to keep it around.
As far as disposal, no one bats an eye at dirty diapers in a dumpster...mostly it's paranoia that it will be a problem just as a stray black tank pumped into a pit toilet.
In the boating world, we found the composting toilet very useful as it's often a real hassle to find a working pump out and it's illegal in most coastal areas to dump overboard. This coupled with the complication of marine heads which always stink, make it a good choice. With an RV, we don't see near the issue finding a working dump station, so the advantages are not there.
