Revolting, detailed camping/festival toilet question. *Not for the faint hearted.*

[spidermama]

If you're not a camper or festival goer I would advise you to steer clear of the following.

I want a camping toilet for this festival (Big Green Gatherin starting next Wednesday). I've been thinking long and hard about the different sorts.

I like the idea of the flushing ones, but then I don't like the idea of carrying 20 litres of poo sploshing about it water to the emptying place.

So I'm wondering if I'd be better with the cheaper, bucket-style ones. My plan would be throw sawdust and maybe a little splash of eco chemicals (must be extra consious as it's a green festy) on top of each poo. That would mean a lighter bucket to empty, but it would be vitually all poo.

Any experience or recommendations?

I have to be quick as am running out of time.

Baby asleep and dh waiting for sex so will be back in, er, 20 mins or so.

It was that last sentence which was tmi!!!

Whats wrong with the toilets provided????

I haven't had experience of BYO bogs, but my initial thought on your descriptions would be to not use an eco chemical as you may experience "splash-back". I think the sawdust idea is the best, and you won't see what might already be in there, which would put me right off! (Not that I'd be using your bucket in any case!)
Just a thought!

Message withdrawn

No advice on the toilet but afternoon sex? You lucky lady!!!

this brings back memories from my younger days of Glastonbury and Reading toilets

Squarer - what is wrong with the ones provided?

Well you have to sort of climb to the top of the mountain of errr 'contents' because the seat is no longer visible.

I find a nearby ditch is normally the best option. Or eat lots of bananas and then use the nearest motorway services on the way home.

Me too BettySpaghetti. Once smelled, never forgotten. Up until fairly recently I used to go to festivals via the Workers Beer Company whose facilities were relatively luxurious. They were always clean because some fools thought it would be a good idea to get in to the festivals for free with the deal of cleaning the loos

Oh, believe me SG, I know, I know.
The outdoor "traps" are so much better than the portaloos. Were it not for the buzzing of flies down below.... and the occaisional miss >

I'm very impressed that you can turn your mind from festival toilets straight to sex - talk about multi-tasking!!

(I hadn't thought about taking a loo to festivals - I always just manage with the ones there, but sounds a very sensible idea to me!)

I'm back. That didn't take long.

The flushable porta loos have two parts so the, er, waste matter flushes into the bottom section containing chemicals. You then unclip the bottom bit.

This is what I gather from reading about them but I'd like to find people who have actually used these and people who have used the more basic bucket style ones.

The festival toilet experience is harrowing and there's no escaping it. It's the biggest downside of any festival experience, though the Big Green lavvies are mercifully better than the rock 'n' roll ones described by StGeorge. Even so, who wants to share loos with thousands of other, less still help your small children to share those loos? Rank.

LOL pollyanna. Needs must eh?

Squarer, I would be perfectly happy with the pit method to which you allude but the festival will be very well popluated with no wilderness so no opportunity for wild lavatorial pursuits.

My festival loo experience is limited to biker rallies. Drugs, booze, rock and roll and 20,000 bikers do not a nice toilet make

No wilderness SM.. these "facilities" exist at Glastonbury! It is a giant communal pit with some cattle stalls lowered over them (for privacy )

Oh yes squarer. I know the ones. They're not too bad. You poo down a hole and it drops a fair distance and you cover it in sawdust. At least the smell is just poo and largely vegetarian poo at that.

The worst ones are the chemical ones which mix the smell of poo with strong chemicals.

I would imagine the BGG ones will be similar to the ones you describe. The BGG is like the greenfield site at Glastonbury but bigger.

not actually able to help, but this thread has reminded me of one poor souls experience at reading about 5 years ago, he went into a portaloo, and some f***s pushed it over!!!
he crawled out covered in shit, piss, and chemicals, throwing up and crying!

God what a horrible trauma.

Thankfully the Big Green has an altogether more predictable client base. People barely even drop litter, let alone push over portaloos.

Come on campers. Someone must know about these camping lavs. Time is running out.

How about the wee in a bag type? They sell themselves as pretty 'green', but maybe they aren't? (not a camper/festival goer, so not speaking from experience ).

I'm off to the Cambridge folk festival this weekend and the toilets there are fab. Clean, lovely smelling with running water, flushes and they never run out of toilet paper. They clean them thoroughly three times a day and there's even hand wash next to each sink! A world away from the Portaloos at Reading which I seem to remember people knocking over on a regular basis or setting fire to. I'm so glad I'm a folkie and no longer a goth!

Environmentalists are also very civilised you know showofhands. I still don't want to share a lav with thousands of them and queue up several times a day to add to the poo mountain.

Sorry. Far TMI.

Spidermama are you camping or in a camper, just wondered how far you would have to carry the loo. from the car park to your pitch.

Never beenany where where campers bring anything other than a polybag for use as a personal loo

Agree sally strawb, don't walk along fence lines and don't even thinkl about camping near trees, fences or hedges.

If you've got small kids going take a porta potty, or an old cereal tupperware tub for wees in the night! I've always found the glasto ones ok, (go to the ones at the top of the kidscamping field, less thru traffic!) Mabye a porta potty is good for adults too???