Waste and peat mix bulking material enter through the waste inlet port at the top of the drum. To mix and aerate, rotate the drum periodically, simply by turning the handle on the front of self-contained units or on the side of central units. During rotation the inlet door closes automatically keeping the compost in the drum. To empty compost from the Bio-drum simply release the drum locker and rotate the drum backwards. Now, the inlet port in the Bio-Drum opens automatically and compost drops directly into the compost finishing drawer.
After rotating, the Bio-drum locks itself in a top dead-centred position ready to receive new material. Sun-Mar's unique Bio-Drum design is the easiest and best possible way to thoroughly and completely mix and oxygenate the whole compost. Rotate the drum, and the entire compost pile is tumbled and infused with oxygen. Oxygen is one key ingredient which allows aerobic bacteria to break down waste quickly and without odor. Moisture control, the other basic requirement for good composting, is one of the outstanding benefits offered only by Sun-Mar's Bio-drum.
By not applying direct heat to the compost, Sun-Mar ensures that it does not dry out. In addition, the tumbling action during periodic mixing distributes moisture evenly throughout the compost.
Sun-Mar's unique Bio-drum optimizes composting by automatically draining any excess liquid through a screen at the bottom of the drum directly into the evaporation chamber. The microbes generate their own heat as they work. This warmth is held in the compost by the mass of material inside the drum, supported by indirect heat from the base heater in electric units.
By avoiding direct heat, Sun-Mar ensures that composting will not slow down as the material gets dried out. Uneven distribution of oxygen and moisture allows anaerobic bacteria to take over. These microbes produce bad odors and do not allow the waste to break down quickly. The superior oxygenation and moisture control provided by the Bio-drum provides the ideal environment for aerobic bacteria to odorlessly break down organic material.
They quickly convert organic material into water and carbon dioxide, and leave behind simple salts which are ideal for uptake by plants. Compost must be kept moist but not saturated.
Excess liquid from the drum strains through a stainless mesh screen into the evaporation chamber. The ideal environment for evaporating any excess liquid is a large surface area combined with heat and moving air. Sun-Mar meets these criteria in the evaporating chamber. Any liquid not absorbed by the compost in the drum drains through the screen directly into the evaporating chamber. On all central units the liquid falls first onto an evaporating tray and then to the main evaporating surface.
This will be either in chambers below the seat, or containers that can be removed and left elsewhere to compost completely. The excreta falls into a composting chamber directly beneath the toilet pedestal. Naturally occurring bacteria, fungi, worms and other organisms will thrive on this organic matter and break it down into humus.
Human excreta can contain pathogenic bacteria, viruses and protozoa, and may be dangerous to human health. Composting kills these human pathogens and the finished compost is safe and free from odour. The compost, usually removed once per year, is an excellent soil conditioner ideal for use on ornamental flowers and shrubs.
A reliable and robust approach for the UK climate is to alternate annually between two separate chambers. The active chamber fills with excreta and soak over the course of the first year. When it reaches capacity the pedestal is moved across to the resting chamber for the second year. The contents of the first chamber then have a full year to compost with no fresh additions.
By the end of the second year the contents of the original chamber are fully composted and can safely be removed. To continue the cycle the pedestal is moved back above the empty chamber while the other matures. This batch processing means there is no contamination of mature compost with fresh faeces. These should be brandling worms, which are common in gardens also sold as fishing tackle.
In a continuous system without any switching to new chambers or containers , then once this has got going the ecosystem should settle down. Then no intervention, in terms of adding worms or other decomposers, should be necessary.
A system like this should settle down within a few months. If your collected waste does not seem to be decomposing well, try adding a shovel of well-composted garden compost, or a few brandling worms. Many decomposing organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, should find their way in anyway. Appropriate ventilation is essential for effective composting and for preventing bad smells.
Design the vent to draw air across the top of the chamber, to promote the compost process. It should also draw air from inside the toilet cubicle, down the toilet pedestal. Passive ventilation is possible with careful design. Alternatively, a low wattage fan gives excellent results and costs only a few pounds per year to run. This problem can occur in inadequately designed toilets on windy days.
In our experience, wood-shavings work very well. Conventional wisdom is to add soak after every toilet use as an alternative to the flushing ritual.
You should add only just enough soak as is necessary in order to keep the chamber size as small as possible. In a public toilet, people not used to composting toilets may put too much soak down a toilet.
This affects the composting process whilst the cubical can also become scruffy, with sawdust scattered about. Keeping the compost fairly dry, for example with urine separation, will minimise the risk of a fly infestation. A well-sealed chamber and a protected vent should stop flies entering. Flies inside the chamber can be attracted to a dedicated fly-trap or to the light shining down a vent pipe, becoming trapped at the fly screen at the top.
See the related question below for more on fly control. For effective odour-free composting in the UK climate it is essential to divert the urine from the compost chamber. Urine separating toilet pedestals are available that intercept urine on a metal plate and divert it to a drain. Separation only works when users are sitting down. This could lead to the same drain, or to collection for re-use as fertiliser. Urine separation systems can be self-built, but proprietary urine-separating seats or pedestals are available.
Urine is sterile, so safe to handle, or you can pipe the urine to a soakaway outside the building. A typical soakaway could be 4 meters long, mm wide, mm deep and filled with rubble or large mm stone. Once per week the toilet operator needs to open the access hatch and inspect the compost chamber. They should add an appropriate quantity of soak if necessary. Emptying the composting may be an annual procedure.
For a completely odour-free toilet the access hatch can be situated inside the toilet cubicles because this protects against smells from back-drafts. However, this can make removing compost slightly more awkward than with access hatches on the outside of the building. See the related questions below for further detail.
For in-depth advice we run regular courses on composting toilets. Composting toilets are mentioned in part G of the Building Regulations. It is certainly important to site toilets as far as possible away from water supplies to avoid contamination. Septic tanks used to be the go-to waste solution for many rural communities, but unfortunately, septic options have many problems attached to them.
They are expensive, highly-regulated, and difficult to maintain if something goes amiss, which could be truly catastrophic. If something goes wrong with your compostable toilet, on the other hand, it will simply be a smelly mess. An example of one such toilet is the BoonJon , a fine, if very basic model. More advanced central systems will run you more in the thousands of dollars. The fact is, a composting toilet will cost exponentially more than a conventional model, in some areas, anyway.
Anyone who has ever had to call a plumber can tell you about, particular expense. Still, composting toilets are difficult to set up in their own right, and frankly, not every household is equipped for one. It takes preparation and dedication to an environmentally-conscious attitude. How to Start a Backyard Compost.
We squander masses of clean water flushing away our own waste instead of using it as fertiliser. But a lavatorial eco revolution has now begun. For those to whom chucking litres of clean drinking water down the toilet on each flush seems wildly at odds with attempts to protect the environment and slow the climate emergency, compost toilets are increasingly making sense.
The idea is simple: treat human waste just as other organic matter — in a not dissimilar way to how kitchen waste is composted. At his home in France, Daren Howarth, who runs Groundhouse , which supports people building sustainable properties, has a composting loo.
The liquid waste is diverted out of his house, filtered through a reed bed and into a pond — and is then used to water his veg patch. The solids are composted. For his household of four, he empties the bucket every couple of weeks. The anecdotal signs are that people are increasingly open to the idea of composting loos.
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