What Is a Composting Toilet (Updated March ’20)
With more and more pressure being put on the average person to enact environmentally-friendly means of disposing of waste of all sorts, many of use find ourselves going out of our way to increase the amount of waste we compost, thus reducing the amount we throw in the trash or, in the case of toilets, that we send to a water treatment facility. Of course, we can all appreciate a device which makes composting easier. And, as it turns out, there is no better device in this regard than the composting toilet.
THE COMPOSTING TOILET – AN OVERVIEW
As its name clearly suggests, the composting toilet turns biodegradable matter into a material which further supports said matter’s ability to biodegrade in the first place. While they may look similar to other toilets on the outside, the way they function and the way they’re built fits in a whole other category. For example, where standard toilets rely heavily on indoor plumbing and sewage use, composting toilets rely very little on such amenities. In fact, some don’t even use them at all. As such, many composting toilets can be found in outhouses or extremely rural areas throughout the world where indoor plumbing isn’t always a given.
COMPOSTING TOILET PROS:
There are many reasons to acquire one of these toilets for yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages which can be had by making your next toilet a composting toilet.
– These toilets are good for the environment. Of course, this is a fairly obvious advantage so I’ll leave it at that.
– Because they don’t rely as heavily on sewage and plumbing as standard toilets, installing a composting toilet will save a substantial amount of money in the long run. Of course, such a toilet may only be worth the investment if you planned on getting a new toilet in the first place.
– These toilets may also save you money on gardening supplies, assuming you do any significant amount of gardening in the first place. Because of the material you’re composting, you’ll never need to buy fertilizer again. You’ll also likely find the fertilizer these toilets produce is of an extremely high quality.
– In areas where you would typically install an outhouse, a composting toilet may bring all of the same advantages as an outhouse while still allowing you to install your toilet indoors.
COMPOSTING TOILET CONS:
Of course, everyone has their own specific needs. As such, what works best for you might not work best for others. A few sacrifices need to be made by those who plan on installing these toilets in the home. So, on a final note, let’s take a look at what to expect in this regard.
– Because composting toilets don’t flush directly down to the sewers beneath them, they may produce more smell than standard toilets.
– Despite having little in the way of mechanical parts, these toilets require some degree of maintenance. After all, the mechanism that holds the compost will need to be emptied at some point or another.
– Because these toilets may not come with the same powerful flush as many standard toilets (or any flush at all, for that matter) more work will be required to clean their inner bowls.
