Composting Toilets

A compost toilet is a collection device used to recycle organic materials. It is not a waste disposal device used to dispose of sewage, as is a flush toilet. The purpose of a compost toilet is to collect human fecal material and urine so that the collected toilet material can be recycled. When something is recycled, it is not wasted and should not be referred to as “waste” (which is why we call it “humanure” as opposed to "human waste"). Also collected in the toilet are toilet paper as well as paper tubes from the center of the toilet paper rolls. All urine is collected in the compost toilet.

​

You should collect food scraps in a separate compost container and deposit them directly into the same outdoor compost bin. It is important to understand that the humanure compost should not be segregated from your food compost. Everything should be composted in the same pile! The mix of materials improves the health of the compost pile.

 

The compost toilet should be located in a private, comfortable setting, indoors year-round or outdoors in warmer climates, if desired. When properly used, the compost toilet will create no unpleasant odors. Therefore many people choose to place their toilet indoors, in or near their bedrooms, offices, or in a basement, garage, shop, tent, (when camping), or wherever it is most convenient, private, and comfortable. Keep in mind that the toilets are best located where the receptacles can be easily removed to an outdoor compost bin.

 

What is “humanure”?
Humanure (human manure) is human fecal material and urine recycled for agricultural purposes via thermophilic composting. Humanure contains valuable soil nutrients that enhance plant growth. For these reasons, humanure should be recycled whenever possible. When recycled by composting, pollution and health threats associated with human excrement can be eliminated.

 

How can humanure be recycled?
Humanure can be recycled in two basic ways. First, it can be applied raw to agricultural land. In this case, humanure may be called “night soil.” Unfortunately, raw applications of human excrement to soil can create pollution and spread disease, so this method of recycling is strongly discouraged and is in fact illegal in the USA. The second method of recycling humanure is through a process called “composting.”

 

What is composting?
Composting is the managed, aerobic decomposition of organic material in such a manner that it develops internal biological heat. It is the feeding of humanure, food scraps, and other organic materials to invisible organisms such as beneficial bacteria. Many compost organisms are too small to be seen, however, many of them can be seen. The larger ones include earthworms and many other tiny insects. Fungi also live in compost piles and they digest the tougher, woody plant materials.

 

What are organic materials?
Organic materials are those materials that came from recently living things such as plants and animals. Common organic materials include "toilet material" (feces, urine, toilet paper), animal manures, sawdust, food scraps, weeds, leaves, grasses, wool, hay, straw, agricultural byproducts such as wheat chaff or residues from beer making, vodka making, cider presses, wine presses, distilleries, and many other sources. A compostable organic material that is not from a recently living thing would be, for example, peat moss.

 

How does one feed these materials to compost organisms?
Organic materials are fed to compost organisms by creating a compost pile. A compost pile allows us to combine various organic materials above ground, thereby providing oxygen to the aerobic microorganisms inside the pile. It also allows us to keep the organic materials quarantined inside an enclosed area away from people, dogs, goats, chickens, and other creatures that should not be disturbing the compost.

Compost microorganisms will digest and convert humanure into a safe and pleasant soil-like material when the humanure is combined with other carbon rich organic materials such as grass, leaves, sawdust, hay, sugar cane bagasse, rice hulls, straw, and other animal manures. Compost organisms do not like raw humanure because it is too wet and too high in nitrogen. But when combined with drier materials that are higher in carbon, such as the materials listed above, the compost organisms love to eat humanure.

 

Excerpt from: The Humanure Handbook

Joseph Jenkins, Inc., 143 Forest lane, Grove City, PA 16127 USA

 

​