Poo in composting toilets? I don't get it!!!

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yankeesouth

yankeesouth

Member
Feb 9, 2011
61
Southwestern PA
OK...there are some things I do not understand about composting toilets. Hopefully one of you composting guys can clear it up. How long does it take to compost the poo?

What I mean is this.....regardless of the make/model or whatever of the toilet system....if the crapper is used every weekend or even every other weekend there is a constant stream (no pun attended) of new waste being added. ( I guess I am looking at it from the angle of owning a commercial model, Sun-mar, Biolet, etc.) If all the waste goes into the same holding tank you may have waste that is 10 weeks old then also the fresh contribution you made from the current weekend. So how does it, (the fresh stuff) compost? I can understand that if 4 weeks worth of waste were put into a bucket, consistently stirred, and left to compost for a few months......the composting process would happen. How does composting happen when fresh poo is always being introduced?

Maybe I am not saying it right.....Basically...... if you're constantly adding fresh poo say every weekend how are things supposed to breakdown and compost?
 
yankeesouth said:
OK...there are some things I do not understand about composting toilets. Hopefully one of you composting guys can clear it up. How long does it take to compost the poo?

What I mean is this.....regardless of the make/model or whatever of the toilet system....if the crapper is used every weekend or even every other weekend there is a constant stream (no pun attended) of new waste being added. ( I guess I am looking at it from the angle of owning a commercial model, Sun-mar, Biolet, etc.) If all the waste goes into the same holding tank you may have waste that is 10 weeks old then also the fresh contribution you made from the current weekend. So how does it, (the fresh stuff) compost? I can understand that if 4 weeks worth of waste were put into a bucket, consistently stirred, and left to compost for a few months......the composting process would happen. How does composting happen when fresh poo is always being introduced?

Maybe I am not saying it right.....Basically...... if you're constantly adding fresh poo say every weekend how are things supposed to breakdown and compost?
Click to expand...

I'd imagine the poo composters hit Taco Bell frequently. More poo = livelier petunias.
 
yankeesouth - I'm no bioengineer but I do know that bacteria is within human waste and the bacteria will decompose the waste to nothing over time. This is how a septic tank works. If all that were put into a septic tank is human waste, you would never have to have it cleaned because the bacteria would keep the tank clean. The problem with septic tanks are we put grey water in there with soaps and oils and other harmful chemicals that kill the bacteria.

My guess is a composting toilet would take care of composting all the solids because there are no other fluids being introduced to kill off the bacteria needed to reduce the solids.
 
I don't think these units use a "holding tank" per se. When I was at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation HQ a few years back, the sign in the head said "add one scoop of sawdust when you finish". I think the only liquid in there is the Pee. The CBF has a company that comes to get the compost every so often. When we checked out the spot where the compost came from, it looked like there was a pretty good buffer between the compost on the bottom and the new stuff on top, maybe 10-15' or so. Also, this is a good size facility with lots of employees and volunteers. The toilet in the main building got plenty of use.
 
jabush has it right- These do not use quite the same process as a septic system. The decomposition is aerobic like a hot compost pile, not anaerobic, so it happens a lot faster. You need surprisingly little water (the natural water in your "contribution" may be enough). As with any composting, the high nitrogen stuff must be balanced with low nitrogen carbons- shredded brown leaves, sawdust, etc, or it will be nasty.
 
Talk about a thread going in the crapper...
 
BrotherBart said:
Talk about a thread going in the crapper...
Click to expand...

Yeah. I dunno if it belongs here or in The Brown Room. :lol:
 
Sounds like a royal flush to me.
 
time to flush this mess!
 
They compost from the bottom up, you add fresh on the top, and remove from the bottom.

This is the same way a working compost pile is used.

I run both compost piles (currently a four bin system) and do slit composting.

I think all of the subs are sunk now.
 
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