Emptying Your Composting Toilet and What to do with the Contents
An important part of having a composting toilet is of course emptying all that nutrient rich soil at the end. So what is the easiest way to do that? First, check our blog about safely handling humanure and gear up. Then it’s time to dive in - not literally!
The Nature Loo system has been designed to be emptied with ease at the end of the composting process. The chamber will need to be disconnected from the toilet first by lifting the lid of the chamber up the waste chute’s length. We like to install a strap or hook under the floor of the toilet to attach the chamber lid so it stays out of the way during the swap over. Following this, both the air ventilation and the excess liquid hose will need to be removed; these can just be put to the side so they can be attached to the next chamber. Then it’s a simple process of moving the chamber out from under your home placing it in a nice sunny spot away from your home, with the out-of-service lid on, to allow it to finish composting.
In-Service
The in-service chamber is the collection point for fresh material, directly below the waterless pedestal connected via the chute.
Out-Of-Service
When the chamber is out-of-service it receives no fresh material so that it can finish composting completely. The lid helps keep warmth in and insects out.
When this process has finished and you have a soil like mixture remaining, wheel the chamber to where you are putting the compost and remove the lid. From here you can either tip the system or leave it flat to shovel/scoop out the material. If you’re leaving your compost on top of your garden bed or lawn, ensure you layer some soil ontop so it doesn’t get picked up and moved around by people or animals walking across it. You can easily transfer these nutrients into your fuit and vegetable gardens by burying the compost at a depth of 4” around your garden plots.
For quick reference: you can add this compost to an existing compost pile, around fruit and nut trees, and over a garden of non-edible plants. We don’t recommend adding the compost to: edible plants such as herbs or vegetables, or flowers and plants used for edible seeds. The microbes work to remove the nasties from the compost but there is always the chance that, while the waste has been safely broken down, there may be small trace amounts of harmful pathogens. Better to be safe than sorry!