What is a Compost Toilet and Do You Need One?

Compost toilets can be smaller than traditional toilets, but they are equally robust and have been designed to last for years.
Here is another portable toilet by Porta Potti that weighs just 13.45 pounds and it’s the closest resemblance to a toilet that you’re used to at home. This is perfect for your RV, camp, boats, trucks and more. This even comes with an attached toilet paper holder so that you don’t have to reach a certain distance to get some toilet paper. It also comes with a handle so that you can carry it anywhere that you need to carry it. This toilet also features a tank level indicator so that you know when it’s time to clean it. This toilet can do over 50 flushes, as it contains 4 gallons of fresh water (when you fill it) and can hold up to 5.5 gallons of waste.

The period of the composting toilet will very quickly extend overtime to the traditional systems.

How to choose compost toilets

Types

Some toilets need to be cleaned daily but some can be left alone for a certain amount of time. You will need to choose a toilet that you can maintain on a regular basis.
Pros:
There are 2 different types of compost toilets which we will be discussing later. They are:

The design of the compost toilet is usually spacious so that people will be comfortable using them.
Best for: Travel & Boating – Portable Toilet Camping Porta Potty

Compost toilets are environmentally friendly, and you’ve probably seen them if you’ve used port-a-potties. But believe it or not, if you want to save money and you care about the environment, then these toilets are for you. Today we are going to talk about compost toilets and show you some of the best ones that you can buy on the market.

Installation

Pros:

The Costs

Cons:

Space

Whilst some people might argue that a toilet will cover many conventional toilets as soon as you see the savings on the water bill, the initial investment would yield gains over time.

• Height
• Floor area that’s actually available for the toilet
• How far the toilet would be from an electrical panel
• How far the toilet would be from the waterline

Capacity

Whichever toilet that you find on the market, make sure you do your research so that you can make the best choice and investment for whatever reason you need a compost toilet for.

Maintenance

If you’re looking for a toilet to bring with you while you’re travelling look no further, the ZIMMER portable toilet is the one for you.
Yes. Even the best ones you’ll have to empty at least every 2-3 months. You usually empty when the decomposition process is complete.

Pros and Cons of Compost Toilets

Pros

Cons:
This portable toilet by DOMETIC is another lightweight toilet weighing in at 12 pounds. It can hold up to 2.6 gallons of waste and it’s very easy to clean. The material is made out of ABS, which means it’s super durable. You also have the option to buy one with hold down brackets/5gallon should you need those extra features.
Remote or central
This compost toilet by Nature’s Head is a dry composting toilet that is extremely user friendly and it’s portable at 28 pounds. This unit is also urine diverting so you don’t have to worry about it being smelly and all that. The toilet is made out of stainless steel and it can withstand pretty much everything. The dimensions for this toilet is 17.75 x 20.75x 21.5” and it’s made in the USA if that matters to you.

These toilets are super environmentally friendly because it doesn’t involve flushing or electricity (on most of them) and it literally does not require gallons of water that regular toilets need. So if you’re trying to be more eco-friendly, a compost toilet is definitely for you.

Pros:
More and more composting toilets have innovative features such as automated control and synchronization, which would include the use of electricity. If you live off the grid, a toilet is not composting for you.
This is particularly valid if you do not empty your composting toilet consistently or do not properly separate the waste.
While this may probably be a negative for some, it’s always a simple repair with a decent cover and keeps the toilet’s moisture levels on a regular basis. They’re both going to make cleaning and upkeep quick and would definitely result in minimal or no odour!
Cons:
If your condition requires a toilet, you will need to purchase a battery to hook it. Keep in mind that the composting process takes more time to complete if you want to go the non-electric way.
Budget-Friendly

Cons

This toilet by Safstar is another portable toilet that has a lot of features. Weighing in at 11 pounds, it can literally hold a 440-pound person so from that aspect you know that it’s super heavy duty. The other features it comes with has:
It’s also not as hard to do on a daily basis as many people think, as you have to be careful to empty the room periodically.
You can find that composting toilets are helpful to your condition if you live in an environment where a sewer is not present.
The majority of composting toilets are fully dry. Some replicate the sense of conventional toilets with a flush, but toilets normally take 1 pint or less of water per flush, making this super environmentally friendly.

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This toilet also claims to be odorless and leak proof as it has a sealed valve that controls both. As a bonus, the toilet comes with a hold down kit to keep it in its place if you’re travelling (such as RV’s). The material used was Polypenthene, and the dimensions are 18.39 x 15.75 x 17.83”.

Types of Compost Toilets

Compost toilets are suitable in small areas, such as small houses, RV’s, cabins and much more. You may understand how a composting toilet does not accommodate as much as a traditional one if you mention one or two of those items.

Dry

There are various kinds of toilets on the market. Choosing a compost toilet is based on a few factors. Whether you are buying one for your cabin or even event (port-a-potties) you’ll need to make sure that it’s right for your area plus you are helping the environment when you get one of these toilets. Here are some factors to consider when looking to buy one:

Electric

Cons:

Solar

That ensures that the toilet channels solid (and even liquid) waste away from a central composter or remote composter, perhaps in the underground or even outdoors, if weather permits. Wide central networks should connect many toilets such that large households can be served.

Portable

Finally, one of the last portable compost toilets we’re rounding up, is the lightest weight yet weighing in at 9.2 pounds. It features a full-size seat up to 350 pounds and the toilet has a full seat lid as well, so you don’t have to smell that odor. This toilet also comes with 1 disposable waste bag, so you’ll have to change it often so if you want to be extra sanitary. This toilet also has handles so you can transport it easily to wherever you want to put the toilet. The material is made out of heavy-duty construction and the dimensions are 14x14x14”.

The Best Compost Toilets

Nature’s Head Dry Composting Toilet with Standard Crank Handle

This extremely lightweight and portable toilet is good if you want to use a toilet near your tent.
To improve the composting process, many composting toilets use electricity. For eg, a small electric ventilator generates continuous airflow through the ventilation line. More advanced characteristics can involve heating elements that trigger good bacteria so that’s always a good thing with electric compost toilets.

FAQ

Do composting toilets smell bad?

Here we have another portable toilet by ZIMMER that literally looks like a child’s potty, but we promise you that it’s not. Weighing in at 9.75 pounds, it has a full-size seat that both adults and children can use. It can hold up to 3 gallons of water and about 5 gallons of waste. What’s great about this potty is that it has a side valve that you can use to open/close to control the odors, leakage and more. This toilet is made from polyethylene, so that means if you leave it outside, it won’t get destroyed. The dimensions for this toilet are 16.5” x 13.5”x12”. This is perfect if you’re on a budget (it costs just .99) and don’t want to spend a lot.

Can you pee in a composting toilet?

Can’t be used everywhere

Do you have to empty a compost toilet?

You’ll need to know how much the toilet would be used, for example some toilets can only handle weekend usage before cleaning while others can handle much more (being heavy duty).

How do you use a composting toilet?

Solar can refer to a number of varieties of toilets for composting. The easiest will be an electrical composting toilet that recharges its fan battery with a solar panel. This saves you the turmoil of shifting batteries and offers backup power. Many manufacturers sell accessories to turn their toilets to solar.

Bottom Line

Before buying the toilet, think about how it’s going to be installed. Water and electricity connections, as well as support pads and elevated platforms, are all needed for some toilets. If you aren’t planning on doing the task yourself, have a consultant estimate the job before ordering the toilet. This way, you’ll know whether or not the installation will be completed ahead of time. You really don’t want to be left with an expensive oversized flowerpot.
There are two major types of compost toilets being self-contained and central/remote but we feel that you should know all the types of composting toilets so you can decide which one is for you: