When you are building a homestead from scratch, there are some basic needs that need to be figured out:
- Where do we sleep while we build? (For us it was camping during the summer and now living in our cozy home while finishing the interior)
- Where do we get our drinking, bathing, and washing water? (Rainwater catchment + Berkey filter for drinking, pond for everything else, and in times of necessity, filling up barrels at friends’ houses)
- How do we stay warm? (Wood stove and a well-insulated house!)
- How do we cook? (We use a combination of a Rocket Stove, our wood stove, a propane camping stove, and our Sun Oven)
- And finally, where do we poop?
So that’s the topic I will address today – the poop scoop. Below, I will share a slightly edited version of an article that was originally published in the wonderful online homesteading magazine, From Scratch. Since this article was written in the late summer, I’ll give a short update:
- We are still using this same bucket system.
- The toilet seat is much colder.
- Sometimes poop freezes inside a bucket and it’s harder to empty into our composting pile. Luckily in our household, there is a clear division of labor around such tasks, and my very wonderful husband manages to keep the privy in great order.
So, enjoy, and I welcome your questions in the comments!
Composting Toilets on the Homestead
First published in From Scratch Magazine
It’s a beautiful morning here on my homestead, and I head outside to visit the privy. Lifting the lid on a five-gallon bucket, I place a toilet seat upon it and make a deposit in our “humanure” system. I toss toilet paper and a handful of sawdust into the bucket, close the lid, and return to the kitchen to wash up. In a few days, the contents of the bucket will be added to an enclosed compost pile, separate from the one we use in our garden, and over time, my own human poop will turn into rich, dark compost that we will use on our orchard and shrubs.
My family’s bucket toilet is a very basic example of a composting toilet, a waterless system that takes advantage of the natural process of decomposition to turn human waste into a soil amendment. In an off-grid situation, composting toilets are an ideal solution for waste management because they do not require water or electricity. But increasingly, even urban or rural dwellers concerned with the environmental impact of our modern sewer system are turning to composting toilets as an
alternative to traditional flush toilets.
What is a composting toilet?
Composting toilets run the gamut from simple DIY systems like the bucket approach described above, to commercial systems that conform to building codes. For the past 14 years, my family has used a variety of composting toilets, including a simple bucket, a hand-dug pit latrine, a homemade Clivus multrum-style unit, and a commercial Sun-Mar composting toilet. The process of using each of these composting toilets is relatively simple and consistent – do your business, and add a “bulking agent” such as peat moss or sawdust to provide air space for aerobic decomposition, and to control odors and insects. What happens next varies from system to system.
For instance, when our bucket fills, we manually transfer the contents to a larger pile, where it composts in isolation. Microorganisms, including heat-loving bacteria break down the human excrement in a relatively rapid aerobic process, akin to a garden compost pile. In some commercial systems, a fan provides a flow of oxygen and removes odors and excess moisture, and the waste decomposes in the unit, to be removed when it has been composted. Potential pathogens present in the waste are either killed by the high temperatures of decomposition, or die-off after composting for long periods of time. The end result is topsoil-like material that is appropriate for use on fruit trees or shrubs, or even in the garden.
Benefits of Using a Composting Toilet
For the modern homesteader, composting toilets offer many benefits. At our stage of developing our homestead, we do not have the option of a flush toilet, and our composting toilet has been a simple and effective way to manage human waste. But even for homesteaders with access to city or well water, a waterless composting toilet system represents a significant decrease in water consumption, and minimizes the environmental impacts of adding human excrement to our potable water system. Diverting solid waste also facilitates creating a greywater system for your homestead. Humanure, when fully decomposed, is a safe and rich source of fertilizer for your food forest. And finally, composting toilets provide you with a practically fail-proof way to go to the bathroom, even in situations such as water-shortages or plumbing problems.
What are some of the challenges?
There are some inherent challenges with a composting toilet system, namely odor, bug problems, and effort (and perhaps cost, if you’re considering purchasing a code-approved commercial unit). Sawdust and peat moss are incredibly effective at controlling odor, but when a system gets more use than it is designed for, such as when you’re hosting house guests, compositing toilets can develop an odor. In our last home, we had a horrible infestation of what I referred to as “poo moths.” We simply could not rid our toilet of these pests without resorting to an insecticide. And while many commercial systems are created to minimize human contact with waste, there may be effort required to remove the composted humanure from your system.
It is also important to consider local building codes, and to employ common sense when designing a composting toilet system. A pit latrine, for instance, should only be used in areas where groundwater contamination is not a concern. Some rural areas do not have building codes governing small parcels, allowing you to install your system of choice. But most cities require code-approved commercially made composting toilets.
The Bottom Line
Homesteaders wanting to increase self-sufficiency, lighten their load on the earth, create closed loop systems on their land, and lower costs should seriously consider a composting toilet system. It’s empowering to watch something that most people consider an unpleasant waste product become something of value, simply through the natural process of decomposition. And our apple orchard certainly thrived with the addition of rich humanure compost.
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anna says
I grew up on an organic farm in Hawaii, using a composting toilet. There was a family down the road from mine that had indoor plumbing. Their daughter, who was a couple years older than me, made fun of me for “pooping in a bucket”.
Then their power went out, and as a result their plumbing stopped working. While they were waiting for it to come back online, the daughter apparently had a digestive “emergency”. So she ran down the road to ask if she could use our composting toilet, and my mother told her she could.
She emerged looking very relieved, and no doubt having learned an important lesson. She didn’t make fun of our toilet after that!
Teri Page says
Such a great lesson! Even if you don’t want a full-time composting toilet, some version of a bucket toilet makes a lot of sense for emergency situations!
google says
Great blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little
lost on everything. Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or
go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely confused ..
Any ideas? Bless you!
Teri Page says
Hi Donna,
If you have any interest in making money, I recommend WordPress.org. There are lots of resources out there for starting a blog. Just google How to Start a Blog and you’ll find them. Good luck!
Cara says
I didn’t see any me ruin of “wiping”. Do you use any certain kind of tp in order for it to compost in with it all? Wet wipes would need a separate garbage bag I would assume?!
Cara says
*mention. Not me ruin??
Teri Page says
Yes Cara, we use regular old toilet paper. I wouldn’t put anything else into the bucket, as it might not compost properly.
Heidi says
Hello! I guess I’m a little late with this comment, but I just found your article. I was introduced to composting toilets while doing an internship on a WI farm. We are now building a market garden (selling veggies, etc. through CSA’s and farmers markets), and are living in an RV on my in-laws property until we can get a house built. Last summer, we set up the composting toilet. I built a plywood box with a hinged lid to house the 5 gal bucket and mounted a regular toilet seat to the lid. Feels just like a regular toilet! We designated four buckets that would be used for the toilet exclusively so they wouldn’t have to be emptied too often. We stock piled sawdust from a local wood mill (that is now, sadly, out of business). Then winter came. Our first issue was the buckets freezing when we put them outside when they were full. That was solved by storing them in the bath tub. (No running water in the winter, so the tub wasn’t being used anyway.) With plenty of sawdust with each use, there was no smell. We did have difficulty transporting the buckets out to the designated bins out in the field. Ended up using sleds to haul them across the snow, but that was precarious at times. Our next problem was with the straw we used to cover the bucket contents after dumping them into the bin. By mid-December it was frozen solid! We had it covered with a tarp, but apparently that wasn’t good enough. We definitely need to adjust our winter routine before we go through that again. Would appreciate any ideas people have for winter management!
Teri Page says
We had the same problem with frozen poo buckets! My husband primarily deals with disposal, and he said he would use a second bucket, and then wait for a thaw.
A few thoughts – one is putting your humanure bucket indoors somewwhere. Another is digging a pit toilet (which is not always a great idea if you’re near water).
loydapc says
How does one find out if you can do this in the state/county you live in ? I have heard of many people (bff who lives in WA state) wanting to do this but the county won’t allow it. I guess I could also ask about this when it comes to water too ! Thx
Teri Page says
It often varies from county to county. See if you can be in touch with the permitting or zoning folks in your county.
Linda says
I don’t know what effect it would have on your ‘composting’ process but my grandmother always had a bag of lime in her toilet to sprinkle on our ‘deposts’. It almost eliminated flies and stench.
Teri Page says
Yes, lime will definitely cut down on smell, but it also changes the pH. Most sources that I have come across don’t recommend putting lime in a system that you are trying to compost.
Wendy Hoff says
I have been considering a composting toilet in my home because I want to use my aerobic septic system to water my garden but don’t want the icky bugs on the food. Any thoughts?
Teri Page says
If you separate out the poop, what it’s still in your water? If you are using all natural soaps and shampoos, etc. then it might be fine for your plants. For instance, we use our sink water to water our fruit trees. Try googling “graywater systems” for more ideas.
Brandy E says
I’ve been looking into a composting toilet and found one set up that looked like it might work for in house use. Basically it is a box with a sealed toilet seat on it, and the waste drops down below into 5 gallon buckets, separated pee and poo. Even thinking of some kind of trap door that would separate your receptacle from your toilet space, so you open it to “flush” when you are done and the toilet seat is closed – helping to isolate it further from your bathroom. There is a outside access to the buckets, so no hauling it through the house. There is an exhaust pipe from the box leading high up to the top of the house, to help deal with odor. Then you empty poo bucket into 55 gallon buckets lined with a net that does not allow it to compact too much, which is compost in about a year (or so I have heard). Pee is diluted and used as a fertilizer immediately, or dumped onto compost pile (not the poo). This seemed like a manageable system that would not have me stumbling around outside in the middle of the night to an outhouse. Worst part would be the transfer between containers and cleaning thereof. I do like the idea of using hydrogen peroxide since I’ve long ago sworn off bleach!
Teri Page says
wow! That system sounds like they have thought of everything to make it easier on people. I don’t mind the simple bucket system myself, but when we host visitors – my mother, for instance – it is much more comfortable for people to have less intimate contact with their poop. Thanks for sharing this idea. I hope you find a system that will work well for your house!
Colleen says
Brandy, where did you find that toilet are what is it called? Sounds like just what we need.
Josephine says
Living in the White Mountains of NH, I have had trouble in the past with the line to the septic system freezing. One year, I had a port-a-potty brought in to use until spring when everything thawed out. I’ve wanted to install a composting toilet in the building I use as my sewing room. I’d like to use an electric unit without water. It is just too hard to keep running water in the winter in this part of the country. We are all on wells here. I do have a friend who has an outhouse, but she uses a child’s potty then dumps it in the outhouse. I would suppose that living in Missouri you don’t have the below freezing temps that we have to deal with for months on end.
Teri Page says
Josephine, I think your idea of using an indoor bucket toilet is a great one for your winter months. I know several people who bring their composting toilet indoors for the winter and then back out when the weather warms. Especially with the plumbing freezing, as you describe, it’s a great option.
We do get cold weather in Missouri – the other day it was -11 degrees – but it doesn’t seem to hold on for months the way it does further north. I lived in Massachusetts and Maine for 21 years, so I know the type of weather you’re talking about!!
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
deborah says
Has anyone considered using red worms for their composting toilet systems? To me, it is the best answer to how to best compost humanure.
Teri Page says
I did a quick google search for worms and humaure, and it seems that choosing the right species is important, as is keeping the urine out of your humanure pile. That makes sense to me, and it certainly is an interesting option! Thanks for your comment!
Rianna Stone says
Good article Teri! We have been using the humanure bucket system for almost 3 years now. We keep our bucket inside and we keep a rotation of six buckets. When it is full it goes outside and my husband will clean several at one time. We also use a toilet seat that snaps onto the bucket. We found it at Bass Pro and it has worked well.
Teri Page says
Thanks for sharing that tip, Rianna! A snap on toilet seat would be much better than the one we have, as it slips around!
I also like your idea of using multiple buckets to make the emptying chore a bit less time consuming. Batch the job, rather than do it every few days.
Ed Brown says
Good article. My thoughts to add:
Sanitation is easy if you use hydrogen peroxide applied to all surfaces with a sprayer, like a Windex or 409 bottle. Not much survives contact with it and it is a friendlier bleaching agent than halogens like chlorine and iodine. We treat our chicken eggs with a spritz of H2O2 after they have been washed just to ensure no bacteria make it into our fridge. Add a drop of dish soap as a surfactant. Also, just situating the privy so that sunlight can get into it makes a huge difference in sanitation and smell. A small automotive ozone generator attached to a solar panel and placed down hole in a steel drum style composting toilet made it so no smell escaped the drum. We also used an enzyme additive that used to be available at RV stores and outfitters, called “Wastaway”. Enzymes, or catalyst proteins, can dramatically speed the decomposition process and reduce smells without harsh chemical additives.
Nutrient retention is a little more complex than just temperature of composting. There are denitrifying bacteria that will kick in at any opportune moment where they meet with aerobic conditions, which can occur in the middle of a very active aerobic process. In a closed system like drum compost, it is possible to end up with very little nitrogen in the finished product. SImilarly, in a pit toilet it is possible to loose nutrients to leaching from excess ground water or binding to soil particles that retain the nutrients for long periods. The mineral components necessary for plant growth, P, K, S, Ca, Fe, Mg, B, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo and Cl, will mostly remain if they are not leached out of the compost, but are also subject to acid/ base reactions that determine how available they are to plants. When it comes to organic supplements, the advice from my Fertilizers professor was, “Spread it thin and win”.
Teri Page says
Thanks for your thoughts Ed. I like your professor’s advice!
Jo Rellime says
Thanks, Teri! Great post. We have been using a luggable loo and then finding legal places to dispose of the bags on our way back to the city, but soon we will need a more permanent solution. I would love to know more about how you manage the germs when it comes time to empty and wash out the bucket…. rubber gloves & bleach? Problem I have with traditional pit outhouses … spiders! I rather have something less like a wooden closet & instead surrounded by a brightly colored tarp (like you have above) so that I can see if there is a spider close by. You cannot see them against the dark wooden walls of an outhouse. Anyway! Thanks. Great food for thought!
Jo Rellime says
… and the only thing worse that being in a dark, confined space with a spider is having your britches down when you see it!
Teri Page says
Hi Jo. We use the same bucket at all times so we don’t clean it out that thoroughly each time it is emptied, although that would probably be more important if it was indoors.
And yes, much less chance if spiders when it is a fresh open air situation!!
Teri Page says
And yes, rubber gloves and a designated brush would work just fine.
Dulci says
How long does it have to compost before you are able to use it? I assume it is longer than your normal compost would take.
Teri Page says
I have read anything from 6 months to a few years. I tend to err on the side of caution with this one and leave it for at least a year. But temperature HSS a good deal to do with decomposition rates, so if you live in a warmer climate, it may decompose more quickly.
Lisa Zahn says
Great writing! You’ve made the topic understandable. I would need something indoors though!
Teri Page says
With this weather, I would prefer something indoors too!!
Diana says
Hi Teri,
I just recently found your website/blog, thanks for posting such great stuff. My husband and I moved to our little piece of homesteading heaven September 2012 (Amish farm on 20 acres). We’ve been knee deep in building, growing, planning and dreaming. We love it. I wanted to comment on your last remark. We too have a composting toilet in our home (inside). And slowly are meeting more and more people switching over to this wonderful way of dealing with our “daily deeds”. I just wanted to say, this bucket method is fine for inside use, so long as you are using “raw sawdust” (though the occasional “courtesy match” doesn’t hurt). I have heard peat moss is fine too, but cannot attest to that, since we only use raw sawdust from our Amish neighbor that has a mill.
Most people wouldn’t think you can use this method in doors, but you can and it is more pleasant than the so called “normal” toilets everyone is so brainwashed into using. We were lucky enough to have thoughtful dear friends (users of the same method) recognize how busy we were with recently moving to our land and them knowing we couldn’t spare the time to build a toilet that didn’t require “balancing” shall we say. So they built use our custom commode – that’s when you know you have great friends, haha
I’d love to send a picture, but couldn’t post one here. Keep up the great work.
PS: I love Ella’s dresses, she looks so pretty in them.
Teri Page says
So great to hear of your experiences! I would love to bring our toilet indoors, but we have so little space, that we would have no privacy (particularly for guests when they come visit). So outdoors is where it stays for now. And we too use raw sawdust from an Amish mill, or from our planer. In the past, when we had a landlord buying supplies, we used peat moss in a composting toilet, but I really don’t like to use peat if I don’t have to because of the questionable sustainability of the material. Sawdust is always available.
Thanks for writing!
Diana says
I understand that. It was so funny the first time I read your intro out loud to my husband, we were cracking up, because (and I mean this) every thing you posted…we are also right in the middle of doing ourselves…we could have written what you wrote – right now to the Rocket Stove Mass Heater.
It was great confirmation that there ARE others out there doing what we are doing! Whew! Have you seen the video by Chris Towerton: http://youtu.be/5OIZekftbxw : and his adaptation of a Rocket Stove/Earthen Oven. We too have plans for our outside kitchen and first were only going to make the Earthen Oven, but now are changing it to the Combo. Makes more sense with the amount or the lack of work the Rocket Stove requires.
Keep up the great work!
Diana
Teri Page says
I have not yet seen that link. I will check it out. So far we’ve only used the Rocket cook stoves, but I am intrigued by the combination that you mention – seems to make a lot of sense! Thank you!
Ellie says
We use a bucket system indoors, and love it (although my visiting family will probably always be uncomfortable). Wondering on the legalities of it in Missouri and where others live? Here in Wisconsin, it is not legal. P.S. Humanure is a great book for those seeking more info! Thanks… I’m excited to have found your blog!
Teri Page says
Building codes in rural Missouri are very “relaxed,” which is one reason we are here! From what I understand, rules about septic systems apply to properties under 3 acres, but since we’re on a larger piece of land, in a rural area, we are exempt from that rule. We also happen to live in an area heavily populated with Amish, where outhouses and electricity-free living are the norm!