“The “Simple Humus Toilet” is a concept for an easy to install, ‘do it yourself’ composting toilet. It is not meant to threaten the conventional flush toilet culture, rather represents an alternative for anyone who ‘lives close to nature’ and wants to use a simple and low cost toilet system. It is ideal for the garden or empty section, but could also be used in disaster situations such as earthquakes.
It is far better than the old ‘long drop’ [old fashioned pit toilet] as there is absolutely no smell and there are no awful flies! It does not use water or electricity and can be installed anywhere. It is therefore a great alternative when the use of water is restricted.”
YouTube
Thanks to Cath, one of our readers, for this tip. The video had a couple of tips that I hadn’t seen before such as the holes in the bottom of the bucket to allow excess urine to drain. The humus toilet is basically the same as a composting sawdust/bucket toilet. Use whatever biodegradable material you have available. Many people don’t have humus so that’s one reason why sawdust is popular.
I am looking for someone to make a simple humus toilet for me in my studio in Wellington – can you put me onto someone there?
I wanted to know if there is a hole in the floor under where the bucket sits to decompose when filled? I think it does sit over a hole when in use.
Is soil better to use as far as there being microbes in the dirt…vs peetmoss and
pine chips?
Thanks Owen!
What I love about the humus system is that it’s self-regenerating. Once you have established the humus…which is basically humanure….you have an endless supply of cover material. Great for those of us who don’t have access to sawdust .
The bacteria in the humanure are exactly the right sort to compost the new waste effectively. Simple and efficient! Thomas Lauterbach is very clear that if you want to use the waste to enrich the garden, it’s best to leave it longer to kill off any potential pathogens, but after only 3 months or so, it’s ready to be recycled in the loo! This is the system I’ll experiment with.
All the best, and thanks again for passing on all the wonderful knowledge for a better world.
ps…started a Hyperadobe earthbag studio in my sister’s back garden… it’s about 3 feet out of the ground…exhausting but very satisfying…will send pics.
Speaking of toilets, this one has lots of promise for those wanting to be off-grid, yet not ready to give up the convenience of the flush. It uses worms to process waste.
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/how-make-vermicomposting-flush-toilet
Thanks for the link. It’s more complicated but I guess some people need to flush.