In a traditional outhouse — either in open ground hold or a concrete holding vault or tank, the waste collects and over time, turns septic.  Much of what contributes to odor is the waste being wet, and as a result, many people dislike outhouses.  There are great outhouse designs (see part 3 of this series) which eliminate the odor.

A composting toilet, typically separates liquid from solid waste, and layers the waste with wood chavings or peat or a combination, and through heat and natural bacterial, composts the waste into a compost fertilizer wich can be used on ornamental plants and flowers, not for human consumption.

Composting toilets, Sun Mar is one of the leading brands, are idea for both on and off grid locations in that they can operate with either 120 vAC or 12vDC.  I’ve used my Sun Mar Composting toilet since I moved onto Two Mile Ranch and have been pleased with the results.  I have rarely had an odor, and when I did, it was not more than any bathroom after use.  I have had a couple of the typical issues described in the manual (namely some slow drainage of liquids in humid months and a small fly infestation.  The liquids problem resolved easily with the addition of dish soap to break a film of grease on the surface, and the small flies were killed with pesticide.  The flies do not live — according to the literature — in the compost material, but do live in the composting toilet and once killed off, have been under control.

Like venting a chimney, it is important to vent a composting toilet high enough above your roof line.  There are users who report an odor while outside, but likley this is the result of down drafts or other drafting issues related to the exhaust of the composting toilet.

One of the best sites explaining the advantaged of composting toilets is The Natural Home Building Source ( http://www.thenaturalhome.com ).  Located in Colorado, the company offers a Website with dozens of detailed pages to help guide your choice of composting toilets and provides significant pre and post sale help.

But in any rural living, where connecting to a government or community sewer system is not possible, consideration has to be made for dealing with human waste.

To begin to understand dealing with human waste, let’s look at the two kinds of waste water coming from a typical home.  Waste that comes from a toilet is typically called black water.  it is contaminated with bacteria and usually drains from the toilet.

Waste which comes form a kitchen sink, or shower, or dishwasher or washing machine is typically grey water.  It may have some contaminants, but mostly has some particles and soaps.  In most homes, the gray and the black water are mixed and then dealt with all as black water.  Some states even define any liquid leaving a home as “black water”.

Most recently, the traditional system for disposing of these waste is a septic tank system.  A  septic system — simplified – consists of a holding tank or two, and the a leech field.  The holding tank is buried under ground in most situations, and holds the mixture of solids and liquids leaving a home.

After the liquid sits in the tank for a period, the solids sink to the bottom or float to the top, and the middle liquid is them passed out to a series of drains called a leech field, where the water is passed through surface soil and is cleaned of harmful bacteria.  Every so often, depending on use and size of the tank, the solids or sludge is pupped out of the holding tank and disposal in a waste water treatment facility via a community sewer system.

Septic systems are sized based on the number of gallons in a holding tank — sometimes the tank has two compartments to aid the settling of the solids.  A typical 2 – 3 bedroom house might use a 1000 gallon tank.

The size of the leech field — where the water drains, is determined by size of property and the findings of a soil test often done by a qualified engineer or other expert. This can quickly add several $1000 of dollars to the cost of a home, and in some remote locations, due to geology or other concerns, it may not be possible to use this kind of waste system.

In this series of articles, we’ll explore three alternatives to septic:  composting toilets, incineating toilets, and outhouses.  You may be surprized to read that “what we’ve always done” isn’t necessarily what is best for your farm or you lifestyle.  And the alternatives may be more sustainable.