Adventures in Learning How to Use a Compost Toilet

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Compost toilets bring you a little closer to the most basic function of living. ILLUSTRATION: M.E. COHEN

The ad showed all the magic ingredients in a rental home: hardwood floors, skylights, woodstove, quiet setting in the woods, pets OK ... perfect for the right person.

"I am that person," I thunder to the bulletin board. "It's me, it's me."

The housing market around Santa Cruz, California, works along the predictable lines of supply and demand: There is virtually no supply, and hundreds of people converge on anything suggesting shelter and demand to move in.

This is California, mind you, where public outbursts are more civic duty than an intrusion of any sort, so my shouting at the billboard draws only a few encouraging nods, a raised fist or two, and then a personal moment with the traveling minstrel beside me. "Hey man," he tells me, patting my shoulder, "I tried telling 'em, but they just wouldn't listen."

I call the number and the interview goes pretty well.

"Nope, woodstoves aren't a problem. We had one growing up and I prefer wood heat anyhow."

Power outages are common during the winter, I am warned, and the road washes out with heavy rain.

"Hey, candlelight and isolation are just what I'm looking for."

"One main thing. The cabin has a compost toilet."

"A compost toilet?"

"A compost toilet."

"... I've always wanted a compost toilet."

I beat my way through the angry hordes and arrive at my new haven in the redwoods. Not only were there skylights, hardwood floors and the intoxicating aroma of old wood, but an outdoor bathtub and goldfish pond and the cutest little mermaid statue you've ever seen.

And, of course, the compost toilet. It actually resembles a throne. No kidding. It sits up a foot or so higher than your normal privy because of a lower storage area and the main holding drum in the center. It takes some getting used to — ruling your kingdom from high altitude — but there is a small step to rest your feet on and after a while it all becomes quite natural.

The composting process works something like this:

You read the manual several times and carefully note every piece of advice for starting things up. This toilet was new, thankfully, so I didn't have to deal with somebody else's ... um, compost.

First you spray down all inside surfaces with an activator fluid, then you dump in half a sack of sphagnum peat moss, two quarts of warm water and a foil package of microbe mix to kick-start the process.