First year with a composting toilet

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, nb_kizzy said:

I would love to have a compost toilet rather than a pump out (sh!t under the bed? yuk) or cassettes

 

Where do you think you are going to store the OPEN topped buckets of slowly composting 'stuff' for 6 months ?

Fine if you have a land base and a garden but on a boat its either under the bed (yuk !) or on the deck.

[mrsmelly]

19 minutes ago, nb_kizzy said:

Thank you, frahkn, for a really informative initial post. For me it's an ideological issue. I don't have my boat yet but am thinking about how I want to live on it, and I would love to have a compost toilet rather than a pump out (sh!t under the bed? yuk) or cassettes. Human 'waste' is organic matter surely no different from manure, and could be a valuable resource if saved and processed properly. We have all sadly been conditioned to think that what comes out of us is disgusting, yet those of us who are used to a water sewage system are only a small fraction of the world's population, and it would be unsustainable if everyone on the planet had a poop and flush system. I for one would like to live a greener lifestyle on my boat than I do currently on land, and I would like to be able to conserve the contents of my compost toilet, somehow, for gardening on my boat. 

Bless.

[peterboat]

37 minutes ago, nb_kizzy said:

Thank you, frahkn, for a really informative initial post. For me it's an ideological issue. I don't have my boat yet but am thinking about how I want to live on it, and I would love to have a compost toilet rather than a pump out (sh!t under the bed? yuk) or cassettes. Human 'waste' is organic matter surely no different from manure, and could be a valuable resource if saved and processed properly. We have all sadly been conditioned to think that what comes out of us is disgusting, yet those of us who are used to a water sewage system are only a small fraction of the world's population, and it would be unsustainable if everyone on the planet had a poop and flush system. I for one would like to live a greener lifestyle on my boat than I do currently on land, and I would like to be able to conserve the contents of my compost toilet, somehow, for gardening on my boat. 

For the last 10 years I have been using it on my allotment it works well and produces great veg, shortly others will tell you that you will die if you do it, just ignore them

35 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Where do you think you are going to store the OPEN topped buckets of slowly composting 'stuff' for 6 months ?

Fine if you have a land base and a garden but on a boat its either under the bed (yuk !) or on the deck.

Engine compartment? getting nice and warm and breaking down

[Tracy D'arth]

On 03/06/2020 at 20:27, Alan de Enfield said:

I'm sure I've told the story before :

 

When I was doing my HNC electrical course at College we made a trip to the local sewage works - they were generating electricity and feeding it into the grid (remember this was the '70's and it was quite novel).

When we arrived I saw a notice on the gate "Melon and Tomatoes for Sale".

It turns out that the human body cannot break down either melon or Tomato seeds and they pass straight thru the human body. The sewage-cake was spread across the local fields and as a result they had a superb crop of both Melons and Tomatoes  which when sold off contributed to the 'coffee fund'.

 

On leaving, the Foreman said to the group "It may be Sh*t to you, but to me its bread & butter".

 

 

Just as an aside - it was Stoke Bardolph sewage works which is alongside the River Trent and still discharges into the River.

When the dredgings were placed on the farm fields, they had to spray with weed killer as the fields were covered in tomato plants. I am surprised that the seeds don't rot in the canal.

 

On 03/06/2020 at 21:09, Quillan said:

Do you mean there are no longer night soil collectors in the UK?

 

Seriously I asked about this type of toilet recently and having read this one I think I will go for a pump out primarily and a cassette if the boat was really super and that was the only thing not on my check list.

 

I used to empty my pump out into a sanitary point. I remember being a Braunston running the pipe out then starting to pump. Thing is they always seem to start with a slight kink in the pipe but once a bit of force is used it pushes past and your away. You always get a load of rubber neckers in Braunston on a sunny Sunday and a nice helpful fella saw the pipe swelling up so got hold of the end that was dangling into the emptying receptacle to give it a shake. I shouted NOOOOOOOOOO but it was to late. Nasty stuff the output from pump out tanks especially when your covered in the stuff. Lucky for him there where showers in the marina there.

I was told off for using the Braunston  elsan point for pumping out. Jobs worth claimed I would block it up. Difficult to understand how completely macerated waste would block a drain that takes lots of very solid waste happily, if it ever makes a drain happy. 

Edited August 10, 2020 by Tracy D'arth

[OldGoat]

5 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

When the dredgings were placed on the farm fields, they had to spray with weed killer as the fields where covered in tomato plants. I am surprised that the seeds don't rot in the canal.

 

I was told off for using the elsan point for pumping out. Jobs worth claimed I would block it up. Difficult to understand how completely macerated waste would block a drain that takes lots of very solid waste happily, if it ever makes a drain happy. 

AH, but,yes,but -

I am aware that some disposal points have very little capacity ( and for all I know enptying cycles are based on anticipated B-and-C useage), thus even the occasional self punpout use will cause problems.

[Tracy D'arth]

Just now, OldGoat said:

AH, but,yes,but -

I am aware that some disposal points have very little capacity ( and for all I know enptying cycles are based on anticipated B-and-C useage), thus even the occasional self punpout use will cause problems.

Agreed but I am talking about a point on the main drainage. There are very few on septic tanks or cesspits

[LadyG]

On 10/08/2020 at 12:45, nb_kizzy said:

Thank you, frahkn, for a really informative initial post. For me it's an ideological issue. I don't have my boat yet but am thinking about how I want to live on it, and I would love to have a compost toilet rather than a pump out (sh!t under the bed? yuk) or cassettes. Human 'waste' is organic matter surely no different from manure, and could be a valuable resource if saved and processed properly. We have all sadly been conditioned to think that what comes out of us is disgusting, yet those of us who are used to a water sewage system are only a small fraction of the world's population, and it would be unsustainable if everyone on the planet had a poop and flush system. I for one would like to live a greener lifestyle on my boat than I do currently on land, and I would like to be able to conserve the contents of my compost toilet, somehow, for gardening on my boat. 

There speaks an idealist.

Sorry, composting animal wastes in times past worked because cows ate dried grass in winter and then pooed in to straw bedding for the winter months. This heated up [killed bugs] and in spring it was spread on fields, then six months later hay/grain was harvested.

 

Human waste carries disease, composting is very difficult, uncontrolled human waste disposal is dangerous and difficult.

As for boat gardening   ....................................

............... I don't mean to be rude, but really ................

Human waste is wet, smelly, full of disease carrying bugs, drug residues etc, and not compostable without processing.

Edited August 12, 2020 by LadyG

[peterboat]

14 minutes ago, LadyG said:

There speaks an idealist.

Sorry, composting animal wastes in times past worked because cows ate dried grass in winter and then pooed in to straw bedding for the winter months. This heated up [killed bugs] and in spring it was spread on fields, then six months later hay/grain was harvested.

 

Human waste carries disease, composting is very difficult, uncontrolled human waste disposal is dangerous and difficult.

As for boat gardening   ....................................

............... I don't mean to be rude, but really ................

Human waste is wet, smelly, full of disease carrying bugs, drug residues etc, and not compostable without processing.

Wrong

[tree monkey]

21 minutes ago, peterboat said:

Wrong

Not completely wrong

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, peterboat said:

Wrong

Only one tiny bit. 

[peterboat]

1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

Not completely wrong

 

27 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Only one tiny bit. 

It's fine, mine is composted on a compost heap with veg matter for 3 years , lots of heat generated and its completely broken down when put on the garden. Before the allotment my neighbour used to use it same procedure great vegetable grown. I could have it tested as Smith my allotment partner used to own a public health testing lab and still has access to it

[tree monkey]

2 minutes ago, peterboat said:

 

It's fine, mine is composted on a compost heap with veg matter for 3 years , lots of heat generated and its completely broken down when put on the garden. Before the allotment my neighbour used to use it same procedure great vegetable grown. I could have it tested as Smith my allotment partner used to own a public health testing lab and still has access to it

You do it properly though and I would be happy to have a system like yours, the problem is those who think dessicated poo is composted and safe.

 

On a facebook thread recently someone was talking about bunging the waste in a compostable bag and burying it under a hedge on the towpath and thought this was fine, maybe in an emergency but this was routine burying of untreated human waste and others thought this was a great idea

[peterboat]

4 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

You do it properly though and I would be happy to have a system like yours, the problem is those who think dessicated poo is composted and safe.

 

On a facebook thread recently someone was talking about bunging the waste in a compostable bag and burying it under a hedge on the towpath and thought this was fine, maybe in an emergency but this was routine burying of untreated human waste and others thought this was a great idea

Oh dear  I have 3 buckets for mine veg matter goes down the toilet same time as poo along with coconut shavings it ten goes in the compost bin outside along with other peoples veg matter and dog poo , bin then goes to compost heap when full.  It's a long process but produces first class compost which as you know is essential for good vegetables 

[Bod]

3 minutes ago, peterboat said:

Oh dear  I have 3 buckets for mine veg matter goes down the toilet same time as poo along with coconut shavings it ten goes in the compost bin outside along with other peoples veg matter and dog poo , bin then goes to compost heap when full.  It's a long process but produces first class compost which as you know is essential for good vegetables 

And there in lies the problem.

For every one like Peterboat, who does it correctly, there will be 20(?) who do not have the knowledge, equipment, space, or quantity to compost fully the contents of their toilet.

 

Bod. 

[haggis]

You do it properly, Peter, because you have the facilities to do that but you are the exception. How many other boaters have the facility to compost properly? . When I see photos and hear about canal bins being full and overflowing and some boaters saying just to leave your rubbish on the ground beside the bins, I wonder how much of it is human waste which some poor sod will have to pick up when clearing the site. I think I would be more understanding of composting loos on boats if I didn't have this horrible image of people having to handle other people's waste. It is like going back to the dark ages before sewers were invented. 

 

Haggis

[tree monkey]

5 minutes ago, haggis said:

You do it properly, Peter, because you have the facilities to do that but you are the exception. How many other boaters have the facility to compost properly? . When I see photos and hear about canal bins being full and overflowing and some boaters saying just to leave your rubbish on the ground beside the bins, I wonder how much of it is human waste which some poor sod will have to pick up when clearing the site. I think I would be more understanding of composting loos on boats if I didn't have this horrible image of people having to handle other people's waste. It is like going back to the dark ages before sewers were invented. 

 

Haggis

The bins nr my moorings occasionally get over full, with the usual numpties dumping crap on the floor, this gets me right grumpy so I often clean it up, apart from recently two large carrier bag sized sealed bags of some sort of squishy stuff.

 

 it could have been innocent but on the other hand the idea of a bag bursting whilst I lifted it into the bin was enough for me to leave it

Edited August 12, 2020 by tree monkey

[Katherine Taylor]

A really thorough write up, thank you. We are just beginning to plan our live aboard life and will certainly be installing a composting toilet if our floating home doesn't have one.

[frahkn]

If you plan to live aboard you need to consider storage space while composting finishes. I would emphasise that while the original 'product' does not smell and is easy to 'handle', it is not compost. In my opinion it should not be binned in that state.

 

The loo is still fine after a second year by the way.

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Katherine Taylor said:

A really thorough write up, thank you. We are just beginning to plan our live aboard life and will certainly be installing a composting toilet if our floating home doesn't have one.

Do you have an allotment or will you put it in plastic bags and put it in the Biffa bin, a practice which is not only disgusting, but also illegal?

4 minutes ago, frahkn said:

If you plan to live aboard you need to consider storage space while composting finishes. I would emphasise that while the original 'product' does not smell and is easy to 'handle', it is not compost. In my opinion it should not be binned in that state.

 

The loo is still fine after a second year by the way.

Storing plastic bags filled with faeces for two years is not composting.

No way do composting bins do any composting.

Edited January 16, 2021 by LadyG

[LadyG]

On 12/08/2020 at 15:42, peterboat said:

Oh dear  I have 3 buckets for mine veg matter goes down the toilet same time as poo along with coconut shavings it ten goes in the compost bin outside along with other peoples veg matter and dog poo , bin then goes to compost heap when full.  It's a long process but produces first class compost which as you know is essential for good vegetables 

Why not put it in to the national sewerage system which is designed for the job, is readily accessible, and 'free', in as much as it's pre paid. 

You might have the facilities and the patience to compost, but how many boaters have you met who have a three year cycling composting system and an allotment?

The composting loos sold for campers do not 'compost', they store human waste, that's all they do.

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by LadyG

[peterboat]

57 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Why not put it in to the national sewerage system which is designed for the job, is readily accessible, and 'free', in as much as it's pre paid. 

You might have the facilities and the patience to compost, but how many boaters have you met who have a three year cycling composting system and an allotment?

The composting loos sold for campers do not 'compost', they store human waste, that's all they do.

 

But when they get home they might compost it?

Why waste a valuable product is my thoughts and it saves massive amounts of energy and water 

[Dr Bob]

 

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

Do you have an allotment or will you put it in plastic bags and put it in the Biffa bin, a practice which is not only disgusting, but also illegal?

I'm not sure why you find it disgusting. Millions of people each day throw human waste (mixed poo and wee) into bins in the form of soiled nappies -millions of nappies per day. That is not illegal. How many boaters dont throw their soiled toilet paper down the loo but instead bag it to throw in the bin?

I expect you have not seen the solid desicated waste that comes out of one of these toilets in making the comments you make. It is not the horrible slimey smelly mess that people think.

Once it is double bagged and put in a bin (not on the floor by a full bin), then no one will touch it until it ends up in landfill or an incinerator.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Dr Bob said:

Once it is double bagged and put in a bin (not on the floor by a full bin), then no one will touch it until it ends up in landfill or an incinerator.

As has been previously said (a number of times by a number of posters).

 

Our LA has 'sheds' full of Eastern Europeans - the bin lorries tip out onto a conveyor belt, the 'sorters' cut open any bags and sort all the rubbish for incinerate or land fill, or recycle.

 

Expecting them to sort thru bin bags full of crap is not really 'on'.

[LadyG]

On 25/06/2020 at 19:15, madsunday said:

can you not bag it and dispose in normal bins? I thought id read somewhere that was the done thing?

You can!

but it is illegal

I read somewhere most marina will not allow boats to use compost toilets. Do your green credentials allow you to send plastic bags and human faeces to landfill? 

Best just to shit in a bucket, empty bucket, repeat. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by LadyG

[peterboat]

2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

You can!

but it is illegal

I read somewhere most marina will not allow boats to use compost toilets. Do your green credentials allow you to send plastic bags and human faeces to landfill? 

BWML so it's a few marinas