Owning a tiny house such as a mobile house might be a bit frustrating as you may lack some necessary home support such as a permanent toilet.
This is, however, an advantage if you look at it from a more optimistic perspective since you can get manure from your metabolic wastes to use to improve the fertility of your garden. To achieve this, you will need what is referred to as “a composting toilet”.
What are composting toilets?
A composting toilet is a piece of movable fixture that can be used to collect human waste after defecation for treatment with aerobic bacteria to obtain a sewage mixture of solid and liquid waste which can serve as human manure.
Although you can also dispose of the waste if you like, that would be a great misuse of such rare manure. If you cannot utilize it, it is highly advisable you locate a gardener who needs some.
You should also know that a composting toilet is different from a portable toilet though they share some similar traits the latter is not capable of producing human manure from the waste it collects.
Therefore, you should not make the mistake of purchasing a portable toilet in place of a composting toilet except if you do not need the manure.
Types of composting toilet
There are two types of composting toilets you can get depending on how much you defecate (lol); that was just a quick joke although it could be to some extent reasonable anyways.
On a more serious note, the two types of composting toilets you can purchase areas listed below:
1) Self-contained Composting Toilet System
As the name implies, this type of composting toilet system is a stand-alone as they have all the features that made up the modern WC toilet systems in a single fixture such as a detachable tank, a liquid drain, and may or may not have a water supply tank to flush after usage.
With this toilet composting system, all you need is to just defecate and flush to obtain your human manure.
They are usually portable and therefore, could be used at several locations especially during camping tours and on ship navigation.
2) Split or Central Composting Toilet System
This is built up and works exactly like the normal Water Closet (WC) toilets in houses around you. The fixture is linked with pipes to the septic tanks in which the composting will take place.
The septic tank requires a part known as the “hopper” to break down the waste and transform it into usable manure.
The Split or Central Composting System is more advantageous than the Self-contained composting system as they can produce/hold up more manure than the Self-contained system but for their bulky nature which is a plus for the Self-contained composting toilets. The Split composting toilets are usually more expensive to purchase also.
Factors that determine the best composting toilets for you
Before purchasing a composting toilet, you should first consider the following factors to help you make a good purchasing decision:
Space availability
How spacious your tiny house is will definitely play a major role in deciding which type of composting toilet suits you. On most occasions, a self-contained composting toilet is the best for a tiny house or boat trip.
However, you can utilize a split composting toilet for much larger such as your gardens or when you go on camping trips.
Users’ size
It is also essential for you to consider the number of people living with you to decide on the capacity of the tank that will serve you better.
For just one to three persons, a self-contained toilet should be sufficient. Once you begin to count higher than this, it is recommended you go for the Split system.
Access to the power supply
Since the bacteria are aerobic, it implies that they will require oxygen to carry out their function.
However, some composting toilets are too enclosed such that the amount of air coming into the tank might be too small for the bacteria to act; therefore, there is a need to make use of either alternating current (AC) or a direct current (DC) to suck air into the tank.
You should consider your access to a regular power supply before purchasing one that will require it.
Odor removing capacity
It will be a total mess if your toilet releases some foul smell during or after composting due to inadequate venting of the carbon (IV) oxide produced during the process.
This will not only pollute the environment but also lower the productivity of the bacteria in the composting toilet as there will be a high level of oxygen-carbon (IV) oxide level. Therefore, this is another major factor you should look out for.
One good way to predict this is by checking the vent structure and availability of a fan to help push out the unwanted gases in the tank of your composting toilet.
These are some of the factors you should look out for before making a purchase, otherwise, you might end up making a bad purchasing decision.
Nevertheless, here are our recommended composting toilets available on the market to help you get the best value for every cent you spend on acquiring them.
Best Composting Toilets For Tiny House
In a rush? Our Top Picks:
Read on for more best composting toilets and reviews.
1) Nature’s Head Self Contained Composting Toilet with Close Quarters Spider Handle Design- $960 to $1030.00
This is our most recommended composting toilet and certainly the best on Amazon as at the time this article was written (has a modified version below). This composting toilet is easy to install by anyone who can follow simple instructions on the manual. It does not give out any odor and requires no maintenance that is backed up with a 5-year warranty.
It is made from plastics, therefore; you can be sure of its durability and has a huge capacity that allows for the tank to be emptied easily. It was designed for marine use but will greatly be a great addition to your tiny house and garden.
Price: As of the time of writing this article, it is priced at $960.00 for regular purchase and at $1030.00.
2) Separett Tiny Waterless Urine Diverting Toilet with Urine Container and Poopoo Pucks Coconut Coir Disks- $1065.99
This method utilizes the diverting power of the Tiny and the ability of Poopoo Puck’s coconut coir to facilitate the decomposition of human wastes. Tiny works exactly like a composting toilet having all essentials attribute with an added advantage of diverting urine from the solid waste.
Instead of disposing of the solid waste, simply throw some Poopoo disks into it and moisten the disks for them to decompose the waste in order to produce the required manure.
It is an effective way of transforming any portable toilet into a composting toilet; however, portable toilets with the inability to separate moisture (urine) from solid waste might not be so effective. Hence, Tiny is best recommended.
Price: The Separett Tiny Waterless Urine Diverting Toilet is priced at $1049.00 on Amazon
And the Poopoo Pucks Coconut Coir Disks come at only $16.99- Buy here.
3) Nature’s Head Composting Toilet with Spider Handle- $1094.50
This is the advanced version of the first recommended Nature’s Head Composting Toilet with its small size, user-friendliness features, and unique portability. It comes with a vent and fan to enhance its odorless and composting power. It can be also used with external pipes like the Split composting toilet systems in places where it exceeds the mounting pedestal.
Price: This innovative composting toilet by Nature’s Head is valued at a rather affordable price of $1094.50.
Also, check out the best small composting toilets for Van.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the number of composting toilets on Amazon is currently limited due to the platform policies as regards such products.
However, it would be of no use if there are a lot of sellers offering these products while in reality, they would not work.
Remember that the composting toilets and portable toilets are quite similar but divergent in nature and purpose. Do not make the mistake of purchasing a portable toilet in place of a composting toilet. Also, check out the best composting toilets for off-grid.
