This is a section that can be so disguisting yet so difficult not to let the comedian in me run rampant. We are going to discuss a bi-product that without it, we would all die. Some of us who lack the Midas touch even believe that everything we touch turns into it but that's not a good thing. I would love to use the late George Carlin's approach to this topic, yet I dare not. Just think of all the money you spend on food and the time spent on the preparation of it to please your pallet. Don't you suppose you have created some really good #@%*? OK, I'm going to try to refrain myself and just open your eyes to the amount of benefit actually gets flushed down the toilet in modern day society. Now, do I use one of the many slang terms here or just the formal boring word "feces"?

    If you are a parent, you have dealt with enough smelly situations in diaper duty that this will even be easier to deal with once you know how the process works. It's just the nature of this and the social conditioning we have been brought up with that disgusts us. In fact, if you are a frustrated decorator, just think, you will be able to remodel your bathroom every 5 to 6 months for free by moving the toilet to the other side of the room! So what is so nasty about simply emptying a non-smelling, sawdust or ash covered, non smelling bucket on to the compost heap? We all know you buy cow manuer for fertilizer, as well as chicken, bat guano, fish and many other types, so why not human? It's gross I know, but get over it! Billions of gallons of water are used yearly just to send waste down into sewers. Even more water is wasted down that sewer that doesn't even belong there. Sink, shower and laundry water is perfectly harmless as a rule and perfect for gardens. So why not use it that way?

So How Do they Work?

    There are many premade composting toilets that can run into thousands of dollars and some that even convert waste into gas, but a toilet doesn't need to be costly to be effective. To build compost toilets, it does not need lots of materials, is easy to incorporate, you can customize it to fit almost any space, it doesn't smell bad unless you follow someone so closely that the air has not had time to clear. The hardest part is relearning how not to try and flush but to drop a ladel full of either ash or sawdust atop your last donation, more importantly, how to explain it to all who use it. THAT can be awkward! Some units are designed to separate liquid from solids and that can be next to impossible to explain to a newly toilet trained youngster.

    There is a lot of research being done at this moment on these and I will pass on what I know so far. They work by providing a enclosed environment for the natural process of aerobic decomposition. The same type of environment on forest floors which decomposes wildlife droppings and converts them into valuable nutrients for the vegetation to use.

    There are many different designs of composting toilets, but all carry out this basic process of aerobic decomposition. Design variations enhance this process and they include:

air baffles for distribution of air into the pile

heating units to keep the compost at the best temperature

injected air for increased decomposition

mixing tongs to ensure full decomposition throughout the pile

the addition of composting worms and macro-organisms

How do you get rid of the waste?

    With composting toilets there is no “waste,” merely useable end-products.

    The liquid end product has undergone conversion in the composting pile and is a valuable liquid fertilizer and/or is evaporated. Check local regulations regarding use of liquid as a fertilizer.

    The solid end-product is a valuable humus with high nutrient levels in a form that is slowly released to plants on demand.

    Don't They Smell?

    A correctly installed and operating composting toilet will not smell at all because there is a positive suction of air through the toilet at all times. In fact, there should be less smell than a conventional toilet.

    Units can produce smells if they are overloaded or not installed or operated correctly. Simple changes to the systems operation and usage will easily remedy the odour problems.

The Terra Preta toilet idea is to have a covered pail under the seat. Urine is kept out, but I think you could put absorbent organic material in the bottom if it is only the ladies peeing. Each crap is sprinkled with a mixture of charcoal, dry vegetable matter such as hay, straw or sawdust, and a lacto-bacillus innoculant, then the lid is put back on the pail. I am trying it now in my room here in Kiel. So far is no problem. For the innoculant you can use good quality soil or compost. When the pail is full, remove it, put it to the side without opening for a few weeks, and replace it with a new pail under the seat. The contents of the full buckets when full or partially full and covered with the lid will decompose anaerobically. At the end of 3 or 4 weeks, should be quite humus-like and ready to dump on your compost pile (or soil) so the worms and aerobic bacteria can finish the job and get rid of leftover pathogens. Loss of organic matter should be much less than a in purely aerobic process. Also stressed was the value of adding lignins in the form of fresh, finely chopped branches (it is in the bark and outer layers) to your compost. And I am now totally convinced of the immense benefits of adding charcoal to your compost. About 10% by volume and ground to about 2 or 3 millimeters, if possible. If you could soak charcoal in the fishpond water or sludge, that as well would bring benefits to the soil.....though, obviously, you need a source of charcoal.