After turning, if the bin isn’t full, we cover the surface with a fresh layer of wood shavings and reposition it back under the building.

We know this seems like it would be an awful chore, but honestly, it’s kind of magical how it works.

It is remarkable how little odor this system has when appropriately used. The carbon material is the key here. As long as we add enough carbon to absorb the liquid and completely disperse the solid waste, the odor is kept to a minimum.

Keeping things adequately covered also prevents flies and pests from occupying our bins. Despite being open to the outside air, we do not have issues with insects.

Once full, we auger one last time and incorporate a mixture of beneficial bacteria and fungi into the water that we sprinkle over the mix. These inoculants, which are usually a dry powder, are available all over. 

The added microbes kickstart the cold composting process and help ensure enough biological activity is present to break everything down.

Right under the lip of the bin, we drill a series of tiny holes to allow for air exchange at the surface to ensure our microbes have enough oxygen to do their work. No liquids ever leave the bin except for humidity. We then seal the totes with their lids, date them, and use our front-end loader to transfer them to their out-of-the-way resting place where they can cold compost undisturbed for 1-2 years.

The oxygenated environment and beneficial microbes ensure that the human waste completely breaks down and harmful pathogens are eliminated by the end of this process.

What remains is crumbly, nutrient-rich humus with no unpleasant odor. We can then spread it on the forest floor to benefit our woodlot and breathe easy knowing that our waste is now feeding the soil, as it was always meant to do.

Here are some Additional Details on the Five-gallon Bucket System

It is convenient to have a smaller-capacity system. For that, we use five or six-gallon buckets that we have set up in repurposed portapotties.

The logistics are mostly the same, except in these smaller-scale systems, we also have a stand-up urinal that diverts urine outside.

For the urinal, we have attached a hose to the drain that snakes through a hole we drilled into the tank of the portapotty and runs outside, sloping downwards towards the base of a tree.

Where the hose empties, we have dug a hole about 12-15 inches deep and backfilled it with woodchips, where the resident bacteria/microbes consume all the nutrients in urine and clean and filter it before it seeps into the ground. As a result, the surrounding trees benefit from the added nutrients and water, and we deal with less volume of liquid waste in the bucket.

Over a couple of years of usage, we found it helpful to attach a screen over the outside end of the tube to prevent small rodents from entering. We also attach the end of the hose to a concrete block to be sure it does not pop out of the ground. 

The bucket is placed down into the former tank of the portapotty on a platform of bricks to sit closely underneath the seat’s lid.

We attached a makeshift plastic guard under the seat lid to ensure no urine escapes the bucket’s rim.

We have found pine shavings to be nicer to use than bulk woodchips because they look cleaner, are easy to purchase & handle, and leave a fresh scent.

Once the bucket is 1/2 to 3/4 full, we pull it out and empty it into a 55-gallon plastic barrel we call the “Digester” and use the auger to incorporate the new waste. Just for good measure, we throw in a couple of handfuls of our own topsoil to ensure the drum’s contents have our own soil microbe community present. 

Over time, the drum contents drop significantly as the organic matter continually breaks down. Once full, we let the contents rest for at least a year. 

Having to handle buckets and empty them into the digester means more close contact with the waste in this system than in the larger bin system. Still, plastic gloves and basic hygiene after working on the toilets eliminate possible contamination.

Because of its 5-gallon capacity, it does demand more attention than the 26-gallon system, but the frequency at which we are emptying, turning, and checking makes the toilet exceptionally clean and odor-free. It is a perfect smaller-scale setup. We use it in our camping area, where it can easily handle two people using it for a weekend before needing maintenance.

It is so valuable to be able to process waste safely, efficiently, and comfortably on-site. We get fantastic feedback from our campers.

Our Super-Clean Composting Toilet Systems are highly approachable from both the user and maintenance end. They have proven to work incredibly well for us.

Please shoot us any questions you might have, and if you create one of these systems, please share your successes and challenges. We’re all learning from each other just as we took the best of what others have done to make our system work well for us. 

Cheers… Midwest Permaculture Team