Composting Toilet 101: How They Work & Should You Switch to One?

Over the past few years, housing and design trends such as tiny houses have put a spotlight on composting toilets.

Whether you are looking into moving into a tiny house yourself or you simply are considering alternatives to traditional flush toilets, you may be interested in learning more about composting toilets and their pros and cons.

We will talk about what composting toilets are, how they work, what their advantages and disadvantages are, and what to look for in a quality composting toilet.

What is a Composting Toilet?

Composting toilets are toilet systems which treat human waste by composting and dehydration to produce a useable end-product that is a valuable soil additive.

They come in a variety of models and brand names as well as different shapes and designs to enhance the natural composting process.

They use little or no water, are not connected to expensive sewage systems, cause no environmental damage and produce a valuable resource for gardening.

The systems can be broadly divided into two different types:

BATCH SYSTEMS

With the batch systems, a container is filled and then replaced with an empty container. The composting process is completed inside the sealed container. The system may have a single, replaceable container. Or it may be a carousel system where 3 or 4 containers are mounted on a carousel and a new container is spun into the toilet area when the other is full. After a full cycle is complete, the first container is fully composted and ready for emptying.

CONTINUAL PROCESS SYSTEMS

These systems are in a constant state of composting. Waste enters the system, composting reduces the volume and moves it downward where it is harvested after 6-12 months as fully composted material.

All systems are designed to treat the waste material by composting, worm processing, micro- and macro-organism breakdown, and by dehydration and evaporation of moisture.

There are a wide variety of systems including:

• Owner-built, two chamber mouldering systems that are basic, but effective.
• Owner-built from concrete blocks and concrete inclined base. Constructed in with the house foundations.
• Manufactured, small, self-contained and remote systems suitable for vacation and full-time home use.
• Manufactured, large tank, inclined base models suitable for heavy loadings.
• Wide variety of small units which fit into existing bathrooms. Many have dehydration fans and heaters.
• Vacuum flush unit for production of worm castings.
• Full flush systems with centrifugal action to deposit wastes into composting chamber.

New technologies and products, as well as over 30 years experience is now setting the scene for a major expansion of composting toilets throughout the world.

With the traditional type of flush toilet which most people have in their homes and businesses, both liquid and solid waste are flushed down through the plumbing system and out of a building.

Composting toilets work completely differently, following the same basic principles as a composter that you might use for your garden.

Indeed, just as a garden composter breaks down waste to produce usable compost, a composting toilet does the same thing.

How Do Compost Toilets Work?

The exact way in which a composting toilet functions depends on the specific type of composting toilet you buy.

But this is the basic process:

1. First, you need to fill the composting chamber with coconut fiber or a similar carbon material. There are a number of options here, each with their own pros and cons.
   
2. When somebody uses the toilet, the toilet separates the liquid waste from the solid waste.
   
3. The liquid waste is transferred to a container which can be removed. Depending on the model you purchase, there may be an evaporation chamber to handle getting rid of the liquids automatically.
   
4. As for the solid waste, this is transferred to the previously mentioned composting chamber.
   
5. A composting chamber features conditions which promotes the growth and activity of aerobic bacteria. Such an environment is optimized in terms of temperature and humidity. A specific balance of carbon and nitrogen is required as well, which is what the carbon material is for. The bacteria process the solid waste into compost.
   
6. There is a handle located on the side of the toilet which connects to an agitator bar inside the composting chamber. By turning the handle after doing your business, you can blend the new solid waste into the compost which is already present in the chamber.

Obviously, some maintenance is required on your part if you choose to use a compost toilet.

As mentioned, some models can evaporate liquids using heat. For those which retain liquids, you will need to dispose of these liquids yourself when the container that holds them is filled.

As for the compost, what you do with that depends on the regulations where you live.

You do not need to clean up the inside of the composting chamber every single time that you emptied it out. You actually should leave the compost coating walls alone. The toilet will function better this way.

You should routinely clean the bowl of the toilet itself. You can do this using water with a little bit of vinegar.

Composting Pros and Cons

Is a composting toilet system right for you?

Let’s consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of toilet.

Pros:

• A composting toilet is ideal in situations where you will be off the grid. Installing a septic system can be complicated and expensive, and there may be regulatory issues as well. A composting toilet offers you an alternative to the setup.
  
• Just as compost toilets get you around needing a traditional septic system, it also can help you get around certain plumbing requirements.
  
• In dry locations where water rationing may be in effect, they can go a long ways toward helping you conserve water for other uses. Indeed, it could reduce water usage by as much as 30,000 liters over the course of a single year.
  
• It generally costs much less to install a compost toilet than you would pay to install a flush toilet.
  
• Many composting toilets are compact in design, built specifically to fit into small spaces. This may be essential if you are living in a tiny house or apartment, or if you will reside in an RV or fifth wheel.
  
• There is no need to have a blank tank in your home. This means you no longer need to spend money purchasing chemicals for black tank maintenance, nor do you have to deal with emptying out the black tank—or worrying about it getting clogged up.
  
• In most locations, you do not need to do anything special to get rid of the composted waste. You can just throw it away. Again, check your local regulations.
  
• You are doing your part for the environment in using a composting toilet. If it means that you do not need to install a septic system or additional plumbing, that means you will be disrupting your local environment less. You also will not be sending your waste to sewage plants.
  
• You might think that a compost toilet would produce an odor. But that is only true if you are not maintaining it.
  
• Your composting toilet will probably be a subject of fascination among your houseguests. You can look forward to explaining its eco-friendly benefits, and how it has helped you to save time, hassle, water and money.

Cons:

• Technically, a compost toilet is fairly low-maintenance. But many people would prefer that it be entirely hands-off. You do need to be prepared to regularly empty out both liquid and solid waste.
  
• Unlike a traditional flush toilet, a composting toilet does need energy to work. An exhaust fan needs to be powered at a minimum. Some units also require power to produce heat to evaporate liquid waste. Thankfully, their energy consumption is low. If you are off the grid, you can even use solar panels to provide your composting toilet with the power it requires.
  
• Mold can grow in the composting chamber if you are not careful with how you use and maintain your toilet.

They May Be Right For You If …

• You want to live off the grid. It is significantly easier to do this with a composting toilet than it is with the traditional flush toilet, especially on a site which does not already have a septic system (or cannot have a septic system). This includes grey water systems.
  
• You want to move around regularly. If you have a traditional flush toilet, you can only use it if you park at sites with appropriate hookups. If you have a composting toilet instead, you are liberated from needing to hook up to empty your black tank (you will still need a solution for your gray water).
  
• You want to save water. Whether you are doing this out of necessity or out of respect for the environment, a composting toilet will go a long way toward helping you achieve your goals of water conservation.
  
• You do not mind some manual maintenance on an ongoing basis. Once you make a routine out of this, you may hardly think of it anymore.

They May Not Be Ideal For You If …

• You want to keep toilet maintenance on a regular basis to an absolute minimum. A flush toilet will serve better in this respect.
  
• You are squeamish about your own waste. Some people do not like the idea of handling their excrement, even after it has been processed into compost.

If you are not bothered by the maintenance required, and you do not mind disposing of the compost, then perhaps the benefits of a composting toilet are just what you need!

Let’s took a deeper look at the main benefits of composting.

Key Benefits of Composting Toilets

The advantages of natural waste treatment systems are many and varied.

The following section shows the benefits of the system in comparison to existing waterborne waste treatment systems. These benefits improve conditions for the individual, the community and the environment.

An understanding of how your system benefits the individual and the community will help you to maintain it and confidently explain it to others.

Benefits to the Individual

There are many great reasons to use a compost toilet system.

Water Use Reduction (20-50%)
A significant savings in water storage will result if the household is not on reticulated water supply. Combine this with wastewater re-utilisation in irrigation and other household water reduction techniques and water storage costs can be cut by up to 60%.

Shock Loading Capacity
Loading shock for large gatherings is achieved easily with correctly sized composting toilet systems.

Odour Problems Reduced
The suction air flow in most composting toilets takes toilet and bathroom odor out of the room and acts like a constant extraction fan.

Lower Household Maintenance Costs
Sewage rates and water rates (metered) can be in the order of $500 per year, a significant cost. This will only increase if the demand for sewage system upgrading increases. Other on-site systems have annual maintenance costs that are obligatory. Local authorities will be increasingly paying rebates to households who own composting toilets.

End Product Recycled
While only small in amount, the solid end product is a valuable humic fertiliser that can be utilised around trees and gardens.

Reduced Greywater Loading
Where composting toilets are installed instead of septic and mini-treatment systems, there is a large reduction in the “loading” on the effluent treatment system by the removal of “blackwater.” Smaller, less maintenance, greywater systems are possible.

Independence
A household with a composting system is independent from potential problems of the waterborne sewage system. If future water shortage or system backup problems occur with conventional systems, there is not much that you can do personally about it. On-site composting systems are much more flexible, they are easier to fix and have less damage potential if operated incorrectly.

Recycling
The composting toilet possesses the ability to recycle much of your household waste. Food scraps, paper, lawn clippings and grease from you grease traps and greywater systems can be composted back through the toilet. If you choose to put in a reed bed greywater systems, the annual clippings can also be composted. There is no wastage in this system.

Unusual Sites
Composting toilets can be installed in many different situations which would not accommodate other systems. Rocky sites, high water table, no water storage, environmentally sensitive, close to running watercourses, and swampy ground. All these difficult site situations can be accommodated with a small amount of alteration to the basic system design.

Benefits to the Community & the Environment

Together with the personal benefits of the compost toilets there are overall benefits to the society and the environment.

Water Use
A reduction in water use allows the large capital costs of dams and reservoirs to be spread over a greater population. It also enables decentralized water sources to be used.

Reduced Marine Pollution
Nutrient load on streams and rivers is almost negligible. This results in more oxygen being available in the water and a return to improved activity of marine life.

Pollution Detected Quickly
Without sewage systems to flush away wastes, It would be easier to ascertain where toxic wastes are being leaked into watercourses. Industry would be more willing to rectify these problems if it were easier to identify the sources.

Damage Limited
A miscalculation in individual composting systems has a much smaller impact than the same mistake in a large centralised system. It is also easier to rectify and return to normal operation.

Flexibility of Planning
Composting toilet systems are built only when the need arises. The high headwork and treatment costs of conventional sewage systems must be borne by the community ahead of development. If development does not go as planned, then money is wasted.

Less Environmental Impact
Compared to sewage systems, on-site composting and greywater treatment has less impact on the environment:
• Large effluent releases into watercourses and oceans are avoided.
• Disruption to soils systems through pipeline installation is eliminated.
• Leakage of raw sewage into groundwater through pipe deterioration and breakage is eliminated.

Flexibility in Estate Planning
By eliminating the planning constraints of the sewage system underground piping and infrastructure, housing developments can be designed with more emphasis on environmental and social considerations, rather than how best to situate the blocks to make pipes run straighter.

For such a simple technology, the benefits to the individual and to the community are quite amazing!

What is the Best Compost Toilet Model for Sale?

Now that you have had a chance to learn what composting toilets are, how they work, and what their pros and cons are, you may be looking for composting toilet reviews which help you to identify the best composting toilet on the market. Right now, our top recommendation is a product called Nature’s Head.

Nature’s Head Compost Toilet Review

The Nature’s Head composting toilet stands out for few key reasons:

• Installation is a breeze.
• The toilet is extremely compact.
• For a composting toilet, it is surprisingly low maintenance.

Let’s go over the benefits!

Why Choose the Nature’s Head?

• The exceptionally compact build of the toilet measures only 19.8 x 20.8 x 20.5 inches, and weighs just 27.2 pounds. That means that 1-it is easy to pick up and move, and 2-you should be able to squeeze it into even a tight space. Indeed, even if you live in a van, you should be able to find room for Nature’s Head.
  
• With its stainless steel construction, the Nature’s Head composting toilet is built to last. This makes it a far cry superior to many RV and fifth wheel toilets.
  
• Even a novice should be able to install this toilet with ease. You use two brackets to mount it where you want it. You’ll then need to connect a 12volt power hook-up as well as a ventilation hose. That hose needs to reach outside, so you will need a venting solution already in place before you order your toilet.
  
• This eco toilet system is very efficient, which makes it a cost-effective option. It shouldn’t cost you more than $10 to purchase some peat moss for the composting chamber, and that should last you at least a couple of years.
  
• Many models of composting toilets need to be emptied out literally every few days, but Nature’s Head only needs to be emptied every couple of weeks. For those who really want to keep maintenance to an absolute minimum with a composting toilet, this benefit is hard to beat.
  
• With proper maintenance and venting, this toilet does not produce an odor. It is hard to overstate how important this is if you are living in a small space, even with good ventilation.
  
• The Nature’s Head toilet offers excellent reliability. If you take care of this toilet properly, it should continue to perform great over the many years ahead.

In short, the many benefits of this particular compost toilet model do a great job addressing common concerns of homeowners who are thinking about putting in a composting toilet for the first time.

Does the Nature’s Head Toilet Have Any Drawbacks?

I’ve had a lot which is good to say about the Nature’s Head toilet, but are there any disadvantages to report?

• If you have not figured out a solution for venting in advance, that is going to be a hassle during the installation. But this is not the case only with this toilet. This is something you would need to figure out regardless of the model of toilet you would be installing in your house. It is smart to check out the installation instructions in full before you make your purchase so that you can carry out the advanced planning you need to in order to be ready to install your toilet quickly and easily when it arrives.
  
• Some units seem to be afflicted with issues affecting the fan. This does not seem to be the case with the vast majority, only the occasional unit. Customer service for Nature’s Head tends to be quick and helpful with resolving issues, so that is a big plus if you happen to run into any snags.

Aside from these occasional fan problems, it is hard to come up with any real drawbacks to the Nature’s Head system.

This is an incredibly compact, easy-to-install, low-maintenance composting toilet which makes for an excellent solution for your RV, tiny house, van, boat, or any other dwelling.

Where Can You Buy the Nature’s Head Toilet?

Ready to purchase the Nature’s Head toilet for your home or RV?

Start conserving water and living off the grid now!