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Anybody installed a composting toilet? Ditto greywater purification.. whilst we are at ... err.. an earthworm farm?

8 replies

dejags · 30/12/2007 18:24

DH and I have great plans to change the way live by building a house which doesn't leech the environment.

In keeping, I am looking for the lowdown on:

  1. Composting toilets - do they work well, what probs can we expect with them.
  2. Greywater purification - as we are moving to drought stricken Brisbane in Oz, we are very keen on this. No experience, just wondering if there is anybody out there who has done this?
  3. Earthworm farming - we want to reduce our landfill contribution and this seems like a very cost effective and environmentally friendly way of reducing organic household waste. Again though, not sure of how easy it is, what the pitfalls are ect.

Is there anybody on MN who wants to talk about these exciting things?

OP posts:
dejags · 30/12/2007 18:32

anybody?

OP posts:
seeker · 30/12/2007 18:38

I do! I do! I do!

We have a composting loo - ask away!

dejags · 30/12/2007 18:40

fab ...

1.make?
2.model?
3.is it good?
4.does it smell?
5.what is involved in cleaning it out and moving the compost?

OP posts:
seeker · 31/12/2007 06:34

OK - we've had a composter as our only loo for the past 5 years. We started off with a Biolet - can't remember the model, but it was one of the type with an electric powered stirrer. It stopped working after nearly 4 years, and we couldn't work out what was wrong, so we made the ungreen decision to ditch it and buy a new one.

We now have an Envirolet with a manual stirrer.

this one

There are 4 of us - me a SAHM, two school aged dcs and a partially working from home dp.

The first thing to say is that it really needs managing - it doesn't take long, but you do need to keep an eye on it all the time. It doesn't smell unless the composting process goes wrong - which it sometimes does.

We have found that the composting process is rarely as thorough as the manufaturers claim so emptying is a smellier and more unpleasant process than they would have you believe! We empty ours every 6 weeks or so.

You need to have some sort of back up - we have a portapotti - because the longer you leave the composter unused before you empty t the better - manufacturers say 24 hours - I say at least 48 if you can.

Downsides. Every now and again it goes badly wrong and that is GRIM! It's happened twice to us - imagine liquid sewage on your bathroom floor and having to mop it up. Both times it was due to us getting it wrong - but it will happen, so be prepared - and think about how traumatized you'd be by this. I was fine, but I am very unsqueamish. Dp was rendered completely useless and gibbered helplessly in a corner.

However, all this said, we are very happy with it. 95% of the time it works so well that we don't think about it. We haven't had a problem with visitors - small boy visitors particularly enjoy looking down into the mix and claiming to recognize their poo!

I hope this is helpful - and not too jumbled. More later - as I said feel free to ask questions.

welliemum · 31/12/2007 06:55

Dejags, not what you were asking, but have you thought of keeping chickens? We do, and they happily eat our kitchen scraps (as well as proper chicken food). Then we get to eat lovely free range, organic eggs!

We also recycle paper/cardboard, plastic and glass, so altogether we put very little out for the bin man.

We stayed in an eco-hotel here in NZ which had a waterless toilet where you chucked lots of sawdust down. I think it had a good chimney too. Was great and didn't smell at all, we were really impressed.

dejags · 31/12/2007 08:08

Welliemum, the one problem for me with chickens would be if a chicken got sick or injured. I have had a terrible pet year (one cat killed by some vicious dogs and another run over - she lived but had to have major/costly surgery). I get far too attached to my pets

The other problem is space. Not sure we'll have enough money to buy a piece of land big enough for chickens.

Will mention it to DH though - I am sure he'll think it's a fab idea.

OP posts:
dejags · 31/12/2007 08:10

Thanks Seeker.

Nothing there that we wouldn't expect. We travelled in an RV for 7 weeks in the US and had a few Robin Williams moments with the sewerage .

Have just re-read this thread - I seem so earth mothery... I'm not - honest.

OP posts:
welliemum · 31/12/2007 09:20

How awful about your cats

Chickens are a bit different though - they're not affectionate and you don't build up the same kind of relationship as with other pets. At least, that's what we've found with ours.

Ours have a wide range but I know people who've kept them quite happily in a suburban garden.

Anyway, just a suggestion, in case you ever want to boost your Earth Mother Cred with some lovely deep yellow home-made mayonnaise...

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