Let's face it; today's consumers are looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly. Some people have begun carpooling to work in order to cut down on gas consumption. Some have returned to old traditions such as hanging their laundry out to dry. Others however, have taken to composting their own sewage to conserve water and cut back on the hazards of municipal wastewater treatment. In fact, there now exist many composting toilet manufacturers that introduce products that make sewage composting easier and cleaner than previously imagined.
How Composting Toilet Systems Work
Composting toilets apply the same concept of recycling that many people are familiar with in their own households. Whether you are recycling plastic, paper, or sewage; the foundation of all recycling is returning refuge to its purest original form so it may be reused rather than buried in a landfill.
The original form of human waste is simple-carbon-based-nutrients, which constitute much of the earth's soil. Only 2-10% of human waste is actually solid, the remainder is moisture. The goal of composting toilets is to remove the 90-98% parts moisture, while breaking down the solid portion of waste into soil. This is done using oxygen, heat, and microbes (microscopic organisms that convert waste molecules).
Composting toilets use a variety of methods to accomplish decomposition, ranging from simple pits to three-chamber electric powered converters. The end results are generally the same--a small tray of compost emptied monthly or annually depending on the system. Contained in this tray is a soil which the EPA has deemed germ-free and safe for use in gardens and other compost applications.
Composting toilets, if installed properly, are odor-free and simple to maintain, although certain additives are often needed such as peat, and microbe food to help the decomposition process.
Reasons for Purchasing a Composting Toilet System
There is a variety of reasons for the purchase of a composting toilet, but generally consumers purchase composting toilets for environmental reasons, or due to the lack of a septic system on a particular site.
Many purchasers of composting toilet systems own a property or a cabin somewhere that is not conducive to the installation of a septic system. Installing a septic system on a new property is a complex and expensive process. Many property owners, depending on the frequency they use their property, opt for composting toilets as a cheap fix to the septic installation problem.
Some properties may not be conducive to septic systems. Property owners may want to consider composting toilets if their property is ecologically sensitive and contain wetlands, or other ecosystems that should not be prodded with a backhoe.
Are Composting Toilet Systems Green?
The task of deeming composting toilets as green or not green, is largely tied to the task of identifying whether or not traditional wastewater treatment processes are green. The basic process of wastewater treatment uses water as a carrier of waste. The average toilet uses one to three gallons of water per flush to thrust an individual's waste into the municipal treatment system.
In underground piping, wastewater is channeled toward the treatment facility where it is pressed, processed and released into a local body of water such as a stream, river, or ocean. Within the treatment process microbes are used, much like the composting toilet process, to degrade waste to a simpler form. Chemicals and minerals such as lime are often added, and the remaining liquid, or "effluent" is discharged into the local water body. The solids, known as "sludge", are often shipped to landfills for burial.
Treatment facility discharges are sampled and monitored by local, state, and federal agencies in most developed countries, but certain unavoidable issues arise with this discharge. One environmental hazard to treatment plant discharge occurs when the effluent, which is often much warmer than the local water body, is released. The effluent creates a very low dissolved oxygen level in the area of the discharge. Low dissolved oxygen levels can be a threat to aquatic life as it creates a natural barrier for moving upstream.
The U.S. Geological Survey also identifies other wastewater treatment hazards such as the introduction of untreatable pharmaceuticals to ecosystems; introduction of heavy metals such as lead, and cadmium; introduction of treatment chemicals such as chlorine; and, the introduction of nitrogen-based hazards caused by incomplete treatment (USGS).
Composting toilets avoid all of these hazards by not using the precious and difficult to treat resource of water as a carrier for the waste. With this in light, composting toilets are indeed, a green alternative to municipal wastewater treatment.
GOG101
Justin Rademaekers - Hello. As a writer in eastern Pennsylvania for over seven years I have had the pleasure of publishing articles on topics ranging from ...
Join the Conversation