about the composting toilet

About the composting toilet

by Livio Divan

Summer 2020 was very rich in activities in Spolek Hvozd ! We have welcomed 10 Europeans volunteers for 3 weeks in August. The idea was to make a series of short projects to prepare and organize a festival at the end of this period. One of these projects was to build a new composting toilet in the garden.

What do we have to watch out for to build a composting toilet?

• Imagine the future.

The main idea of the composting toilet is to transform useless shit in useful fertilizer for the garden. So keep in mind that we will have to move this fertilizer when it will be ready and plan a space for this.

• Separe the poo and the pee.

This step presents several advantages. For a good composting process our mix will need oxygen inside so it is better to limit as much as possible the humidity. Urine also have the problem of creating a wet and stuck layer in the bottom of the mixture which smells. So we need a pipe collecting the urine and bringing it somewhere. The best option is to dilute it in water (U1:W4) and then use this water for watering of plants. Ed.n.: - We can use the urine as an component for composting mound of hey or wood chips, which you use in garden later.

• Make two independent compartments.

When the "compartment A" will be full, the magic will need time to happen. So close the "compartment A" as possible and wait at least 3/4 months in summer time and 5/6 months in winter time. Then we can use the second "compartment B" and start a rotation. This is the easiest way to keep the toilet usable all year.

• Ad goods ingredients.

Once having done the previous points we can start using the toilet. To help nature to do its job we’ll add some elements to the mix.

Wood chips: wood chips will absorb the humidity of poop, and will keep the structure of compost with air.

Classic soil: All the bacterias and insects in the soil will multiply and activate the fermentation process. It’s good to add a little bit each time we use the toilet.

• Use it in a good way

Now we have a super fertilizer. The excrements are gone and odours also. But this is not yet completely soil so we’ll prefer to use it for bushes or trees instead of carrots and celery. If we want to have a complete transformation in soil without excrement residue should wait 24 month before spreading it in the garden.

Author: Livio Divan

Editor: Eva Pilnaj

Read more about the topic https://humanurehandbook.com/

or in Czech language here: http://www.ekozahrady.com/lidskyhnuj.pdf