technical data sheets for ecosan components

ecosan program - Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

03 Composting Toilets

SOLID
BIOWASTE FAECES

General Description

Waterless toilet systems

Receive mainly faeces, but treatment of urine and

solid biowaste is possible as well

GREY
WATER

RAIN
WATER

COLLECTION

Dry organic bulking material should be added

Produce a valuable soil conditioner with low pathogen

content

Suitable for both industrial and developing countries

URINE

TREATMENT

UTILIZATION

General description
A

General Description

Detailed information on different

types of Composting Toilets
B.1
B.2
B.3
B.4

A.1

Single-vault composting toilets

Multiple-vault composting
toilets
Movable bucket / bin
composting toilets
Composting toilets with mixing
devices

conditions since their water content and

the nitrogen content are too high.
Therefore an additive or so-called
bulking agent is recommended to lower
the water content, to improve aeration
and to increase the carbon content of
the material. Wood, chips, bark chips,
sawdust, paper and other substances
are commonly used.

Manufacturers and commercially

available composting toilets

Basic principles

The basic principle of a composting

toilet
system
is
the
biological
degradation of excreta and toilet paper
in a specially designed container. Urine
is usually collected separately, or in
some types of composting toilets
collected and treated together with
faeces. Organic food waste can be
added too.
Box 1: Optimum conditions for
thermophilic composting, allowing
temperature to rise up to 5070C:

Good aeration

Moisture content 50-60%

C/N ratio 30-35

Note that optimum conditions are

rarely achieved in composting toilets.
The decomposition process is called
composting, which is the degradation
of organic matter by thermophilic
aerobic bacteria and other micro
organisms. These bacteria rely on a
good aeration of the material, on
optimal moisture content and a specific
carbon to nitrogen ratio.

Figure 1: Schematic
of
continuous
composting toilet (Davison, 2001)

Since good aeration is very important,

the container is usually equipped with a
ventilation system that improves
aeration of the material and provides
odour control. Moreover, with bulking
agents, the pore spaces of the
composting pile can be increased;
hence it will be less compact, leading to
better aeration. However, too much air
flow can remove too much heat and
moisture, therefore the condition within
the composter should not be too cool or
dry.
Another benefit of adding bulking
materials is to increase C/N ratio in
order to attain the optimum composting
condition. Sometimes these bulking
materials also have an additional effect
on odour control by binding the

substances causing bad odours.

One main effect of the decomposition
process in a composting toilet is the
considerable volume reduction (10-30%
of the original mass), thus allowing the
prolonged storage of waste in the
container. The emptying frequency
depends on the size of the container,
the feeding rate and the composting
rate (volume reduction).
The decomposition process in a
composting toilet is rarely a real
thermophilic
composting
with
temperature rising above 50C, which
would guarantee complete pathogen
destruction and hygienization of the
waste. The pathogen content is reduced
considerably in a composting toilet.
However,
complete
pathogen
destruction can only be achieved if
good process conditions can be
guaranteed, e.g. by using an advanced
toilet design with insulation for
maintaining a high temperature within
the whole composting chamber.
The end product of a composting toilet
is an odourless stabilized material,
which is very valuable as soil
conditioner. It can be used directly for
non-food plants or for agriculture use.
Further treatment for hygienization such
as additional heap-composting or
prolonged storage (see box 2)
increases hygienic safety of agicultural
use.

A.2

Available technologies

Although there are many different

composting toilet designs that continue
to evolve, the basic concept of
composting remains the same.

Human excreta and food waste alone

do not provide those optimum

11/10/2006

version for discussion: please send your comments to ecosan@gtz.de

Page 1/3

technical data sheets for ecosan components

ecosan program - Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

A composting toilet has two basic

elements: a place to sit (or to squat) and
a composting chamber. Apart from
those basic elements, a ventilation
system is highly recommended in order
to stimulate aeration and prevent odour.
Available systems can be distinguished
is as follows:
Toilet seat and composting container
in the same unit, or separate
Some composting toilet systems have
the seat and the composting container
spatially separate, e.g. the toilet seat is
in the ground floor and the container is
situated below in the basement,
connected by a vertical tube. Other
systems have the toilet seat in the same
unit with the container. In that case,
containers are usually smaller and have
to be emtied more often.
Urine diversion or not
The toilet can be designed either with
or without urine diversion.
Detailed information on urine diversion
can be found in the GTZ technical data
sheet for urine diversion (01) on
http://www.gtz.de/en/themen/umweltinfrastruktur/wasser/9397.htm
It should be noted that without urine
diversion, more bulking agent needs to
be added in order to significantly lower
moisture level and increase C:N ratio to
attain the optimum treatment conditions.
Urine adds more water than is
necessary and it has a very high
nitrogen content. The moisture content
of faeces without urine (66-80%), plus
the addition of toilet paper and bulking
material are sufficient for good
processing.
Many composting toilets also have a
drainage system to allow evacuation of
liquids. These liquids are called
leachate
and
have
very
high
concentrations of nutrients, organics
and also contain pathogens. Leachate
needs to be collected, treated and
reused if possible. Urine diversion
usually allows to avoid or to
considerably
reduce
leachate
production.
Self-constructed
procured

or

commercially

There are many designs and models

offered by manufacturers all over the
world with a large range of prices.
However composting toilets can also be
self-constructed. Manufactured toilets
are often more expensive than selfconstructed systems.

11/10/2006

Box 2:

Suggested alternative recommendations for primary treatment of dry faeces

before use at household level. No addition of new material. (Schnning and
Stenstrm, 2004)

Treatment
Storage (only
treatment) at ambient
temperature 2-20C

Criteria
1,5-2 years

Storage (only
treatment) at 20-35C
Storage and alkaline
treatment

>1 year
pH >9 during
> 6 months

Low-tech or high-tech
The systems range from low-tech
(simple, non-electric, but more care is
required) to high-tech (complex, electric,
very low labour work, but higher cost)
systems. Low-tech composters are
simple reactors in which all is collected
and allowed to decompose in at
ambient temperature. They require the
user to take a more active role in the
day-to-day maintenance of the unit.
High-tech units can be equipped with
electric fans, automatic mixers and
thermostatically controlled heaters and
require very low level of user
intervention.
Single-vault (continuous) or multiplevault (batch)
Either multiple chambers batch composting, e.g. EcoTech Carousel, or single chamber continuous composting
process shown in figure 1, e.g. Clivus
multrum, Clivus minimus, BioLet, etc.
are feasible to use.
On-site or off-site composting
Most composting toilets process the
material on-site in a composting chamber that is located directly under in the
toilet seat or in the basement of the
building. Other systems however use
movable collection bins or containers
that are emptied frequently and where
the material is then transported to an
external site for treatment.

A.3

Applicability

Comment
Will eliminate most bacterial pathogens,
substantially reduce viruses, protozoa
and parasites, some soil-b ova may
persist
As above
Temperature <35, moisture content
>25 or lower pH will prolong the time
for absolute elimination
With proper management the toilet is
easy to use and to maintain, and the
final product is a high-quality compost
soil
conditioner
for
garden
or
agriculture.
Compared to dehydration toilets,
composting toilets require higher costs
in term of excreta management. The
most important difference between this
technology and that of dehydration is
the moisture content of faeces within
the vault (around 50% comparing to
25% in dehydration toilet). Composting
toilets need organic bulking materials to
increase carbon content whereas
dehydration toilet can use also other dry
absorbents as ash or dry soil to lower
the moisture content. The nutrients in
products from composting toilet are
more readily available to plants than
those from dehydration toilet.
Compared
to
VIP/pit
latrines,
composting toilets can be built above
ground level as permanent structure.
There is no need for digging deep pit
and periodical replacement of the facility
when pits are full.
Composting toilets are sealed systems
that exclude
any
infiltration of
contaminated
liquids
into
the
groundwater or other harmful emissions
into the environment.
Composting toilets can close the
nutrient cycle, turning a dangerous
waste product into safe compost,
without smell, hassle, or fly problems.

Composting toilets eliminate the need

for flushing water. No water supply (no
expensive installation for infrastructure
like water supply line and sewerage) is
necessary. Furthermore, it allows for the
recycling of valuable plant nutrients via
compost products.

They are usually less expensive than

conventional septic systems or sewered
systems (if costs for sewerage and
wastewater treatment are considered)
treatment and they will reduce
household total water consumption by
at least 25%.

This technology is suitable for both

industrialized and developing countries,
especially in arid regions and regions
without piped water or sewers. It works
without
water
and
wastewater
connection.

In several projects composting toilets

have
also
been
successfully
implemented in houses with several
floors.
In term of operation and maintenance,
composting toilets are most suitable

version for discussion: please send your comments to ecosan@gtz.de

Page 2/3

technical data sheets for ecosan components

ecosan program - Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH

when users are committed to operate

the system carefully. Composting toilets
need more care than dehydration toilets
in the case of low-tech systems.

A.4

Further reading

Esrey, St. A., et. al., 1998, Ecological

sanitation. Department for Natural
Resources and the Environment, Sida,
Stockholm, Sweden.: Well-illustrated
book concerning different types of
composting
toilet
as
well
as
performance and health issues.

sources and the Environment, Sida,

Stockholm, Sweden.
Montgomery, T., 1990, On-Site wastewater treatment systems, Technical Bulletin No. 6, The New Alchemy Institute.
Peasey, A., 2000, Health aspects of dry
sanitation with waste reuse. Task No.
324, WELL.
Reed, B. and Shaw, R. Using human
waste, technical brief no. 63, WELL.

Del Porto, D. and Steinfeld, C., 2000,

The composting toilet system book. The
Center for Ecological Pollution Prevenst
tion (CEPP), 1 ed. with additions.: information on several types of composting toilet system, including practical application and maintenance.
Jenkins, Joseph, 2005, The Humanure
handbook a guide to composting human manure, Joseph Jenkins Inc,
Grove City, USA.
lain, Christophe, 2005, Un petit coin
pour soulage la plante Toilettes sches et histoires deau, ditions Goutte
de Sable, Athe, France.

A.5

References

Crennan, L., waterless toilets, Home,

Technical Manual: design for lifestyle
and the future, www.greenhouse.gov.au
Davison, L. and Schwizer, B., 2001,
Waterless composting toilets, septic
safe, Environment & Health Protection
Guidelines: On-site Sewage Management for Single Households.
Esrey, St. A., et. al., 1998, Ecological
sanitation. Department for Natural Re-

2006, GTZ
technical data sheets for ecosan
components
authors: GTZ ecosan team (Christine
Werner, Nathasith Chiarawatchai,
Florian Klingel, Patrick Bracken)
Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
ecosan program
Dag-Hammarskjld-Weg 1-5
65760 Eschborn, Germany
T +49 6196 79-4220
F +49 6196 79-7458
E ecosan@gtz.de
I www.gtz.de/ecosan

11/10/2006

version for discussion: please send your comments to ecosan@gtz.de

Page 3/3