pvb
Well-known member
Very serious. A waterside "facility" is usually unlikely to be connected to main sewers, so will often involve some sort of septic tank arrangement where the outflow (guess what the liquid is) goes into the water.
Compost toilets
- Thread starter coopec
- Start date
Very serious. A waterside "facility" is usually unlikely to be connected to main sewers, so will often involve some sort of septic tank arrangement where the outflow (guess what the liquid is) goes into the water.
thinwater
Well-known member
Proper septic design infiltrates the liquid into the soil a safe distance from the water. It will be biologically treated before it gets there. If the liquid flows on the surface, it is not a proper design. Get it fixed.
Lucy52
Active member
Currently, there is an unresolved problem on the inland waterways with composting toilets. The contractor who was emptying the disposal facilities is refusing to handle composted excrement, as it is not composted when disposed of. It would take month to compost, the bags contain uncomposted faeces. So far, there has been no resolution.
Game of Thrones — boat toilet waste disposal | Canal & River Trust
Scroll down to: Separator toilets.
Game of Thrones — boat toilet waste disposal | Canal & River Trust
Scroll down to: Separator toilets.
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syvictoria
Well-known member
I too am very conscious of the plastic problem and keep my usage to a minimum and use alternatives wherever possible. However, in my example (from last year), I think my point was that disposal of solids could be done very infrequently and I'm not convinced that putting a full allocation of solids from a composting toilet straight overboard would be a good idea? And you might of course still be inland/inshore. Discharging from a holding tank isn't really comparable as the volume of solids will likely be considerably less and will, as mentioned by a pp, already be broken down to a large extent.
(I add that I come from a place of no personal experience, but I have done much research online. Sadly we eventually opted to install a Lavac and small holding tank.)
D
Deleted member 36384
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‘Talking to God on the big white telephone’ could be an issue with a composting toilet. Will my intercession be heard? (-;
thinwater
Well-known member
Good post with actual information. Sounds like where there are pump-outs (the UK canal system) a holding tank is the practical way to go.
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Lucy52
Active member
The problem is, composting toilets have been promoted as an environmentally friendly way to deal with the waste, giving a green, off grid solution. On the inland waterways, you have to pay for your pump out, which rankles with some. Many use cassette toilets as they are free to empty, but have limited capacity.
thinwater
Well-known member
What is the fee?
It is regulated at $5 on the Chesapeake (self-serve). Many of the marinas and some towns have pump-out boats that come around for $10-15 (full service). Seems more than fair for the work.
Lucy52
Active member
Prices are typically, £10 to £20, some higher, some lower, some DIY, some require purchase of a Smart Card. You end up paying one way or another, there is no regulation that I am aware of. A large holding tank helps, and there can be queues to empty in more popular locations.
Some people just don't like paying when there is a way not to. Likewise, some people drive around to find free parking for the car.
Some people just don't like paying when there is a way not to. Likewise, some people drive around to find free parking for the car.
Whitlock
Active member
But they are not environmentally friendly, of course, because the "virtuous" boaters who promote them don't actually create compost. Instead, they use them as a particularly disgusting bucket and chuck it system, hence CRT taking action.
Spirit (of Glenans)
Well-known member
Apologies for thread drift, but I'd like to correct the common misconception that mackerel will eat anything, particularly raw sewage. The truth is that mackerel will only hunt moving prey, which is why they are so easily caught by artificial lures and feather baits, moving typically at 3 knots, (the speed at which you decide that the sailing is boring and it's time to deploy the handline.) On the other hand, cod, haddock etc will eat any old muck floating by on the tide, when they are attracted by its smell. The probability is that the mackerel to be found near sewage outfalls are attracted by the small fry feeding on the particles of organic matter suspended in the water.
Lucy52
Active member
I think composting toilets have moved from land, where the matter can be composted properly, to boats where it is not. At the same time as making the environmental claims which can apply to land-based systems.
DownWest
Well-known member
There is a bit of difference between Porta Potties with chemicals + the urine and 'jobs' sloshing about and a dry system where the solids are mixed with sawdust or other fibrous matter and dry out. Much less noxious.
Lucy52
Active member
I thought I had been discussing composting toilets on boats, where the faecal matter does not get composted. On land this is not an issue as proper composting can take place. I only mentioned cassette toilets as a possible alternative, which some use, as composting toilets have become problematic on the Inland Waterways, as they do not to work as described.
Potties.
pvb
Well-known member
It's almost a year since the OP posted that he was considering a composting toilet. The general consensus seems to be that it's not a great idea for boats.
DownWest
Well-known member
Yes, but a dry toilet can go for weeks before emptying, while, as you noted, cassette needs it every few days. Gives one more choice as to when.
Black Sheep
Well-known member
I don't think there is a general consensus.
There's a few people with real experience of them, and good advice to offer.
And a lot of people piling in saying they haven't experienced them but don't like the idea.
pvb
Well-known member
Well, on balance, I thought people were against the idea of composting toilets on boats. Regardless, the OP might consider them a better alternative than the average dunny.
thinwater
Well-known member
That would be a narrow view. Consider:
- Boats inland without pump-out facilities. Lakes and rivers. More of a US thing.
- Winter. Pump-out stations freeze. Again, more of a US thing, perhaps.
- Small boats where the alternative is a porta-a-head, which is just nasty.
roaringgirl
Well-known member
After many years of troublesome jabsco/holding tank maintenance and the last year of full-time living aboard, the holding tank has rusted through. The quote I got for welding a (awkwardly shaped) new one on Sint Maarten was 3 times the price of a composting toilet, and the wait for the welder was months. I'll be installing the airhead in a week or so...