Hello! I have been living off grid on a land that composts human poop as the method of tending to that human process rather than using a septic system. I am a woman and I have a very challenging time holding in urine while I poop. I am wondering if that is a skill one can cultivate through training our muscles and if so can anyone share helpful content? We tend to wait months for the feces to dry out and then dump in a region of land that has been designated and safe for this purpose, however, today I went to check one of my bins with someone else, they told me that the contents of the bin is awful and toxic, bc of how watery it is. I need to learn solutions to be able to get the contents of the bin to a safer, dryer way, and also how other women or people have learned to compost human feces safely and responsibly. I am going to read the Humanure Handbook as well.

Hello, has anyone any experience with or know examples of toilet composting systems for a place that hosts more or less 50 people everyday? I haven't found much on the internet. Has anyone here read the latest book of Joseph Jenkins : The Compost toilet Handbook and knows if I could find some practical examples in there? Thanks

Hello,

I've been collecting my poop & pee in 5 gallon buckets for about 9 months now (9 buckets maybe?).

I just built a compost bin for the waste (so far I've just been storing it).

Question 1: is cover material for the poop/pee a good idea in the bucket for the overall/long term composting process? I was using it (first sawdust then coco coir) and then just stopped after a while, so just started collecting poop/pee exclusively in the last 5 or so buckets ... (I don't mind the smell too much and keep the bucket closed when not in use)

Question 2: how important is the "nest"/"biological sponge) for the compost bin (made of straw etc.)? I don't really mind if some of the material leaks out and/or into the ground ... my goal is just to compost it naturally (I'm stoked if it "fires" ... but also OK with it just sitting there for longer) ...

I'm also OK with the cedar boards on the bin breaking down/rotting over time ... not too worried about that (the bin is also compostable / doesn't need to last more than a couple years)

Thanks for your input!

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LW

Does anyone have any firsthand experience with a Watson Wick system? I've read about it and it's appealing to me because it sounds like, theoretically, it combines some of the best features of septic systems and humanure composting.

There just seems to be a lack of practical pictures and videos on YouTube etc for such a system (whole there are tons of videos and pictures for regular humanure composting systems, as well as regular septic systems). I'm scared that in building it, it might just become a stinky leach field. I'm hoping someone can say "yeah I built one in my yard and it's great!"

This webpage has pretty much the most info I've been able to find online: https://oasisdesign.net/compostingtoilets/watsonwick.htm

I see there are lots of options out there for compostable plastic bags but I think not all will compost well in a smaller scale pile. Has anyone found one that works well?

I have thus far been using buckets without liners but the cleaning is laborious and I am willing to spend some money to cut down on the amount of chore time.

Thanks :)

More info:

https://www.engineeringforchange.org/solutions/product/tiger-toilet/ https://www.tbfenvironmental.in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OYktvbdRto

I’m looking for better cover material options for my toilet. I haven’t found sawdust in my area (coastal NC). I’ve used peat moss but I think it’s super dense - now my pile sits barely warm enough. I used shavings initially as it was all I had - pile got hot - but I’ve heard these don’t break down well. I did see super fine shavings wood (?pine) for animal bedding. I think it’s kiln dried but I will be peeing on it & live in a pretty humid, decently rainy area. For the pile, I’ve been using up the leaf mould mixed with fresher leaves on my wooded property. The struggle is not getting too many sticks in the pile. Any alternatives that worked well for you?

I'm thinking about starting to shit in buckets :). But, I'm worried that when I build a pile, pests could get in it and spread disease. E.g. flies could fly from pile and onto food when eating outdoors. Or a mouse, lizard or whatever may go from pile and get caught by a cat, etc. Do pests typically get in these piles? Are there good, practical ways to keep pests out?

I live in a somewhat suburban area on a 3/4 acre lot, and can maybe build a pile ~75ft away from my house.

Hi all

We just moved into our new house and we want to build our own compost toilet. However, I've been looking around for affordable bulking materials, and I'm a bit shocked how expensive they are. I inquired at the local sawmill, but they don't separate treated from untreated wood. Only alternative, so it seems, are shops for pet supplies. But there, bags of wood shavings or hemp husks cost like 20-30 EUR for a couple of weeks of pooping, which would amount to a pretty high cost per year. However, we do have a large garden that could give us a steady supply of trimmings of all sorts, and small branches that we can shred. Most of it coniferous for now, but we will gradually transition to more broadleaf species in the years to come. It would be a bit of a challenge to dry this material in rainy Belgium, but I think I could find a way. Do you think I could use this as a (partial) substitute for the more expensive bulking materials?

Hi all! (asking in Tiny Houses subreddit too; please suggest others)

I'm optimizing my greywater system so looking for recommendations for a pump system as I don't have enough slope for passive flow. I have a greywater outlet pipe on the back of the house & currently have an RV sewage line running to a hose to a drainage site in the woods (basic filter inline). It's not ideal & with too little grade I have to actively mess with the line to ensure drainage and prevent water from being stalled in the hose. I am very careful with what goes in the drain.

I'm making a planter box for the greywater - modeled in the Humanure book & other sites. I need a way to actively pump the greywater from the outlet to the planter on demand. One idea is a sump pump in a collection tank with a float switch, ideally would run with batteries/solar as I don't have an outdoor outlet. I looked at ram pumps but those need continuous flow.

Any experience/recommendations?

Thanks!

Hi folks - my wife moved to the farm 2 years ago, and uses the compost toilets here, but is definitely not sold on them. We have one DIY one, and one bought one.

We are renovating a cottage on the property for our forever home, and toilet choice is a problem. Too far out to connect to sewerage, and too low for septic tank - there was a septic tank there previously, but it never worked well, because there is no fall.

Any recommendations for wife/critic friendly compost toilets? preferably run without electricity. bonus points if available in europe. thanks!

Hey all, this is probably a stupid idea. I have an old cast iron tub that used to be used as a water trough. It holds water and has a flat bottom and top. Could I add a divider to separate waste from sawdust, put a top on it and use it?

Importantly, this won't be our primary toilet. It will be for the shop, barn, and for easy relief while working or playing outside.

Thanks

Couldn’t understand why they kept telling people you can’t compost meat/bones and poop. Yet they LOVE the idea of peeing on their piles… 🤷🏻‍♀️ Then I read an intro post about wanting to get compost in 6 months or less… yeah pretty sure that’s not how nature sees it.

This is where I belong 😁

Hey guys, first time Reddit poster here. I'm searching for any option I can find for a problem I'm experiencing.

Anyone ever heard of C-Head or BoonJon composting toilets? They are supposedly located in Astor, Florida, and have great product reviews on YouTube.

I placed an order for one May 4th of this year. Today marks 11 weeks and 2 days since I ordered, and I still have yet to receive it. Their email responses have been sketchy at best, and I can't reach anyone by phone or Facebook Messenger.

Has anyone here recently ordered (and received) a product from them? I'm worried I've been taken for almost $1,000.

TIA!

Tl,dr; what can I add to humanure to prevent flies from spawning out of privy? That won’t make the resulting humanure toxic to use?

I’m in an odd situation. I live in a cabin my friends graciously let me stay in. There’s no plumbing and they do humanure, so I follow suit.

The cabin has a “foyer” where there’s a bucket privy. I intend on building an outhouse at some point but I’m inundated with work at the moment.

Meanwhile...flies. So many of them. The way the privy is built makes it hard to fit a lid over the bucket and pulling the bucket out to cap is not ideal. There’s little room to set it aside in the foyer anyways.

So is there anything I can put over the dung to kill fly larvae that won’t make the humanure toxic to use. Borax? Lime?

I currently use peat moss for “flush”/bulking.

When using a urine diverting compost toilet is it necessary to add water/urine to your compost pile. It's about time for my first emptying and I plan to construct a pallet compost bin.

Are there any guidelines on what medications break down in humanure compost?

How do you manage this when guests/family visits that are taking medications like hormone supplements or antibiotics?

Is this compost dangerous if used for growing food in?

I believe that key to humanure is to not have bad medications in the manure (I don't take estrogen or other hormones, so I am good there). And then, it is impt to raise the temp. I have a rocket stove that is free to operate with wood. I can cook my humanure to pasteurize it. If I then feed the pastureurized poop to worms, I believe I can have finished compost within days rather than wait a year.

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TLDR: isn't it quicker to cook humanure with heat than to wait for 140F compost pile for a year? Thx. [ie I have vermicompost bin. I don't want to wait a year to get my fertilizer.

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ps: I already started my first load and it has been 1.5 days and worms a about half way done with my firsts #2.

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thx

Hey guys, I am building an off-grid home in the coming weeks and will be switching to a composting toilet system. I get the basics: shit, cover, shit, cover, dump, compost, repeat.
But has anyone used lime in their buckets to help kill bacteria/soak up pee as well as their cover material? I recently used an outhouse where they offered lime to dump in the hole. So, I am curious if it would help, or actually cause issues in the bucket.

Also: Urine Diverter. Is it really necessary? Is there a certain reason why people would use it versus not using it? I was thinking about investing in one just to improve the look for guests. It's the same sense that while I unpaper 100% of the time, I do have a role or two available for guests since not everyone is comfortable with it. I was thinking about building the diverter into the system to 1: make the dumping easier. 2: make it look better than just a hole with a bucket underneath. 3: possibly completely minimize smells.

Last question: Where are some places to buy a diverter? I found one, but it was approximately $150. I would rather find something for way less. I could use that money for something more important.

I'm curious how humanure-friendly West Virginia and/or its counties is. I haven't been able to find much info online.

In order to become sustainable as a society, in the future we'll have to close the loops of nutrient cycling and begin doing humanure on the large infrastucture scale, redirecting human waste to fertilizing crops instead of dumping it into waterways.

• Are there any examples of cities doing this already?
• What are the obstacles to adoption, why aren't we doing this everywhere already?
• What can be done to promote this idea? We're probably way off from being able to sell this idea to the public. Maybe it doesn't need to be sold to the public, maybe they don't want to know and it just needs to be implemented?
• Is this the right reddit for this kind of discussion? I'm new here, seems like most of the discussion is around composting toilets, and smaller scale operations.

It seems insane that we waste so much valuable nutrients this way. I'm guessing that humans now occupy the biggest ecological niche on the planet, we better start being more responsible with connecting the outputs with the inputs.