For the Camping Enthusiast: Portable Compostable Toilets
Have you ever been camping or hiking and struggled to find a restroom space when needed?
Portable composting toilets are the perfect solution for outdoor enthusiasts. They’re light, easy to transport, and environmentally friendly. The Portable Compostable Toilet is a mobile composting toilet that can be used in remote locations.
A portable composting toilet can be used anywhere: at home, workplaces, even construction sites where there is no water supply available.
Portable composting camping toilets come in different shapes and sizes with some models being more suitable for caravans than others.
Read on to learn how you can use them on your next road trip or camping trip!
What is a portable composting toilet?
If you travel frequently in a camper or on a boat, you are probably familiar with ingeniously sustainable, contemporary urine-diverting dry composting toilets.
These are essentially camping toilets intended for independent, off-grid, and waterless usage — a more environmentally friendly alternative to portable chemical toilets, which require water and, as the name implies, special chemicals and additives to work.
A portable composting toilet, unlike the urine-diverting composting toilets, is meant for short-term outdoor use, such as hiking and fishing expeditions, festivals, or tent camping vacations.
It does not have a separate solids and liquids container so portable dry composting toilets lack a separation function for liquids and solid waste, as well as ventilation, and are simple to install.
In simple terms, portable toilets are simply toilets you can carry around so you don’t have to aimlessly look for a suitable bush on your next camping trip!
How does a portable composting toilet work?
With a conventional toilet, human excrement enters a clean bowl of water, is flushed away with more clean water, and you probably don’t think about it again.
However, the deposits in a cassette toilet are kept and treated with harmful chemicals until they can be disposed of responsibly.
Composting toilets are designed so that human waste will decompose naturally without any harm done to our environment, unlike regular sewage systems.
The units come in various sizes ranging from one-person capacity up to four people capacity depending on your needs! There is something available for everyone if you need these types of facilities
Portable toilet: Portable composting toilets are a great solution for camper vans, van conversions when camping, or as an emergency backup plan. They’re also helpful where there’s no sewer access and the only alternative is using a bucket-style toilet (which can lead to contamination).
Portable toilets have been around since WWI and they’ve made significant improvements over time. Today, portable toilets offer features like odor control devices, privacy curtains, and handles for easy lifting – even flushing.
Can you poop in portable compostable toilets?
Now for the all-important questions…. and probably the most asked!
Is it sanitary and can you poop in a portable composting toilet?
The simple answer is yes.
Portable composting toilets are intended to create a clean and safe environment. Portable toilets can be used as an alternative to a bucket toilet or regular toilets in a variety of settings, such as on construction sites or in isolated places where a sewage system is difficult to discover.
Portable composting bathrooms provide several advantages, like odor control, privacy curtains, easy-to-lift handles, and even flushing!
They’re also commonly used for large gatherings and by those who don’t have access to plumbing at home.
Is it sanitary?
One of the biggest concerns surrounding a camping toilet or portable composting toilets is that they are unsanitary.
However…
We’ve all tried to use one of the major public bathrooms during large events and gatherings, only to be confronted with the unpleasant truths of the human body.
Any bathroom, portable compost toilets or not, can develop odors over time!
Portable toilets, on the other hand, are considerably more confined, and the stench cannot spread. Not only that, but many portable toilet versions have a hand sanitizing station as well as a separate hand washing space.
Portable bathrooms are a completely safe and sanitary method to find sweet relief and get back to the action – as long as they are well-maintained!
How do I empty my portable compostable toilets?
Portable cassette toilet contents, human waste, and chemical mix can be disposed of in 4 simple steps but must be disposed of responsibly.
A local RV dumping station or disposal point is usually available at a camping site.
Step 1 – Locate the Chemical Disposal Point
The first thing that must be done is locate the campsite’s waste disposal point- this is usually a long way away from where you will have camped, as they’re typically placed far down from the pitches to prevent annoying campers with the smell.
Step 2- Remove waste containers
The waste containers are what hold your liquid and solid waste, usually in separate containers.
The second step would be to remove this waste tank ready to be transferred to the disposal and dumping point.
Step 3- Transport your waste
It’s important to bear in mind that waste containers can be very heavy in some portable toilet models- so if the one you’re handling is on the heavier side, I would suggest finding a partner to help carry the waste tank with you.
Once you have done this, you can head toward the disposal site to empty out your container.
Step 4- Clean out your waste tank
This is the final, but very important step.
Now comes the slightly uncomfortable part, at least for some people. Open the waste container and carefully open the air vent and dump the contents into the disposal point.
It’s easy to have splashback or slip and spill the contents all over your flip flops if you don’t take care!
Opening the air vent decreases gushing and, in principle, splashing.
This is an excellent excuse to be alone. It’s awful enough being splattered by your own deposits, let alone those of others!
To flush out the tank, most disposal stations include a hose or a tap and bucket.
Fill the tank with water, shut it all up, and give it a thorough shake to ensure that all components are dislodged and empty.
And you’re done! Your portable compostable toilets are emptied out and disposed of as easily as that!
How do portable toilets prevent odor and bad smells?
Despite appearances, human waste is mainly water—it’s a reaction between liquids and particles that causes the unpleasant odor of a sewage stink.
Portable compostable toilets, to avoid this odor, use two receptacles to segregate liquid material from solid waste.
Pee is directed into the front of the toilet bowl, where it drips into the pee pot. As a result, the great majority of liquids never make it to the solid (poo) pot.
This is the stage in which organic material such as coco coir, peat moss, wood shavings, or sawdust is put into the poo pot.
A lever on the side of the throne opens a flap at the bottom of the basin for dumping. The gravity-fed deposits fall into the poo pot, where the fertilizing coco coir is waiting to do its job.
This exhaust fan aids in the evaporation of moisture, allowing the composting process to operate more efficiently on the solid waste.
What is the best portable composting toilet on the market?
There are many models of portable compostable toilets to choose from brands such as Airhead, Sun Mar, and Nature’s Head. Below, we will outline some of our favorite models of composting toilets with great portability.
The Sun Mar Compact portable compostable toilets is rated for one adult on a regular basis and three adults or a family of four on weekends and holidays.
The Sun Mar Compact has a low profile and a fashionable look. Sun-Mar engineers created this low-profile device by inventing and patenting a novel variable diameter Bio-Drum that is tiny in the front and huge in the back.
To keep the Sun Mar Compact’s clean lines, a unique Bio-drum handle retreats into the body of the device to mix and aerate the compost.
Rescue Camping 25 is ideal for use when camping, or in a boat or RV. When nature calls, it adds added convenience and comfort to your journey.
Rescue camping is suitable for both adults and children, and it is simple to construct and disassemble as required, ideal when you have no power supply.
Don’t do your business in nature; do it in a pleasant manner, even if you’re out in the woods.
Things to consider
These are questions you should be asking yourself as you shop for the right camping toilet.
Lightweight
This goes hand in hand with portability, but a heavy compost toilet is no good. So it’s important to consider the weight and size- the lighter the better!
Sturdy
One of the last struggles you want to be having is your balance and sturdiness on the toilet.
It’s important to ensure the toilet is able to undoubtedly handle your weight.
Minimalistic Design
Although a fancy portable compostable toilet can look high-end and more aesthetically pleasing, it’s worth remembering that the more complex the toilet the higher the chances of malfunction and the less portable and packable it would be.
The last thing you would want on your next camping excursion would having to worry about toilet malfunctions and resorting to a bush to handle your business!
Low Maintenance
We’re saving the best till last as the most vital consideration to make when purchasing your portable compostable toilets as opposed to the chemical toilets, is the ease of cleaning and maintenance.
The easier it is to clean and maintain, the more time you’ll have to enjoy the great outdoors.
Conclusion
Portable compostable toilets are a great solution when camping or as an emergency backup plan.
They’re also helpful where there’s no sewer access or power supply and the only alternative is using a bucket-style toilet (which can lead to contamination).
Portable compostable toilets have been around since WWI and they’ve made significant improvements over time. Today, portable toilets offer features like odor control devices, privacy curtains, and handles for easy lifting – even flushing!
You will find many products when you are looking at portable toilets, with numerous designs and models you can choose from which can cater to all budget types.
These toilets are different from a regular home toilet and chemical toilet, but are a great method of waste management when you’re on the road, camping, or even on a boat!
Check out all the other types of composting toilets you can choose from here
