Can You Use Kitty Litter in a Composting Toilet? (Solved & Explained!)

Can you use kitty litter in a composting toilet? If you’re looking for biomass to use in your composting toilet, you may be considering kitty litter because it is allowed to go in the household compost bin. However, the only type of kitty litter that can be used in a composting toilet is pine-based kitty litter. Any litter that is clay-based can not be used in a composting toilet.

Can you use kitty litter in a composting toilet?

A composting toilet doesn’t flush with water, so people use biomass to go into the solid’s tank. While kitty litter may seem like an affordable option, you should stay away from clay-based litter. If you do use litter in your composting toilet, make sure that it is a wood-based litter because it is efficient for absorbing moisture while still allowing enough air to circulate around the waste matter.

What would it do?

The reason you should avoid using clay kitty litter in your composting toilet is that it will sit on top of the waste absorbing moisture. When the clay kitty litter does this, it prevents air from circulating around the waste and continues to collect moisture. The feces relies on the air’s oxygen so the bacteria can break down and form a compostable matter. Clay will prevent the waste from dehydrating.

What is best to use in a compost toilet?

When you are looking for media to use in a composting toilet, you want to think about what will dry out the quickest so the air can circulate. Some of the best choices to use in a composting toilet are dry leaves, sawdust, paper, or cardboard. As long as it is a media that can absorb moisture and dry out thoroughly, it will make good dry matter for composting toilets.

Finding reliable media doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money. There are many free resources that people can find in abundance to use as dry matter in their composting toilet. You probably even have a lot of great options sitting around your home too, like dryer lint, twigs, or pine needles for example. 

Can you use kitty litter in an emergency bucket toilet?

An emergency toilet is a great backup toilet that doesn’t require a septic system to be efficient. If you put together an emergency toilet bucket, you can use kitty litter because this waste doesn’t end up in the composting toilet’s chamber..

In this situation, you don’t have to be picky about which type of kitty litter you are using. However, you can use other types of dry matter for an emergency toilet bucket, like dirt, peat, or even sawdust. The main initiative is to have something at the bottom to collect waste.

How do you set up an emergency bucket toilet?

Setting up an emergency bucket toilet is very easy, as long as you have a bucket and a snap-on toilet seat. You will need to line the bucket with at least two heavy-duty garbage bags (we recommend using ones with commercial-grade liners) before attaching the toilet seat. Make sure there is litter at the bottom of the bag, and reapply another layer of litter after every use.

How much cat litter should I put in my emergency bucket toilet?

It’s important that you line the emergency bucket toilet’s bag with a layer of kitty litter to absorb urine and feces. Ideally, you should place at least 2 cups of litter at the bottom of the bag. After every use, add another 1-2 cups of kitty litter to cover the waste matter. It also helps to cut down the odor by sprinkling a bleach-water mixture after the litter is applied.

Can cat urine, poop, and kitty litter go in the compost?

Did you know that when you scoop your cat’s litter it can go directly into the compost? You can put your cat’s urine and poop directly in the compost because the pathogen levels make it a safe compostable material. This includes both wood-based and clay kitty litters. 

Can you use a kitty litter bucket for pee next to your composting toilet?

It is possible to use a kitty litter bucket for pee, but it’s only necessary for an emergency. You can still use a composting toilet for urine because the urine and the feces are flushed into separate chambers. You will not have to worry about urine mixing into the solids section as the waste is drying.

Can you put that kitty litter pee in your compost pile later?

If a person pees in the kitty litter bucket, it can be placed in the compost pile later. Human urine has very high nitrogen levels, which is a good thing because that makes it a compostable matter when it is mixed with a dry material to soak up the nitrogen.

You shouldn’t put pee in the compost if it has not been soaked up by a dry material, like kitty litter.

Would kitty litter reduce the smell of a composting toilet?

It is not recommended to use kitty litter to reduce the smell of a composting toilet. The way composting toilets are designed makes it so they don’t have an odor. The ventilation will direct any odor from the waste outside. However, if you are picky about smells, you should use coffee grinds to reduce the smell of a composting toilet instead of kitty litter.

Where do you dump your composting toilet waste if you put kitty litter in it?

It is highly recommended that people dump composting toilet waste into an outdoor composting bin before doing anything else with it. This will help it further the composting process so it can be used for conditioning and fertilizing the ground’s soil. Compost with human waste in it is very efficient to use on your yard and around non-edible plants. 

While this compost can safely be used around a fruit tree, it’s not recommended to use it around herbs, vegetables, edible flowers, or fruit shrubs.