Off the Grid living: Compost vs Composting Toilets

As a child in the 80s, I lived with my parents on a farm that was off the grid. It gave me a compassion for wanting to continue that in my adult life as well. Not only have I lived the off-the-grid life, but I've done a lot of research on ways to modernize Off the Grid living.

One of my biggest pet peeves and research areas for me, is the Composting Toilet. When you look on the internet, you find a lot of people who are confused between the concept of a Compost Toilet versus a Composting Toilet.

A compost toilet, is one that is usually a bucket under a toilet seat frame. An outhouse is also acceptable under this list. A compost has no mechanisms, no flushing, and is usually something that is taken out to a compost pile on a daily or semi-daily basis. Sawdust, wood chips, peet moss and other natural compounds are used to cover the waste product that is in the bottom of the bucket or hole.

A composting toilet has a mechanism which means it is self composting, and it does the work for you, instead of you taking the bucket out. The most gruesome of these is the "urine derivating composting toilet". Urine goes down the front through a pipe or hose flushing outward. The waste is disposed of mechanically.

A good composting toilet mechanically removes all urine and waste, into a storage below the toilet. Whether it is hooked to electricity, or you mechanically turn a handle, the waste is emptied below the toilet then dries out making the production small enough to fit inside of a diaper. This waste can then be burned as Buffalo chips were, or disposed of in the trash as a diaper would be. The waste product can be removed every 3 months to a year depending upon how many people are using this system. The mechanics of a composting system, is unlike a compost toilet that has to be emptied on a daily basis. A composting toilet dries the waste product and delivers methane gases, which some Off the Gridders use as burning fuel. Some ways of burning the methane fuel can be hooking the methane up to a heating stove, or creating electricity outside of your home. This composting toilet is usually water free, but can be connected to electricity for disposal.

Many of those who live off the grid, choose not to have a compost or composting toilet. Instead they have a septic system. This is generally for  contain grey water (dishwater, shower water, laundry water) rather than run it out to irrigation. Those people who choose to use a compost or composting toilet generally send the grey water out to fruit trees, plants, flowers, or Gardens. This helps to irrigate plants, without over using water.

Septic systems have their pros and cons. If they back up they can create an enormous expense. They also have to be emptied out periodically. This means calling a Waste Disposal Company; which bring a large tanker truck and gear to pump the waste out of the septic system taking it to the waste disposal plant.

Compost toilets are generally emptied into a designated area, where they can be mixed with straw or mulch and dirt, making compost generally for young fruit trees. The waste product sits for a long period of time before it is used as compost. Sometimes this can be 8 to 10 months and in other cases up two years. It depends upon the pH balance of the compost.

Many regular homes, RVs, and boats, use composting toilets. Some systems are complex where others are fairly easy to set up and use. A good composting toilet starts around $700. There are different companies that are very good at making composting toilets Sun-Mar is one of the leading distributors, manufacturing many different models shapes and sizes to fit your home and your budget. (Not a Sun-Mar sponsor).

Weather using a compost or composting toilet, either system is better than the alternative. Toilets hooked up to the grid use Public Waste Services. Human waste is flushed down the toilet (along with other things such as motor oil, paint, and household chemicals) it then flows into a waste water pond, where it is mixed with chemicals. Afterwards it is sent back into our water systems which eventually comes through the tap.

Compost and composting toilets are economically sound, and they're eco-friendly. If you choose to use a compost or composting toilet, you are doing your bit for the planet. Believe me when I say it's no different than you taking a road trip, and using an outhouse along the road. It used to be all of our forefathers used outhouses. Being on the grid using a toilet that flushed into a sewer system wasn't in everybody's home until around the 1960s. So if going back to our roots, saving our planet, restraining toxins from the earth, I'm all for it. How about you?

- Annie Tomsik
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