07-10-2008, 03:24 AM
I think there can be a number of reasons that composting toilets are superior to septic systems.
One is cost. Much cheaper to build. A good cabin system that would support 2 is a 500 dollar proposition at tops.
Two is containment. In my case any liquid run off runs into an enclosed, lined drainfield with various plants happily living in it.
Third is retention of various compounds that don't easily if ever break down, and septic systems really don't work on, like a lot of medicines, caffeine(the number one ground water pollutant in King County, Wa. Sounds like a joke, but apparently its not.)
Fourth would be the tremendous saving in water, and no matter whether being on municipal or catchment water, this is a boon.
Of course at some point you'll need to haul around buckets of fermenting poop. That's a downside.
Sorry, perhaps should have been more sensitive about the yurt comment. Thanks, I don't want to buy one, and have lived in one for a couple of years actually in the early '90s. I don't mean anything un-duly negative about yurt living--but certain sorts of "trendy" "alternative" living things get more than a little, in fact way way more than a little, hyped and over promoted, and I just personally find yurts in general symbolic of that kind of thing.
So that being said, I worry a bit about the rise of "BucketGirl" out there wheeling and dealing composting toilets. LOL. No offense, but I can see the possibility for that, and I rather set a more muted, sensible, and well informed tone about the whole thing.
One is cost. Much cheaper to build. A good cabin system that would support 2 is a 500 dollar proposition at tops.
Two is containment. In my case any liquid run off runs into an enclosed, lined drainfield with various plants happily living in it.
Third is retention of various compounds that don't easily if ever break down, and septic systems really don't work on, like a lot of medicines, caffeine(the number one ground water pollutant in King County, Wa. Sounds like a joke, but apparently its not.)
Fourth would be the tremendous saving in water, and no matter whether being on municipal or catchment water, this is a boon.
Of course at some point you'll need to haul around buckets of fermenting poop. That's a downside.
Sorry, perhaps should have been more sensitive about the yurt comment. Thanks, I don't want to buy one, and have lived in one for a couple of years actually in the early '90s. I don't mean anything un-duly negative about yurt living--but certain sorts of "trendy" "alternative" living things get more than a little, in fact way way more than a little, hyped and over promoted, and I just personally find yurts in general symbolic of that kind of thing.
So that being said, I worry a bit about the rise of "BucketGirl" out there wheeling and dealing composting toilets. LOL. No offense, but I can see the possibility for that, and I rather set a more muted, sensible, and well informed tone about the whole thing.
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