Composting toilet
user-7022518
| Posted in General Questions on
Hi there, We live in a community with a barn and would like to install a composting toilet for shared use while folks are working. There are about 36 people in the community and there might be social gatherings a few times a year which might lead to the toilet being used more but in general it would be used maybe once or twice a day. I called a company that makes a composting toilet called the Eloo but the shipping costs alone were over $6000. Does anyone know of a good composting toilet brand that would suffice for this purpose (not the toilets that are used in RV’s but a residential model) that is based on the East Coast?
Lisa
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Treehugger has a number of articles on this topic. Lovable Loo seems like a nice low-cost solution (https://loveableloo.store/?utm_source=jj_15).
I'd recommend the barrel composting system. Similar to the loveableloo bucket type but more capacity.
https://www.omick.net/composting_toilets/barrel_toilet.htm
User ...518,
Everyone I know who installed a composting toilet over the past three decades has since removed it. Either because it took too much work to keep it operating properly, or that they found it awful to clean.
If you have access to water, which hopefully you do if you are putting in any washroom facilities for use by the public, I'd recommend spending the money on a small leach field and going with a conventional toilet.
I know it is out of fashion but why not build an outhouse. If it ever gets filled you dig a new hole 20 feet to the left.
Walta
Might also be possible to build an outhouse style bathroom (hole in the ground), but with a few extra details to help keep it aerobic and less... smelly.
You've got to be careful. There aren't many places where true outhouses (without containment tanks) are allowed. And it's for good reasons. You don't want human waste contaminating water sources - especially on a farm.
I agree, Walter. This could be a good situation for a traditional outhouse. This book covers the topic thoroughly: https://humanurehandbook.com/.
Composting toilets that are meant to replace a sewer or septic connected toilet or toilets can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.
I think there have been some misleading suggestions around in the past that they are a cheap alternative to running water and sewer lines to remote locations or installing A septic system. I think they are good alternatives to that but high capacity, rapid decomposing, easy to harvest systems are not small budget items.
I like the on paper design of Phoenix composting toilets but I’ve never owned one.