We’ve been using our composting toilet for the past 4-months and thought we should do a little update about how its going, lessons we have learned and a few tips & tricks. Be sure to checkout our update video at the bottom of this post.
SUMMARY
Two thumbs up…even from Shae. Initially we were rather skeptical of this solution but we’ve been pleasantly surprised! For the most part there is no adverse smell (if properly maintained) and its been a great solution for us. If your wondering why we decided to mess with composting toilet check out our previous post, Off-Grid Waste: Composting Toilet
SMELL!?
As long as we add enough covering smell is not an issue. After we empty and rinse out the bucket we place it in the sun for 8-10 hours to keep it smelling fresh.
MAINTENANCE
One 5-gallon bucket will last our family almost 2-weeks with regular use. We use other facilities when available and use the composting toilet when other facilities are not convenient or available.
We keep our bulk supply of covering in our garage (inside the bed of our truck). It can be a hassle to run out to the truck to full up our covering bucket. The few times we neglected the covering and had smell issues was due to running out of material in our covering bucket.
When the bucket is full we simply add it to our compost piles and cover it with other food scraps and grass clippings, leaves and any other organic material on-hand. With compost the trick is to manage the nitrogen to carbon ratio while keeping it semi moist. Before adding a new bucket to the pile we make a small well, add the bucket then cover with new grass clippings. We add water to the pile if needed. Worms have overtaken the pile and its amazing how fast it breaks down! As long as the pile is not too wet & covered there is now smell of flies from the pile.
KIDS SEAT
We are in the process of potty-training Paisley. So we got a new toilet seat for her. It has a fold down toddler seat that can stay out of the way under the lid with a magnet. The lid is also slow closing so no little fingers get smashed.
VIDEO
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I just discovered your blog and am enjoying reading all about your airstream life! My boyfriend and I are planning on converting an old school bus into a camper to live in and travel around the states for a year. I want to use a compostable toilet as we are trying to have the bus be as much off the grid as possible. My only concern is what to do with the waste once the bucket(s) fill up on the road. We won’t have access to compost bins since we will be traveling around for long periods of time. When you are traveling with your airstream what do you do with the full buckets on the road? Thanks in advance for your insight and advice!
Hey Julie,
Great question! We have a compost bin in the NW where we spend the Spring/Summer and we have a bin in the midwest where we spend the Fall. In between while we travel we have enough buckets that hold us between these spots.
We have used a composting toilet at a camp ground we stayed to dump once otherwise the options get limited/sketchy. Human waste is such a taboo…while there are community gardens in most cities that mostly likely have compost bins my guess is most people would not be favorable to dumping human waste in their compost piles.
Another (sketchy) option is to find a remote spot and dig a hole.
I know there are a handful of other full-time travelers that use the composting toilet and I’m curious how they manage? I’ll do some checking…
Anyone else out there have any suggestions?
Hello! Just came across your site! Love it and your beautiful AS. Quick question about the bucket with the screw on lid: where did you find it?
Cheers,
Jasan
Hey Jasan! Thanks!
Its a Gamma Seal lid. Here’s an Amazon Link or you can often find them at Home Improvement stores like Home Depot.
Cheers!
-NICK
nick and shayla~!!!!!
we went to college together!! please email me.
I’m about to go off-grid and I just found your site from doing some research…crazy!!!
-tyler
Awesome Tyler! Ill email you. Looking forward to hearing about your setup!