This guest-written article was produced by Jess Taylor, Founder of Practically Green. Check out her website and this article. We all should reduce our water footprint and Jess provides a big step forward towards living in water-balance with the planet. And there are other advantages as well. Read on to find out more.
Photo by Arek Socha
Composting toilets - benefits for your home
There are many advantages to installing a composting toilet. The actual process of using it for your daily business is comparable to that of a regular toilet. But crucially, they are much more environmentally friendly. They use less water and can help non-edible plants grow faster in places where soil modification is permitted. Furthermore, they are well-suited to isolated locations.
To keep the process running, the material created by the system may be readily separated from the remaining liquid and used to generate heat and power. The solids are safe to handle and resemble coffee grounds in appearance, feel, and odor. The solid substance can be utilized as a fuel for heating and cooking, as a soil conditioner, and possibly as a carbon capture device.
Anti-fouling coatings for the system were created to reduce the quantity of water necessary to flush particles away from the toilet bowl while also assisting in the maintenance of high sanitary standards. It improves the rate at which water flushes away debris stuck to the toilet bowl's surface.
Composting toilets and their advantages
1. It is less expensive and quicker to install compared to a standard system.
Depending on the location and layout of the land, a single toilet’s septic system installation might cost anywhere from $1,500 to more than $5,000. Add another $300 to $500 for the toilet itself as a final expense. It is common for a household composting toilet to cost less than $1,000, with fewer installation requirements.
2. There is little to no influence on the land.
This toilet compost should not be used to grow edible food since it might transmit illness. However, this technology has a very low environmental effect on the land. Composted material may be used to fertilize other plants on the land, distributed or transferred elsewhere, and can save water. That equates to a water savings of nearly 7,000 gallons per person per year over a regular toilet. In fact, one can even sell the by-products from composting toilets to fertilizer production companies.
3. Install them anywhere.
To build or install a composting toilet, you don’t need a water connection. A good connection is not practicable for residences off the grid or situated in a remote area; therefore, this is a huge advantage. Since this sort of toilet may even be built outdoors, any problems about size and space can typically be handled with just a little imagination.
4. It’s easy to keep up with.
You don’t have to worry about keeping the compost moist as you would with other methods of composting. Moisture levels in a compost basin are maintained by human excrement. Depending on the model, you may have to periodically stir the compost to keep it well-mixed. For the greatest long-term outcomes, look for toilets that meet or surpass current criteria set by the American National Standards Institute or a comparable international body.
5. A lifetime warranty is offered by many.
There are various composting toilet manufacturers who offer a lifetime guarantee. In addition to saving a family of up to 28,000 liters of water annually. They rapidly pay for themselves, as described in item #1.
6. It can alleviate some of the stresses on the system.
The toilet allows for waste to be recycled in a method that does not harm anybody or anything. As a result, it could give you a lot of burden and stress to handle it.
7. Your composting toilet will be a point of conversation.
The more people find out about your composting toilet, the more inquiries you’ll get. Is it safe to use?” is a popular query. Because the toilet is “different,” some visitors may be hesitant to use it. From our experience, once people understand how it works and what benefits it brings, they are much more willing to use it. Furthermore, every conversation you have will be ‘spreading the word’, and this can only be a good thing.
Composting Toilets Have Cons
Composting toilets may have an odor.
A segmented composting toilet system is recommended, as odor is mainly created when urine and feces mix. There are also toilet-friendly items that may be put in the compost to decrease smells. If handled properly, your composting toilet won’t stink - but it may require a little TLC to keep it like this.
2. Only available in standard sizes.
The bowl of a composting toilet sits at the same height as a standard toilet. As a result, the user experience is almost identical to that of a standard toilet for most individuals. In certain cases, people with limited mobility need a toilet at least 17 inches higher than the standard type. In addition, those taller than 6’ 3” may have difficulty utilizing specific models.
3. They don’t always save space.
Smaller houses and cottages commonly have composting toilets installed, but this is not because of their size. Components that aid in waste management must also be installed to be composted correctly. This technology may not be able to fit in certain houses.
4. Single units may need more frequent visits to the composter.
The bowl of a composting toilet is constantly filled with both wet and dry waste. For single-unit systems, this is particularly true. Adding fresh carbonized pant waste to dry waste creates a variety of compositional levels. Homeowners may be forced to utilize a septic transportation service because of this variation in compost distribution.
5. It is possible that installing a composting toilet will require specific permission.
International construction rules typically allow the installation of composting toilets, but local code limitations may prohibit this from happening in certain communities. Consult your local municipal officials and code enforcement department about the applicable rules and regulations before purchasing a composting toilet.
What makes a conventional toilet a step backward in terms of technology or environmental impact?
The majority of the wastewater generated by flush toilets – more than 80% globally – is returned to the environment. There is no treatment, no use, only a plethora of open sewers. When flush toilets were invented, the amount of waste created when people went to the bathroom nearly doubled.
The Bottom Line
A gallon and a half of clean, treated water is wasted every time a toilet is flushed. If you have a typical 1.5-gallon toilet, a standard flush will take about 30 seconds to replenish the tank. That works out to 1.5 gallons per flush or 3 gallons per minute. This is a lot of water wasted over the course of a day, and fresh water is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity in our overpopulated world.
Composting toilets are a simple, readily available way for you and your family to massively reduce your impact on the world and bring you back into a closer touch with nature. As they, and other green technologies become more widely used and accepted, we can together make huge strides towards a more sustainable future.