Composting toilet

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A compost toilet (also known as a dry toilet or bio toilet ) is a toilet without flushing water , in which the faeces are fed directly into a container filled with bark mulch or straw and composted there. In locations that are not connected to the public sewer system, the compost toilet is a comparatively low-odor, economical and ecological alternative to the chemical toilet or the simple outhouse . Similar to the outhouse, a real compost toilet needs little or no water for rinsing, as the compost should not get too damp or wet. The precipitates are biologically beneficial as compost - fertilizer recycled.

There are solutions with dug in the ground or artificial closed containers that z. T. because of the better composting can be heated.

Absorbent litter available next to the seat opening of a composting toilet

history

Dry toilets have been a part of civilization from antiquity to modern times as a common form of disposal of body excretions, although devices with flushing water were known early on and became even more widespread in Roman times. This phenomenon of particular prosperity fell into oblivion again with Rome's decline until modern times, even among the upper class. An abortion bay was used in medieval castles . In farmhouses an outhouse was occasionally on the upper floor to dispose of excrement directly on the dung heap and thus use it as compost.

On May 28, 1860, the English priest and inventor Henry Moule applied for a patent for a dry toilet and founded the company Moule Patent Earth Closet Co. Ltd. to manufacture and sell it . Up until the beginning of the 20th century, there were no flush toilet in many cities . The urine was trickled through a so-called clay wall. So there was B. in Hamburg restaurants , where the urine from an upstairs toilet could run on a slope to a clay wall in the backyard. This absorbed the urine, whereby the moisture evaporated and saltpeter crystallized out. The saltpetre was scraped off the clay walls and could be sold to ammunition or fertilizer factories. This work was carried out by the so-called saltpeter . With the discovery of Chile's nitrate , this profession died out. At about the same time, the clay walls were displaced by the water toilets.

The technology of modern urine separation in dry toilets was developed in Sweden .

Compost toilets are becoming more widespread again, especially as part of alternative lifestyles, be it permanently or, for example, during occupation campaigns . In these cases, there is often no connection to the public sewer system and water network, or no connection is desired.

In the meantime, dry toilets have even found their way into cultural events. For example, visitors to the Murszene World Music Festival in July / August 2018 at Mariahilferplatz in Graz were offered toilets made from wooden panels . In November 2018, a compost toilet was tested in Vienna's Karl-Farkas Park. In April 2019, the city of Zurich started a pilot test with eight composting toilets.

Composting toilet

Conventional composting toilets do not separate the urine; instead, the urine is collected in a container together with the faeces . The problem here are the unpleasant smells that arise when urine and excrement are collected together.

Depending on the further handling of the excrement, compost toilets can be divided into different types:

  • Composting toilet with collecting container: The excrement is collected in a container. This has a volume of 20 to 200 liters and is located in or under the toilet chair. It is emptied manually into a garden composter or a central collection point.
  • Composting toilet with composter: The excrement is composted in a special composter under the toilet seat. This must be set up in a room under the toilet room. The liquid parts are diverted. The solids are decomposed as they slide down the sloping inner wall of the container following gravity. At the bottom there is a removal flap where the ripe compost can be removed.
  • Compost toilet with combination tank: With this new type of construction, urine and excrement are stored separately in a combined collecting container. This container is completely built into the floor and is designed for 2000 toilet uses before it has to be emptied.

The compost toilet should have an exhaust air system, which means that it is less odorous than the toilet. Any unpleasant smells that arise are extracted due to the prevailing negative pressure ( chimney effect ).

Urine separation

With the Dry Separation Toilet (TTC), the natural separation of human waste is consistently maintained by collecting urine and excrement separately. Here, the urine is either drained into the sewage system or collected in a container and z. B. used as fertilizer in the garden. The solid excrement and the toilet paper are mixed in with coarse, cellulosic material ( bark meal , wood shavings / sawdust, straw) in a container located under the TTC. A special hygiene flap closes the container. The solids can then be composted. This saves drinking water and reduces the burden on sewage treatment plants and landfills , as the sewage sludge from sewage treatment plants often has to be disposed of as hazardous waste on landfills due to the pollutants it contains.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Composting Toilet  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Berger, W. (2015). Compost toilets for garden and leisure , Ökobuch Verlag, Germany, ISBN 978-3-936896-79-4
  2. Odorless compost toilet is tested orf.at, November 13, 2018, accessed November 13, 2018.
  3. Stefan Hohler: A toilet seat made of bamboo, flushing with wood chips. In: tagesanzeiger.ch . April 20, 2019, accessed April 21, 2019 .