How Do Composting Toilets Work?

As concerns about the current climate crisis continue to rise, the urgency for homeowners to adopt environmentally friendly home solutions is increasing drastically. Although convenient and easy to use, conventional flushing toilets are among the many factors contributing to water waste and pollution.

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Flushing toilets use around five to seven gallons of water per flush, accounting for roughly a third of household water usage. Aside from wasting water, flushing toilets can also contribute to costly water bills.

Composting toilets are a notably sustainable alternative to traditional flushing toilets. These innovative sanitation solutions not only address resource conservation but also aid waste reduction.

They offer a revolutionary approach by harnessing human waste and transforming it into useful compost, bridging a gap between sanitation and environmental responsibility.

How do composting toilets work? Explore this comprehensive article to unveil the fundamentals of composting toilets, how to choose the right compostable toilet for you, and other ways you can optimize your home’s sustainability.

As we unravel the ins and outs of how composting toilets work, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of these systems, empowering you to decide whether a composting toilet is right for you.

The Fundamentals of Composting Toilets

Before you invest in a composting toilet, it’s essential to ensure you fully understand the basics that make these eco-friendly systems and know how they work. This section outlines the fundamentals of composting toilets so you are 100% on board with how these sanitation solutions function.

What Is a Composting Toilet?

A compost toilet is an eco-friendly and significantly resourceful sanitation solution. Unlike traditional flushing toilets, which utilize water to transport human waste to a sewage system, composting toilets harness natural processes to break down the waste into nutrient-rich garden compost.

How Does a Composting Toilet Work?

At the heart of a compost toilet system lies a remarkable composting process that acts identically to the natural decomposition cycle. During this process, human waste transforms into a valuable resource that can be utilized as garden compost.

Unlike a conventional toilet that flushes waste into a septic tank or sewage system, a compost toilet focuses on managing solid and liquid waste to encourage natural decomposition.

Some composting toilets, such as urine-diverting units, separate liquid and solid waste into two chambers. The liquid waste is often directed into a container, where it’s then treated for pathogens before being released into the environment. This ensures it can be safely introduced into ecosystems.

Solid waste is transported to a separate composting chamber. In this chamber, microorganisms work to break down the rich organic matter that makes up our solid waste, beginning the natural decomposition process.

The composting chamber is specially designed to provide the right environment for microbial activity to thrive while concurrently minimizing unpleasant odors and ensuring sufficient aeration. Most composting toilets feature an integrated fan system that sends air through the compost pile and out through a vent to ensure proper ventilation.

As the composting process progresses, solid waste begins to gradually darken and become more crumbly, resembling the appearance and texture of traditional compost. Once the waste has been fully composted, you can safely use it as a soil fertilizer, providing gardens with valuable nutrients.

Different Types of Composting Toilets

Each type of composting toilet has its unique advantages, and features suited to different needs and settings. Understanding the many options available will help you make an informed decision when choosing a composting toilet. Below are seven common types of composting toilets worth exploring:

1.     Self-Contained/All-In-One Composting Toilet

These toilets are compact, fitting a composting chamber and a toilet seat in a singular unit. Because of their space-saving design, these toilets are best suited to settings where space is limited, such as tiny homes, boats, RVs, cabins, and so forth.

Due to their lack of additional components, these units are easy to install and maintain, offering a straightforward sanitation solution.

2.    Batch Composting Toilet

A batch composting toilet collects waste in two separate chambers. When one compartment is full, it gets sealed off to facilitate decomposition while the other chamber continues to be filled.

These units are suited to medium to high usage and require consistent maintenance to ensure they continually function. You’ll often find these systems in eco-friendly households and small communities.

3.    Continuous Composting Toilet

Continuous systems involve a single chamber that gets continuously filled with waste. As new waste enters, old waste begins to decompose. This system provides a periodic cycle of removing usable compost from the bottom of the chamber. Because of their efficient compost generation, these units are ideal for frequent use and for those with a high demand for compost.

4.    Centralised Composting Toilet

These large-scale units accommodate multiple users in large and commercial settings, such as schools, campgrounds, parks, festivals, and so forth.

A central compost toilet system works by channeling waste from multiple toilets into a central composting chamber where decomposition occurs. These sizable systems can efficiently manage waste from high volumes of people so long as they are carefully maintained.

5.    Electric/Automated Composting Toilet

These ultra-modern units use electric heating elements, mechanical stirring, and fans to accelerate the decomposition of human waste. Because these toilet systems are automated, they present little to no maintenance, offering a convenient and hassle-free sanitation solution to homeowners.

6.    DIY/Homemade Composting Toilet

Many environmentally conscious advocates create their own compost toilets using readily available materials, such as compost chambers and toilet seats. DIY compost toilets can vary in size and range from simplistic to complex designs, offering you the freedom to create a toilet unit tailored to your household’s specific needs and available space.

7.    Urine-Diverting/Separating Composting Toilet

These systems separate urine from solid waste, which helps minimize unwanted odors and moisture in the composting chamber. The urine is transferred to a dedicated chamber where it’s treated, while the solid waste is turned into compost in a separate compartment.

Because urine gets treated in a separate chamber, these toilets are well-suited to areas where water conservation is a priority while offering efficient composting.

Environmental Benefits of Composting Toilets

Composting toilets are advantageous in several ways. They not only reduce household water consumption but also alleviate the environmental burden of pollutant sewage systems. Here’s a list of the major benefits presented by these unique toilets:

• Conserves Water: Because a compost toilet doesn’t rely on a flushing system, it can save the average person around 6600 gallons (24,984 liters) of water annually. This not only minimizes water bills but also contributes to the preservation of water, which is especially important in areas that struggle with water scarcity.

• Curbs Pollution: Compost toilet systems don’t contribute to releasing untreated sewage, which is otherwise harmful to our planet.

• Saves Energy: Because decomposition is a natural process, compost toilet systems require minimal energy inputs, making them a notably energy-efficient alternative to conventional toilets.

• Reduces Carbon Footprint: Composting toilets help lower your carbon footprint by eliminating the need for waste to be diverted to energy-intensive sewage treatment plants, otherwise contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

• Resourceful: Instead of sending human waste into pollutant sewage, these resourceful toilets transform excrement into valuable compost that you can use to grow plants and flowers.

• Preserves Aquatic Ecosystems: By preventing pollution caused by the release of sewage into water bodies, compost toilets help maintain and protect aquatic ecosystems.

• Mitigates Soil Erosion: Because the compost produced from these toilets is done so naturally, it can significantly benefit soil, enhancing its structure and water retention. This improves the soil’s overall health, eliminating soil erosion while simultaneously facilitating plant growth.

The Drawbacks of Composting Toilets

Although compost toilets are significantly advantageous, there are some drawbacks to consider. Acknowledging these drawbacks will enable you to make an informed assessment of whether these sanitation systems are suited to you. Below are the key drawbacks presented by using a compost toilet, alongside potential solutions:

• Initial Cost: A composting toilet cost can be expensive. Creating a realistic budget can help you navigate the expense of a composting toilet. You can additionally seek government incentives, subsidies, or community-led initiatives to make the initial cost more affordable. It is noted that conventional septic tanks can be significantly more costly and therefore a composting toilet can be a cost effective solution.

• Unpleasant Odor: These toilets can produce unpleasant odors due to the natural decomposition processes involved. Ensuring you integrate a ventilation system into your toilet, such as automated fans, and opt for suitable materials to cover human waste, such as sawdust, will help mitigate poor odor.

• Maintenance Requirements: For decomposition to run smoothly, compost toilets require routine maintenance. Opting for electric/automated systems will reduce the amount of maintenance required. You can also create a schedule to ensure upkeep of the toilet isn’t neglected.

• Space Limitations: Several composting toilet systems, including centralized units, require ample space, making them unsuitable for small areas. Opting for custom designs or alternative compact models, such as self-contained units, can easily address this limitation.

• Dependency on Warmer Climates: Decomposition naturally slows down in colder climates, making compost toilet systems dependent on the weather. Ensuring sufficient insulation or opting for automated systems with electric heating components can help maintain optimal temperatures for decomposition to occur.

• Regulatory Issues: Local regulations and health codes may restrict composting toilets. Checking your local government’s rules can help you identify whether such systems are permitted. If your local government refuses these systems, you could attempt an appeal or produce awareness campaigns to encourage regulatory change.

• Limited Capacity: Specific composting toilet designs, such as self-contained units, aren’t suited to high usage. To accommodate a high volume of usage, consider high-capacity systems, such as batch or centralized compost toilets.

• Aesthetic Concerns: Depending on your preferences, the appearance of composting toilet systems may be an eyesore. However, you can integrate aesthetic design components, such as color, to enhance the visual appeal of your composting toilet system.

Further Optimizing Your Home’s Sustainability

In addition to embracing a composting toilet system, you can take many additional measures to optimize your home’s sustainability.

A household water usage calculator is among the many powerful ways to enhance your household’s sustainability. Water is among the world’s most precious resources that gets wasted every day. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average household wastes 180 gallons of water a week, or 9,400 gallons a year.

By using a household water usage calculator, you can effectively identify opportunities to reduce your water usage and, thus, reduce wastage. Such conservation efforts will benefit our planet and save you money, helping you minimize your water bill while holistically contributing to a greener future.

FAQs

How Often Do Composting Toilets Need To Be Emptied?

The frequency of emptying composting toilets depends on the model you opt for, the volume of usage, and the materials being composted. Generally, You should empty a composting toilet every few months. Routinely checking the compost level in each unit will help you determine a suitable time for unloading.

How Long Do Excrements Take To Decompose in a Composting Toilet?

Depending on the volume of excrements and the climate, solid human waste decomposition can take between several months to two years. Decomposition will likely occur faster in warmer weather and slower in colder climates.

Does Toilet Paper Go Into a Composting Toilet?

Toilet paper can be deposited in a compost toilet and be decomposed with human waste. However, materials such as diapers, wet wipes, and feminine sanitary products (such as tampons) must be kept from these toilets as they won’t decompose.

Which Are the Best Composting Toilets and Where Can I Buy One?

There are many good off-the-shelf composting toilets on the market. Your decision will depending on your situation and you should understand the options before making a purchase.

Checkout out our article, Best Off Grid Composting Toilets. A 2023 Review for our in depth review. We also recommend visiting Shop Tiny Houses to explore their great range. Happy composting!