There’s a few great things about having a composting toilet. Firstly, they save you a huge amount of water every year and they’re much better for the environment. The other great benefit is that after a few weeks or months (depending on usage) you get a rich top-soil like humus product that you can use in a variety of different ways.
It’s important to note that you can’t use this compost on anything and everything so it’s wise to know where and how you can use the waste from a composting toilet. Below are some of the ways you can use compost from a waterless toilet.
First – check if there’s council restrictions or approval needed
The first thing you will want to do is contact your local council to see if there’s any restrictions or requirements about using composting toilet waste around your property. Every local council may have slightly different requirements about waste disposal so it’s worth contacting them and asking them about their wastewater management requirements.
Next – Safety
When you’re working with compost from a composting toilet it’s recommended that you use disposable gloves and wear a dust mask. Even though the waste in the composting toilet has beem going through aerobic respiration and any nasties will have been killed off, it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution as you’re still going to be handling Bacteria, Actinobacteria, Fungi and Moulds.
Disposal of Urine
How or if you need to dispose of urine will depend on the type of composting toilet you have purchased through us. Many of our models combine an extraction fan with an evaporation process to eliminate excess liquid from your composting toilet, however if you’re using our Nature Loo Mini or a similar model you may be draining urine into a gravel absorption trench (any plants around the trench will love it as urine is high in nitrogen) or you might be collecting your urine and diluting it for use on your gardens.
Believe it or not, urine is an excellent fertiliser for your garden. Here’s a few articles about it if you’re interested:-
• Why You Should Pee On Your Plants
• Urine as Fertiliser
• 8 Reasons Why You Should Pee in Your Garden
• How To Use Pee In Your Garden
• Gee Whiz: Human Urine Is Shown to Be an Effective Agricultural Fertilizer
Important Note: If someone in your household has any type of infection or disease that affects the urinary tract it’s wise to dispose of this urine away from any edible plants and strict safety precautions should be used when handling.
Safe use of human waste from a composting toilet
OK, you’ve gotten your disposable gloves and dust mask on, you’ve harvested your first pile of compost from your composting toilet and now you’re wondering “what can I do with the waste from my composting toilet?”. Below are the things you can safely use your human compost on.
Add it to an established compost pile
Many people like to add the waste from their composting toilets to an already established compost pile to continue the composting process with some additional organic waste. If this is the case, when the compost has broken down sufficiently and looks like topsoil, you can use it on your plants.
Use it around fruit trees
Spreading compost from a composting toilet around the base of your fruit trees is a great way to get additional nutrients into the surrounding soil.
Spread it on your lawn
Spreading well broken down compost on your lawn and then watering it will have your lawn looking green and full in no time.
Spread it around your non-edible garden
If you have a garden where you have non-edible plants you can safely use your composting toilet humus in and around your plants. This will add additional microbes and nutrients to the soil, helping your plants to grow.
What NOT to use composting toilet waste on
As we said at the start of this article, waste from a composting toilet isn’t suitable for every type of plant. It’s important to know what you can and can’t use your compost on. Here’s a list of things that you should avoid using your compost on.
Do not use on:-
• Edible plants
• Herbs
• Vegetables
• Edible flowers or plants used for seeds (sunflower, pumpkins, sesame, chia, etc)
So as you can see there are many places around your home or property where you can use the waste from your composting toilet. Just be sure not to use it on edible plants or vegetables and you will have many years of happy use from your composting toilet!
