Since we plan to do lots of extended boondocking (camping without hookups) we needed to address our waste and gray water storage. We had several options with the Airstream: Add our gray water to our black tank. Add a separate gray water tank. Use our black tanks as a gray water tank and install a composting toilet. I first learned of the composting toilet solution from the airforums. Several individual had reported good results from manufactured composting toilets made for sailboat applications. I was intrigued by this option. I am a gardener and all-about composting so I looked more into this option. Basically a composting toilet collects your waste which is then covered with an organic material like sawdust. The waste is then cached for a period of time allowing it to break down (the number I see most often is 12-months) then it’s transformed into safe rich soil. In America we have an interesting relationship with our waste. We have neat and tidy ways of simply making our undesirables disappear.

We are so isolated from our waste because we have engineered ways to haul or flush it away. Even though we may be oblivious to what happens after we flush the toilet or the garbage truck hauls our bags away, the fact is the way we choose to handle our waste is irresponsible and poor for the environment.Pomchi Puppies For Sale In Los Angeles When I talk about composting toilets I am entertained by peoples response. Birman Cats For Sale In GeorgiaMost people don’t realize what happens to their digested meal afters it’s flushed down the bowl. Clawfoot Tub Soap Shampoo HolderThe amount of water and chemicals involved is alarming. And what’s even more alarming is this, “treated” wastewater is then pumped back into our water sources.

If you are curious how wastewater is processed checkout this short video. I hope I am not the only one that is disturbed! I vote for keeping our clean water clean and using our waste to enrich the soil. The best option for our Airstream, and the most responsible, is a composting toilet. (As a side note I am happy we won’t be hauling around a tank of chemical laden smelly waste. I have yet to visit an RV that didn’t have that poop+chemical smell!) This option avoids adding a new tank and free’s up our existing tank to be used for gray water. After pricing out manufactured units we have decided against buying a premade option. (The cheap version is over $800.) These units are bulky and would not flow with our bathroom layout and they are pretty simple so we are going to tailor make a composting potty. Basically all you need is a receptacle (5 gallon bucket) and a toilet seat. There are two camps around composting toilets and making humanure.

One says put all the waste in a single bucket then cover appropriately and the other says separate the #1 and #2 with a urine diverting toilet seat. Both sides make sense. Here are my thoughts on each: Super simple, no speciality seat required. The key to this method is adding the appropriate amount of covering (sawdust) to absorb the liquid and neutralize the smell. From what I have read this method, we properly managed, does not smell, attract flies and compost quicker (the urine aids this process). I like the simplicity. Seems to work for Mr. Jenkins – his family has been doing it for years. More covering is needed to balance the moisture content which means it will fill up quicker. Since we will be on the road much of the time we won’t have access to our compost bins. Special toilet seat diverts the urine to a separate receptacle. Supporters of this method claim that when the urine is mixed with the feces you get smell, and flies. Makes sense to me.Potentially easier to keep smell and bugs out.

Costly seat required with very few options. More maintenance with emptying urine container. To conclude we are going to initially try the Jenkins one bucket method over the summer. It’s simple, cheap and we will have access to compost bins all summer. At the end of the summer we will evaluate how this method is working. Come fall when it’s time to hit the road we may try the urine diverting method. We will keep you posted! If you have any experience or feedback on composting toilets would love to hear your comments! UK Based Manufacturer $50 who also sells on ebay. Imported Seat Ships from USA $90 Bucket Toilet Testimonial is South America Separett Privy kit 500 urine diverting composting toilet in action DIY Compost Toilet Installation – Privy 500 in shed Joseph Jenkins & His Loveable Loo – A bit cheesy but the song is priceless! Project done by MIT on Designing a Low Cost Urine Diverting Toilet Seat PDF by WECF on Urine Diverting Toilets Principles, Operation & Construction

Study by WECF on Urine Diverting Toilets for cold climates PDF Resource put out by humanure dude Joseph Jenkins Interesting Time Article on Humanure & Composting Toilets [/accordion_item] Healthcare for the Poor We've gotten a landslide of emails (3) asking us for more details about a composting toilet in an RV. You can't HANDLE the details! WARNING: I am going to talk about human bodily functions and their results. I won't want to eat after I've finished this post, and that's my goal for you, too. I've discussed this issue on public forums, and I've found that composting humanure in any way can make people really mad. I've warned you, now it's up to you to bring up toilets only very carefully as dinner party chatter. A couple might flush 10 times a day = 42 pounds/day (five gallons of previously-drinkable water) In one month, that couple has created 1300 pounds of waste that must be treated (including a rather conservative estimate of the weight of the urine and feces involved).

This also represents 150 gallons of drinking water. What's in it for me? How to compost poop I'll talk about the Nature's Head composting toilet, just because that's what I know. For two people, the Nature's Head poo-vault needs to be dumped about twice a month. The urine bucket in front (shown pristine white in the photo) must be dumped every two days, at least. Urine does not burn vegetation, and is safely dumped onto the ground. [Don't dump urine into a stream or other water body. A nice hole facilitates a contained dumping.] If you feel you must occasionally flush something, take your urine bottle for a ride to a toilet and dump it there. This is just for you; your urine doesn't care either way. We dump the poo into a garbage bag and throw it away. After two weeks in the vault, it weighs about 20 pounds. If we had our own stationary home, we would  compost it for a long time and become our own solid waste management system. A new friend works for a sewage treatment facility in Tucson.

He tells me that medication being dumped into the sewer system is a problem requiring a team of full-time lab workers. Untreated, the drugs are recycled into the aquifer and we get our diazepam for free. Nevermind the metabolites - he didn't even discuss that. Drawbacks to composting poop You can no longer deny you poo After only two weeks, the contents of the vault will still smell a fair amount like poop Sometimes there are "glitches" in the system. The toilet may smell, or you won't get a full two weeks/ couple out of the vault. Humidity bogs down the system. You will have gut reactions to what you have just read. Oh yeah, I said it. Hopefully I have addressed them, in snarky format, in this discussion. We're glad to answer questions. If you feel argumentative after reading this post and this thread, I'll respond depending on my mood at the moment. Or, buy from Amazon. Find a few hundred other sustainable ideas here. Make our Amazon link your Amazon bookmark!