USA: A Canadian company is trying to minimize water waste by producing waterless, composting lavatories

Record ID: 344268

  • Title: USA: A Canadian company is trying to minimize water waste by producing waterless, composting lavatories
  • Date: 21st November 2012
  • Summary: MORICHES, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COHEN POURING COMPOST ONTO SOIL AND DIGGING
  • Embargoed: 6th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Canada
  • Country: Canada
  • Topics: Environment,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA56Y5B2JG6W0O3NJIXO1IHEX7P
  • Story Text: According to the U.S. Geological Survey, one flush of a toilet uses between 1.6 gallons (6 liters) and 4 gallons (15 liters) of water, adding up to thousands of gallons of water per person per year, literally flushed down the toilet. It's water that could otherwise be used for drinking or agriculture.
    One Canadian company hopes to change the dynamic. Sun-Mar manufactures composting toilets which require no water and no plumbing and are ready to install out-of-the-box.
    Sun-Mar sales manager, Fraser Sneddon says that, because of this simplicity, the composting units can be installed anywhere a toilet is required.

    "Conventional toilets are just transportation devices; they use a lot of water to move waste out of bathroom to somewhere else. They don't treat the waste. The composting toilets actually do that treating right inside the bathroom. So, you're not transporting the waste anymore, you're looking after everything right inside the bathroom. And because of that it's much more efficient, you don't need a water connection, you don't need a sewer connection," said Sneddon.
    The system works by evaporating liquid waste or urine and composting solid waste. Sneddon says that the solid waste is organic matter and naturally breaks down. But Sun-Mar's system accelerates that process by 100 times, producing useable or disposable compost within two to three weeks.

    "We do that through use of peat moss mixture which adds organic carbon and also by rotation. These units have a large drum inside and what happens is, by rotating that drum you're getting everything thoroughly mixed kept evenly moist and well oxygenated," explained Sneddon.
    The process is also sped up by adding a quantity of microbe mix, which comprises aerobic bacteria in a cornmeal base.
    When Christine Cohen and her family decided to turn their boathouse into a guest cottage, plumbing and sewage posed a problem. The cottage is close to the property line. City permits and plumbing expenses would have greatly increased the cost of the project.
    Cohen is educated in horticulture and is an organic gardener. Her daughter suggested installing a waterless, composting toilet in the cottage.

    "When she suggested a compost toilet my eyes lit up, because compost is the gold to the garden - you can use compost to basically benefit the garden instead of using chemicals, so that was a win-win for me," said Cohen.
    The composted waste matter settles in a tray at the bottom of the toilet unit. Cohen empties that tray approximately once a month and digs the fertile mixture into her soil.
    But Cohen says that not all her guests have been receptive of the idea of a waterless lavatory.

    "I had an experience when someone came in they were very, very upset about, so we gave them access to the house because they just refused to use it. And that just goes to show you where our current environment is, not everyone is open to this but I think by the end of the week, he did use it," laughed Cohen.
    Some people may think that a toilet that retains the waste would produce an anbearable smell. But Cohen says she has never, ever smelled a bad odor from her toilet.
    Sun-Mar's Fraser Sneddon says that's because their technology ensures excellent ventilation and plenty of oxygen.

    "What we have here is the vent stack. It comes off the back of the toilet externally and extends up past the roof line as you can see. And the idea of the venting is to exhaust the liquid waste that's added in, the byproducts of the decomposition and also to ensure that there's absolutely no chance of any odor," said Sneddon.
    Sun-mar also produces a toilet which uses a very small amount of water to flush. The unit is located in a bathroom and the composting unit is situated at a lower level, such as in a basement.
    Prices for the composting toilets range from $1,500 to $2,500 (USD).
    And organic-minded Cohen, who loves her composting toilet, plans to try and install one in a bakery she plans to open in her town.
    She believes that wider use of the waterless, composting commode could be key to a greener planet and an attainable expression of self-sustainability.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register