Compost at home

Composting Toilet Diagram

Composting Toilet Vs Self Contained Toilet

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With the constant interest in thriving through a “greener existence” we see a lot more of the tiny homes and people who enjoy RVing today. This is because people are trying to cut down on their overall carbon footprint and living life in a more simplified way. They opt to leave plots of land for the wildlife and live off the grid where they do not have to deal with outrageous electricity usage. With the sudden tiny home movement, we also hear a lot more about our toilets, since they are often impractical in a tiny home or an RV. Do you know which one is better between composting and self-contained toilets? Would you be comfortable using either of them?

Composting Toilet

Composting Toilet DiagramA composting toilet is a toilet that turns your poo into something that can be used as fertilizer for your garden if you want it to. It is safe, sanitary, and sustainable. You do not need to hook up to a septic tank or a water line and a lot of them can work without electricity. Your toilet will have a ventilation system to ensure that you never have to worry about a visitor stopping by and smelling your bathroom. All that is required of you is that you use natural microbes to keep it sanitary and cut down on the smell of what you leave behind.

Coco Coir CompostConsidering most American households use 74 gallons of water a day, with more than a third of that being toilet water, how much water do you think you would save? Research shows that on average 6,600 gallons of water will be saved for more important things than a toilet flush if you switch to a composting toilet. How is that for a greener existence? Water preservation and free fertilizer in one.

Self Contained Toilets

Self-contained toilets are more ideal for some families. They do not require you to deal with your “deposits” after you have put them where you needed to. They are ideal for smaller spaces that cannot hold a traditional sized toilet. You can easily hook it to an existing sewer line. This makes them much easier to work with. If you consider reading Sanicompact toilet reviews, you will see that some water is required for use. They are macerating toilets that use only one gallon of water per flush. It works by simply pushing a button. Everything else is handled for you.Self Contained Toilet

The beauty of this toilet option is that whether you have a tiny home, an RV, or an attic that needs a space for you to “go”, you can have it with this toilet. It is ideal for people who want a toilet in an area that doesn’t normally have one. You can even use the water supply at a sink to ensure it’s a clean flush. Older people, disabled people, and anyone else can benefit from putting a fully functional toilet where they need it the most. As to whether it is good for the environment or not, on average a traditional toilet can use up to seven gallons of water per flush. You are cutting it down to only one gallon. For many people, that is enough of a savings to make them happy.

Which is Best For The Environment?

There is no single right or wrong answer to which one is best. It depends on what you want from your toilet. Some may say that using no water and having fertilizer is perfect and others may be willing to sacrifice all comforts except for their toilet. The choice is yours.

compost

How to Make Your Own Compost At Home

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It is really easy to get started at home, making your own compost.

What is funny is, a lot of refuse collection companies, all over the world, are now providing those they service with special brown bins, for kitchen items.

They then go on to make their own compost from these scraps, creating their own “black gold”, and profiting off people’s waste, while charging them for the privilege!

Here’s how you can make your very own compost at home. You can use this in potted plants, for growing your own veggies or herbs, or just to help improve your soil quality for your lawns.

Pick a Suitable Container:

If you don’t want to have a dedicated pile, the first thing you will need is a suitable bin for your compost collecting.

This should be rigid, and have a lid included. You will need to drill some holes in the bottom of this container to allow fluids to drain from the vessel also.

In addition to this, it is a good idea to also drill some ventilation holes, either along the top side of the bin, or in the lid of the box itself, as gas will accumulate while the vegetative matter breaks down.

What to Use:

You can use a variety of things from your kitchen and pantry in your compost heap.

So, vegetable peelings, tea bags or leaves, egg shells, leftover vegetables from dinner, all of these things can be used to create your own compost. You can even use grass clippings from your lawn for your compost.

Leaves, wood or bark chips, newspapers (shredded), even sawdust, can all be used to boost your compost.

Things to Avoid:

There are a number of things you will need to be sure not to include in your compost also. Avoid oils, fats, plants that are diseased, dairy products and meat.

Under no circumstances should dog or cat feces be used either, as these kinds of things will destroy the micro organisms doing the good work invisibly in your compost.

While sawdust and chippings from wood are good, pressure treated wood shavings etc should not be used.

Things to do:

Once a week, rotate the contents of the pile. You can use a garden fork for this task.

This provides essential oxygen to your compost, and prevents the centre of the pile from heating up (by the action of the micro organisms).

You should also keep the pile slightly wet, (think damp sponge), this will promote composting over the pile just rotting away.

Avoid soaking the pile, as to do so will water log those preciously vital micro organisms, if not kill them outright.

The process is slow, but ultimately, well worth it. You will know exactly what is in the compost you are using, as you have made it yourself.

All from material that otherwise would have been thrown out in the refuse. And you save money, as you no longer need to purchase compost from garden centres!