A van composting toilet works by combining human waste with organic material, without the use of any kind of heavy chemicals. They are an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical toilets and are easier to empty for that reason.
With more and more people choosing to live the “van life”, there are more and more people looking for answers to one of the most fundamental needs that humans have – to empty their bowels.
In this article, we’re going to run through everything that you need to know about organic composting toilets for your van, so buckle up and beware. We’re talking human excrement here!
Can you fit a toilet in a campervan?
The simple answer, yes. You can fit a toilet in a campervan. While it probably isn’t going to be a professional plumbing situation, the majority of RV’s and campervans have the space for a toilet of some kind. You can expect to be factoring in more or less 40cm x 35cm x40cm for your composting toilet, depending on the brand and model.
How Do Van Composting Toilets Work?
Van composting toilets work by separating liquid from solid and then breaking down the solid waste using natural products such as peat-moss and coconut rind (which have the additional benefit of muting the smell). The liquid is collected in a bottle-tank which can be emptied in designated areas in camp-grounds and sewage facilities.
Can you pee in a composting toilet?
Of course, you can do whatever you need to do on a composting toilet – the important thing is that (depending on the model) you switch the lever so that the pee drains into the correct part of the device for storage.
As mentioned before, the pee will be stored in a separate container. If you are DIY-minded (which you probably are if you’ve decided to live the van-life), increasing the capacity, or modifying it, is a simple matter of fitting your van with a different size of the bottle.
Why do you have to sit on a composting toilet in a van to pee if you’re a man?
The design of most composting toilets means that if you were to pee standing up using your compost toilet you would end up with your pee going into the trapdoor intended for solid waste.
This means that the two parts of excrement mix, which, as we’ve mentioned before, creates an ungodly smell which you do not want to have to live with, in such close quarters until you are capable of emptying it, of course.
Do composting toilets smell?
When compared with other kinds of toilets, composting toilets don’t smell much more than they do – think of the toilet in your home and you should imaging that it will smell somewhat similar. The reason for this is the materials that are used to help with the breaking down of the waste, such as the coco coir.
Similarly, it is possible to vent your system using the car exhaust, or through the wall of the van – this will depend on what model and brand you intend to use.
Do you have to empty a composting toilet?
Like any portable toilet system, of course, you do have to empty it periodically – that’s the nature of any kind of portable toilet.
This is the same with chemical toilets, however, the difference is that your toilet being emptied won’t require you to find a designated disposal zone for chemical toilets – which are comparatively hard to come by.
How do you know when to empty a composting toilet in a van?
Your model of the composting toilet should have a horizontal indicator line of how full it can become before it is at capacity. Some more modern versions may include indicator lights or signals.
Depending on the model of the toilet, the capacity for the solid waste will usually be more than 20 kilos, so keeping that in mind, you’ll want to empty it before it gets to that kind of weight.
Where can you empty a composting toilet?
Ideally, you want to empty your compost toilet in a compost bin where it will continue to be processed into usable soil and fertilizer for plants. Other options that are suggested elsewhere online include dumping in a plastic bag into a regular dumpster (provided that the waste is sealed into the bag and not significantly wet) and to find.
Ideally, you can look online, where many campers and van-dwellers have compiled lists of safe places to carefully dispose of your human waste from your toilet.
At the end of the day you have to dispose of it responsibly, so remember that ultimately it’s up to you to do adequate research into where you can dispose of your waste, ideally ahead of time. If people don’t do this responsibly, they may end up giving the van-life a bad name.
How often do you clean a composting toilet?
The answer is: it depends. It depends on how many people are using the toilet, how large the capacity of the chamber is, and a number of other factors.
A family might find themselves changing the urine holder once a day, whereas a couple who don’t spend most of their time using the van may only empty the urine chamber once a week. It’s about the frequency of use.
For your average couple, it may take 2-4 weeks before it’s time to empty the solid waste from your average
How much does it cost to install a composting toilet in a van?
This entirely depends on the model, the size, and whether or not you decide to do it yourself. The price will vary from just over €60, to well into the thousands, with the quality of the toilet you choose obviously playing a big factor in the price.
Provided that you know what you’re doing, and you’ve set aside some space in your van specifically for your new potty, installation should be free. It should be noted, however, that some toilets are more complicated than others, especially as you move up the price range, with some requiring electricity input for ventilation, or other more complex features.