Solo Boater - What Toilet?

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, NB Caelmiri said:

I would hazard a guess at the overwhelming majority of compostiing toilet owners using proper compositing bags which are made of cornstarch and decompose within months.

 

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It sounds as it the bags 'decompose' at about the same rate as the poop composts, so you end up with a big heap of dried, composted poop under you bed but no 'container' left to remove it in.

Quite!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

That's interesting and it is the first time, I think, I have heard mention of bagging the poo in anything other than plastic bags - usually one inside the other. How robust are the proper composting bags and are they in danger of bursting  - too heavy contents or damp contents? What stage of the process are these bags used? With poo straight from the loo or after it has been drying out for a while?

I use these bags: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alina-Compostable-Kerbside-Biodegradable-Composting/dp/B01LXA7ADI

 

They're not really strong but they are quite stretchy so I tend to double bag. I used to get the bags from Kildwick before they closed their doors and the bailiffs sold the company to a German guy (or whatever the story was), which were much stronger than the ones I get. But these ones are fine and have only had one "accidental spillage/breakage" which wasn't the most fun of tasks. But they do work fine. These go into my poo holding bucket, the muck goes in the bag and then I can pick the bag up and put it in my composting box, or disposed of elsewhere when I'm not able to do that. I find it a bit cleaner to deal with than it just going in the bucket directly. I tend to put loo paper and everything in the poo holding bucket so it fills more quickly than someone who disposes of their used loo paper elsewhere.

1 hour ago, haggis said:

Sorry to ask so many questions but I am trying to get my head round why so many folk think a composting loo is more environmentally friendly, cheaper and less work than a cassette or pump put loo. 

 

haggis

I think it's swings and roundabouts to be honest. There are some elements of composting toilets that are less work, there are other elements that are more work. It's certainly cheaper than a pump out - no pump out charges - but about on par if not the smae with a cassette - I pay (not much) for bags, cassette toilet users pay (not much) for chemicals. I would probably think it's more environmentally friendly than both given you're not using chemicals although I get that some people aren't using chemicals in their pump outs.

 

I'm by no means out to convert anyone, I've had a pump out toilet before - it was great when I was in London and either the service boats were around or the pump out facilities weren't on the blink but my composting toilet has been far easier. If they weren't so bloody expensive, I'd have an incinerating toilet as I think that'd probably be the easiest/cleanest of the lot but at over 2k it's out of my budget by a long shot.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It sounds as it the bags 'decompose' at about the same rate as the poop composts, so you end up with a big heap of dried, composted poop under you bed but no 'container' left to remove it in.

 

What might be worse is if the bags decompose in 4 months but it takes 6 months for the poop to compost.

 

I'll stick with my sea-toilet and cassette.

I'm struggling to understand what you're describing. I don't see how the bag decomposing has any bearing on the rest of the muck decomposing.

 

Unless you're suggesting putting filled bags as they are under the bed?? ? ? I wouldn't put filled bags under my bed or elsewhere unless they were contained! It's a convenient way of emptying the poo bin in the toilet with less mess and less cleaning - I just pick it up and stick it in my composting box.

Edited June 9, 2020 by NB Caelmiri

[Alan de Enfield]

10 minutes ago, NB Caelmiri said:

I'm struggling to understand what you're describing. I don't see how the bag decomposing has any bearing on the rest of the muck decomposing.

 

Unless you're suggesting putting fill bags as they are under the bed?? ? ? I wouldn't put filled bags under my bed or elsewhere unless they were contained! It's a convenient way of emptying the poo bin in the toilet with less mess and less cleaning - I just pick it up and stick it in my composting box.

As the composting relies on oxygen to work, are you saying that you tip out the 'sloppy stuff' into an open-topped 'composting box' ?

 

What do you then do with the soiled bags, and where do you keep your composting box ?

 

In other discussions other people have said that they keep the 'buckets' under their bed for about 6 months until it is properly composted, other seem to get bored with storing it and tip it into the normal refuse bins in an un-composted state.

It is because of those practices that many marinas have banned boats with composting toilets due to the Transfer of waste regulations and raw sewage handling'

 

Our commercial bins (1000 litre, big wheely bin type) are collected by Biffa, on receipt at the waste depot the bin-lorries are tipped out onto conveyor belts and the rubbish sorted by hand (rows of people stood at the side of the conveyor belts). People dumping raw sewage in the bins are not giving any consideration to those workers.

 

Edit to add :

 

We actually have to list the materials that go into the bins and make an annual declaration - if they start finding 'stuff' that shouldn't be there we could be subject to huge fines.

 

I'm guessing that the Marinas are subject to similar conditions / restriction by their bin collecting company.

 

You may find the attached interesting

 

https://tardishire.co.uk/what-is-a-waste-declaration-form/

 

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-classify-different-types-of-waste

 

https://www.netregs.org.uk/environmental-topics/waste/storage-handling-and-transport-of-waste/receiving-waste-or-sewage/

Edited June 9, 2020 by Alan de Enfield

[Daltonn]

If you're looking for a great choice, look no further, JOHNSON PUMPS will be an ideal marine toilet for your boat. Easy install and it works great, once I got the kinks worked out. Make sure your wiring is good, any drop in voltage will reduce its ability to pump to the required height.