Compost on the Rocks

Image Gallery

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

The first cold winter's work on my new home—situated atop a ridge overlooking the Kentucky River—helped me decide that I definitely wanted an indoor toilet. Almost immediately, though, I had to rule out a conventional system, since only a few inches of topsoil covered the limestone bedrock at my site. (The estimated cost of a septic system was about $2,000!) So when I heard about composting toilets, I thought my problem was solved.

I wrote to several companies that advertised such commodes, and was particularly impressed by two of the units: the Clivus Multrum and the Ecolet ... both of Swedish origin. The devices looked great, but I was alarmed to discover that I couldn't afford even the less expensive of the pair.

Then a classified ad in MOTHER came to the rescue: I wrote to Zandy Clark and Steve Tibbetts for information on homemade composting toilets. Their booklet was helpful in two ways. First, it included descriptions and diagrams explaining the innards of the commercial devices and detailing how such units manage to achieve good ventilation and decomposition of waste. (These points weren't entirely clear in the literature sent by the composters'manufacturers themselves!) Moreover, the Clark/ Tibbetts booklet showed me that homemade composting commodes had been built and would work! Even though the examples assembled by the authors didn't quite suit my needs (and the construction details were a bit sketchy), the booklet provided all the encouragement I needed to give it a try. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Unfortunately, the volume is now out of print.] At any rate, one short year later, my homemade toilet was working fine. . . and it cost me only about $200, a small amount compared with the price of either a conventional system or a commercial composter.

Before I put the structure together, though, I had to determine how to incorporate the necessary wooden box into my already framed house and bathroom area. The unit had to be small enough to slip under the dwelling and into the half-basement, but large enough to handle regular use. Also, I figured that one end of the container would have to extend out front tinder the house, so I could build in a vent pipe without cutting through the ceiling and roof. Going by those requirements, I settled on a box size of 3' X 3' X 6'.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print

GET MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC:

THE SEPTIC SYSTEM OWNERS MANUAL'

Lloyd Kahn

Paperback

Our Price: Price: $17.95

• Browse Recommended Products