The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Buildings & planning => Topic started by: mwncigirl on February 24, 2013, 05:13:47 pm
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Hi does anyone have any experience of building a stand alone compost loo? Thanks
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We inherited a couple here where we live. One is in a turret (like a castle ::) ) it has a timber seat, you pea or poo as normal then you have a shovel and some nice fresh wood shavings you pour on top to stop the smell (roses in my case :D ). The ones we have are just buckets below the seat so you can then transport the contents to somewhere else once there is a build up. You can have one you have steps up to so you can have a compartment below or a big composting bin which you can remove the contents over time, or I've seen a diagram somewhere for a double one - a two compartment if you like so it takes longer to fill.
I'll try and get photos on of the ones we have - at least for entertainment value :D
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You need to be clear on what you are trying to achieve. Most people when they think of a composting toilet are actually thinking of a deep pit latrine which is managed in a slightly different way.
We had a composting toilet installed eighteen months ago. It has a double vault and a pee separating baffle for ladies. Gents are instructed not to pee into the composting toilet but to go on the compost heap nearby. Users are encouraged to throw in a handful of sawdust after each visit - more to help with the structure than anything else. The toilet doesn't smell at all. It doubles up as a tool shed and it was very expensive!!!!
We will change the vault this year, let the compost rot down for a year and then use it in the garden next spring.
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I think that is the system we will end up going for Suziequeue. Do you have any photos? :)
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http://natsol.co.uk/examples/private/ (http://natsol.co.uk/examples/private/)
Ours is the one at the bottom of the page. We have since stained it green-ish.
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oh sorry, I put photos on the other similar post ::)
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[quote
Ours is the one at the bottom of the page. We have since stained it green-ish.
[/quote]
sorry but.............. :roflanim: :roflanim: :roflanim:
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Hee Hee Hee. (Sorry - can't do icons on this contraption) :-)
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weve got one .there are a few different ones they on www.envirolet.com (http://www.envirolet.com) . but quite expensive.
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My advice in a compost loo - is dont put too much effort into it - cos you have to move it every year if its well used ;)
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Bazzia's comment illustrates my comment. Moving regularly sounds like a properly managed deep trench latrine. A composting loo is a slightly different and more permanent structure in which the composted sewage is removed periodically and the pedestal can be moved to a different collecting vault (either in the same structure or not).
IMO alot of people confuse a composting loo with a badly managed DTL which is - basically a deep hole full of untreated sewage which people just continue to use until it pops.
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Hi,do I need planning permission for the composting loo suggested here.
Thanks