Composting Toilet

by DoItYourself Staff

A system that changes or converts human waste into compost is a composting toilet. In today’s energy efficient conscience world, alternative ways to conserve energy in natural ways have made composting and items like composting toilets popular.

Types of composting toilets

There are two basic types of composting toilets:

Self-contained - These complete the composting process in one area
Central unit - These flush the human waste to a remote composting unit or bin below the toilet.

Advantages of a composting toilet

Composting toilets reduce the volume of human waste over months or years and yield a fertilizer that can be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes (after the required time).

Traditional toilets use large amounts of water and produce even larger amounts of sewage, which is considered wasted. Properly functioning, odor-free composting toilets are an excellent alternative because very little to no water is used and the human waste is converted into a useful fertilizer.

Composting toilets can also be used in disaster relief areas where water is shut off for extended periods of time. With composting toilets no pollutants are released into the air, making them environmentally sound.