You're Composting What?!?

We're composting our poop, our excrement, our dookie. In an attempt to live more sustainably, Christy and I decided we would use some sort of composting toilet. Originally we were planning on using an off-the-shelf system but opted for something much simpler. It turns out that many of these off-the-shelf systems don't work very well. Evidently people's contributions don't always decompose in a timely fashion. So instead we opted for what's called a sawdust toilet (see photo below). Contributions are made in the toilet and covered with non-kiln-dried sawdust. There's nothing unsightly or smelly. The container consists of a 5 gallon bucket which sits beneath the seat and is housed in a lovely wooden box. After the bucket is full the contents are emptied (this is only the kinda gross part) into a compost bin (see photo below) along with straw. The organic material (notice how I never call it what it really is) composts over the course of one to two years. Through thermophyllic bacterial activity (with temps up to 160°F) any and all pathogens are killed. The result is usable AND safe compost. Technically we could use the compost on our crops but we've decided we'd delegate it for shrubs and trees.


Sawdust toilet en la tent




Humanure Compost Bin

Why are we doing this? Think about this: We're the only society that adds potable water to our poop and then later on separates it. Sure, it makes for a more sanitary environment but there's a better way. What we're doing doesn't use any water (other than rain water for cleaning) and it recycles our wastes. Unless you're using a septic tank, most waste gets sent to a waste treatment facility where the solids typically go to a landfill. And the "treated" waste water? Well, that goes back into the water table or a nearby river or ocean. Composting our waste does away with this and actually makes use of the organic material in a more sustainable manner. Of course it's much easier to simply flush and never think about it again. But that attitude is turning out to be quite troublesome. We have the same attitude when it comes to trash - out of sight, our of mind. "It's not my problem anymore."