Composting toilets; what to do with them?

[Brewerbob]

So, if you're on the road or boon docking and you have a composting toilet...


1) how often do you have to empty it?
2) where to empty it?


As I understand it, it's very solid waste (compared to a black tank) and you can't exactly pump it like the black tanked RVs. So, legally, how do you get rid of it?


I think I'd rather compost than black tank but I don't know all the pros and cons of either. I'm going to start to make these kinds of decisions soon.

[turf]

the legal way is to dump in your compost pile, on your land, for use in your garden.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by turf

the legal way is to dump in your compost pile, on your land, for use in your garden.

And if you are on the road for 4 months straight and home is 3,000 miles away?

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

And if you are on the road for 4 months straight and home is 3,000 miles away?

I say chuck it in the nearest trash can... the urine is the biggest issue.. and im thinking you could flush that down the drain at a rest area?

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

.. the urine is the biggest issue.. and im thinking you could flush that down the drain at a rest area?

That you can dump at the pumping station legally.

[brokedown]

Urine jug can be dumped in any toilet. Rest stops, park facilities, etc. Solid waste can be throws out with regular trash as long as it's properly bagged. Hardly different from tossing a dirty diaper, just a higher quantity.

[CaptSquid]

When I was a driver, I dumped my jug in the weeds. No one complained.

[EastCoastCB]

They need to be emptied very regularly.
This is a pretty realistic video that has lots of honest info about em-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM71d8wMuUU&t=1355s

[turf]

why would you get a composting toilet if you are not planning on composting?

this is my pet peeve. i hope whoever perpetuates the composting toilet in a bus theory rots in hell.

watch the 'gone with the winns' video on disposing their toilet and you can be cute like them leaving **** bombs in dumpsters across the country.

then i would check the local laws where and when you decide to dump.

black tanks and dump stations are the normal, safe, sanitary way to dispose of your waste.

[CaptSquid]

Turf, if you had cats (just as an example), how do you dispose of THEIR waste? Do you take it to your trash can and hope the city hauls it off? Or do you dig an even bigger cat hole to dispose of the solid waste and post HAZMAT signs all around it?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by turf

why would you get a composting toilet if you are not planning on composting?

this is my pet peeve. i hope whoever perpetuates the composting toilet in a bus theory rots in hell.

watch the 'gone with the winns' video on disposing their toilet and you can be cute like them leaving **** bombs in dumpsters across the country.

then i would check the local laws where and when you decide to dump.

black tanks and dump stations are the normal, safe, sanitary way to dispose of your waste.

There is no "composting" toilet. "Composting" is a marketing term because no one's lining up to buy a "litter box" for a thousand bucks.

[turf]

that was a pretty good video.

i have cats, i bag their litterbox. and dispose of it in my own dumpster or one i pay to use.

common courtesy keeps me from dumping said waste at travel stops, gas pumps, rest areas and the like. i don't know when i saw a diaper last, but thats is never pleasant.

the thought of composting toilets as a trend in RVs is disturbing. you may choose to clean up ****, but to leave the chance that someone else may come in contact with it downstream is disturbing.

with a black tank, you dispose directly into treatment facility. these compost bombs means that at least 1, maybe 2 more people have to deal with your waste. the trashman and possibly the service worker change can liners.

if you accidently got hit by a cat turd when a can liner broke, well that's just a bad day. if you got tagged by a human compost pile that broke through a liner, you'd remember that for the rest of your life.

there is a difference

[Johnny Mullet]

If you are going to poo or pee in any type of container, you eventually have to deal with it.

[bus-bro]

I would just like to differentiate between a real composting toilet and a 5 gallon pail with wood chips. A real composting toilet makes compost, the pail is more like a human litter box. We throw our cat litter in the trash, so I guess emptying your pail in the trash would be the equivalent. Just seems a bit gross. Me, I got a black tank. Kinda gross in it's own way too.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by bus-bro

I would just like to differentiate between a real composting toilet and a 5 gallon pail with wood chips. A real composting toilet makes compost, the pail is more like a human litter box. We throw our cat litter in the trash, so I guess emptying your pail in the trash would be the equivalent. Just seems a bit gross. Me, I got a black tank. Kinda gross in it's own way too.

Nah, unless you poo in it once a year its not composting.
It takes a long time to make real compost.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

Turf, if you had cats (just as an example), how do you dispose of THEIR waste? Do you take it to your trash can and hope the city hauls it off? Or do you dig an even bigger cat hole to dispose of the solid waste and post HAZMAT signs all around it?

Dogs are far worse. Or at least the gf's dogs vs my cats. I dunno what's wrong with my one cat. He craps mummified tootsie rolls. It's like he eats only dry hay. For an indoor cat it's not even possible.

And the gf's one dog... OMG. That dog is full of it. Never seen a dog crap 3 times on the same 15 minute walk before. Both dogs stink to high hell and it's just that little baggie keeping it away from the garbage man.

Originally Posted by brokedown

Urine jug can be dumped in any toilet. Rest stops, park facilities, etc. Solid waste can be throws out with regular trash as long as it's properly bagged. Hardly different from tossing a dirty diaper, just a higher quantity.

If "ripeness" is the measuring stick, then nothing beats a diaper. I'm soooo glad those days are over!!!

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

They need to be emptied very regularly.
This is a pretty realistic video that has lots of honest info about em-

I'll check it out. Thx.

Originally Posted by turf

why would you get a composting toilet if you are not planning on composting?

this is my pet peeve. i hope whoever perpetuates the composting toilet in a bus theory rots in hell.

watch the 'gone with the winns' video on disposing their toilet and you can be cute like them leaving **** bombs in dumpsters across the country.

then i would check the local laws where and when you decide to dump.

black tanks and dump stations are the normal, safe, sanitary way to dispose of your waste.

I guess I would fit into your peev then. I don't want to haul around a second 40-80 gallon tank. Nor have to buy a second tank if I don't have to.

I'm not saying I wouldn't compost ever but if I'm driving thru Yellowstone, the rangers might not like me leaving a big ole bucket in the bushes and telling them not to worry about it; it's compost.

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Nah, unless you poo in it once a year its not composting.
It takes a long time to make real compost.

Just playing devil's advocate but they are indeed composting toilets. Composting is a chemical reaction. In 2 day, 2 weeks, or even 2 months, you do NOT have compost (yet) but it is definitely composting. Grammar is a b1tch.

Some BS 10th grade "Life" class that I had to take, one question was "how old after you eat does it take for things to go south for tooth decay?'. Everyone in the class was guessing. A day, 12 hours, 8 hrs, etc. Um, hello people. It's enzymes and a chemical reaction; about 30 seconds. The text book said 2 minutes.

The only other thing I remember about that worthless class is drug users lose their sense of taste so they use more pepper and salt. Salt is bad for you. "So, the take away from this is don't use heroine because the salt will give you hyper tension?" The teacher didn't like me much. This kind of stuff was actually in the text book. I wish I knew who wrote it and who thought it was a good idea to have a class based on it. Two dudes/dudettes that need a serious slap in the skull.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by turf

why would you get a composting toilet if you are not planning on composting?

Oh and the video mentions another reason that I forgot to mention which is a BIG one for me. A composting toilet doesn't freeze. I wouldn't want a black tank taking up internal space. I don't want weather to be a determining where and when I go. I want to go to the Canadian Rockies in the dead of winter if I so wish.

[JDOnTheGo]

I am so glad you used the word "legal" in your post Bob - well done!!

A very tiny bit of research will reveal that tossing it (human waste - not compost) in the trash is NOT ok - at least in most places. That said, I don't know the answer or the laws in every locale. It looked like a horrible solution to me for my lifestyle so I stopped investigating right there.

This article (from the NFS) is one of many that are similar - last couple paragraphs.
https://www.nps.gov/cany/learn/news/news0801513.htm

[Cdimples67]

Hi,
Get a toilet with a urine diverter so it goes into the gray tank and the solids go into the trash. Don't se why everyone makes a big deal about it as most of them are swinging around green bags of poo from their dogs every day!

[PNW_Steve]

Before I installed my composting toilet in my home I checked with the garbage collection company to find out if it was OK to put human waste in the garbage.

They told me that they didn't encourage it but they did allow as long as it was packaged to prevent secondary contact. The same applies to animal feces.

When I did install the composting toilet, I elected to FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS and emptied the contents about once a week into a compost bin to finish. When the process is complete, the compost is used on NON FÒOD plants.

After living full time for almost 7 years with a black tank and two years with a composting toilet I strongly prefer the composting toilet over having a black tank.

I have some suspicion that some of the folks that are exerting the most energy trying to talk you out of a composting toilet have never lived with one.

Isnt it awesome the we get to build our buses just the way that we want them. Flushing, composting or none at all.