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Compost toilets: separating fact from fiction (workshop)


Kate_MM

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Thursday June 16th 8-9pm a free online workshop.

 

Open to anyone but particularly aimed at sceptics - not to persuade anyone to adopt composting, just to dispel some myths, present some evidence based facts.

 

To attend you do need to register in order to access the Zoom link

 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/compost-toilets-separating-fact-from-fiction-tickets-354112779857

 

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I think it should be "separating liquids from solids".

 

I am a little uneasy around the principle of separate liquid and solid waste as it interferes with what is actually quite a personal part of human behaviour. 

 

Its a dodgy situation.

 

Suitcase is ok. Pumpout is quite often ok given sensible venting. 

 

Freeze dried long range mortar disposal is still under patent (my patent) and undergoing prototyping. 

 

You can also burn it. 

 

 

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"Compost toilets: separating fact from fiction"

 

Is this a new type of toilet that actually composts?

 

Or is "separating fact from fiction" just a euphemism for separating wee from poo? 

:giggles:

 

 

Edited by MtB
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The event I was at over the Jubilee weekend (emfcamp.org) had what were called composting toilets for 2800 people. A more accurate description might be waterless toilets. Urine and faeces went into the large container below, accompanied by a scoop of wood chippings. Male attendees were able to use adjacent urinal facilities (also waterless) which, surprisingly, hardly smelt at all despite some pooling in the troughs.

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Yes - 'composting toilet' is a totally incorrect term, it is simply a term used by the deluded to convince themselves that they are 'green'.

 

The only way a toilet could be called composting would be if the contents were left for a year or three to actually compost.

 

Current toilet systems are simply separating toilets with the composting (except in a few cases) carried out by sticking the solids in C&RT's waste bins and pouring the liquid either in the cut or alongside the towpath.

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1 hour ago, George and Dragon said:

The event I was at over the Jubilee weekend (emfcamp.org) had what were called composting toilets for 2800 people. A more accurate description might be waterless toilets. Urine and faeces went into the large container below, accompanied by a scoop of wood chippings. Male attendees were able to use adjacent urinal facilities (also waterless) which, surprisingly, hardly smelt at all despite some pooling in the troughs.

 

 

Fascinating. 

 

I wonder what they did with all the 'compost' they made over the weekend.

 

 

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5 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

Fascinating. 

 

I wonder what they did with all the 'compost' they made over the weekend.

 

 

I would think they covered the lot with the soil they'd removed to form a ditch.

A lot cheaper, and probably more environmentally friendly than the usual chemical toilets.

Not sure how the local authority deal with these festival.

 

Edited by LadyG
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Just read this and whilst I am not really interested in boatborn bogs any more it was an interesting read as to why "composting" bogs do not work, at least for 1.5 years which means that you have to carry the contents of your "composting" bog around with you for 1.5 years in a separate container until it actually composts. I also get the impression that 1.5 years is a best situation time. I'm so glad that I crap down a hole and it disappears down a pipe for someone else to deal with.

 

 https://www.livesmallridefree.com/blog/why-your-composting-toilet-doesnt-actually-compost-poop

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6 minutes ago, pete.i said:

Just read this and whilst I am not really interested in boatborn bogs any more it was an interesting read as to why "composting" bogs do not work, at least for 1.5 years which means that you have to carry the contents of your "composting" bog around with you for 1.5 years in a separate container until it actually composts. I also get the impression that 1.5 years is a best situation time. I'm so glad that I crap down a hole and it disappears down a pipe for someone else to deal with.

 

 https://www.livesmallridefree.com/blog/why-your-composting-toilet-doesnt-actually-compost-poop

 

And you try telling someone with a 'composting toilet' that and you'll hear all sorts of reasons why its not true.

 

Deluded, they are deluded I tell you !!

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40 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

I have massive respect for Kate and her dedication to making composting/separating bogs work and her willingness to put herself forward as a voice of the things, certainly in the face of the snark she often gets on here.

 

I'm sure, in fact I know there are people who misuse separating bogs, just as there are peeps who misuse cassette and pump outs, what I would be willing to bet is Kate would condem all of that.

 

Why don't you actually join the chat and ask some questions rather than snipe from the side lines and maybe learn something. 

 

Grumpy monkey with a high temp buggering off now 

 

Well said. Kate will be the first to admit the toilet doesn't compost it separates and I know she has a multi bin system for composting what comes out,  Best crawl back between the sheet tree Monkey .

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20 hours ago, Goliath said:

I’ve just bought some plastic spoons by mistake but are reckoned to be compostable, how’s that work?

 

Can I chuck them in a toilet when finished with?

 

 

There are plenty of biodegradable/compostable plastics on the market these days. You shouldn't chuck them into a toilet, you should compost them in a well managed compost heap, whether that's domestic or municipal.

 

In general, biodegradable plastics do not offer many environmental benefits in locations where municipal composting infrastructure is not widespread, unless they are home composted. They may also present several disadvantages compared to recyclable plastics: they may be mistaken by users as recyclable and contaminate recycled waste streams; end up being littered because consumers mistakenly believe they will biodegrade in any environment rather than the ones they were engineered to degrade in, and unless the compostable plastics raw materials originate from the byproduct or waste product of another industry there may also be the "land use" criticism which revolves around whether crops should be grown to produce plastics rather than food. 

 

If they end up in a compacted landfill environment, biodegradable plastics may degrade anaerobically releasing methane which has something like 25 x the global warming potential of C02. 

 

The other problem for any biodegradable plastics in contact with food is the Animal By-products Order (ABPO) which came into effect after the last foot & mouth outbreak of 2000/1. This prohibits compostable food packaging, food utensils and the like from being composted with green garden waste in municipal open windrows compost heaps, meaning the only viable municipal composting solution is within contained "in vessel" systems including anaerobic digesters where wild birds and other animals cannot come into contact with them. The only problem with that is that most local authorities just don't have much of that type of in-vessel waste management infrastructure. Home composting is still a viable alternative of course if you have a garden, but the demographic trends in this country with increasing population and people living in smaller units, means it's an option for a decreasing proportion of people.

 

For all these reasons, while they might sound good to the average consumer, biodegradable/compostable plastics are being rejected by the major retailers and they remain a niche area in terms of solutions to single use plastics and waste management.  

Edited by blackrose
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