Challenge
Owen and his wife live at Clear Mountain, Cashmere outside Brisbane. As a building designer, with a focus on sustainability, Owen was keen to design a home for his family that was sustainable but didn’t cost a fortune. Their site is not sewered and they rely on tank water so Owen wanted a waterless composting toilet because it costs a lot less than a septic system and doesn’t use any water. In fact, Owen estimates that on average families flush about 30,000 litres down the toilet every year which is expensive if you aren’t connected to a water supply. However, Owen’s wife was sceptical and needed convincing.
Solution
Mrs Batchelor and her girlfriends went on a ‘sniff tour’ visiting installed Clivus Multrum toilets. Satisfied with what they’d seen and smelt, the Batchelors installed a CM8, but on the proviso that if it didn’t work out that they would switch to a regular toilet.
The CM8 is suitable for up to five people full time. It has a small 12V fan in the vent pipe which creates airflow within the system and ensures that the toilet room is always kept clear of any odours. Waste is collected in the composting chamber along with material, such as wood shavings. Baffles and air channels in the tank distribute air flow which promotes the aerobic composting process.
Benefits
The Batchelors have now had 10 years of trouble free operation and have found the CM8 to be low maintenance, easy to clean and odourless. In fact Owen thinks it might even be better than a regular toilet because the vent pipe literally sucks all of the odours out of the bathroom. 10 years on, for Mrs Batchelor to wholeheartedly endorse the toilet, you can be sure it is good.