Another name for a composting toilet is "a waterless toilet" or dry toilet. There are many commercial systems and home built systems around the world. Besides the advantage of requiring no water the composting toilet system can be isolated from the ground water system easily and cheaply. Here lies one of its main advantages. The composting toilet will provide a human waste processing system that will not pollute ground water systems. It is being used in many 3rd world countries in this vein. In India it is asserted that a rural family can build their own toilet for around 100USD. If e.g. a whole village were worried about the pollution of their underground well water by wet toilets then they could all convert to composting toilets and save their ground water for safe consumption. The composting toilet works by drying the faeces and either diverting the urine or providing a system to evaporate the water from the urine. In this way the volume of the waste is reduced by an order of magnitude e.g. 1/10 of the size. When the waste is dried and processed by the microbes in the system it becomes valuable fertilizer. internet searches will reveal information using the keywords e.g: "clivus multrum", rotaloo, eco-solutions.org etc.
The coordinated presence of composting, leaching, removing and ventilating units is the way that a compost toilet works. The exterior may look like a toilet set atop a barrel or a box. The interior requires a chamber for accumulation of wastes, an entrance for extracting aerobically decomposed wastes, a system for removing excess liquid, and a unit for venting gaseous odors.
There are many ways one might use a compost toilet. A compost toilet uses the natural work of nature to help decompose waste that then might be used in a farming application.
The most ecologically sound toilets that I know of are simple compost toilets. A compost toilet is basically a large bucket housed in a wooden casing, with a regular toilet seat on top. Instead of flushing with water after use, a small amount of sawdust, dry leaves, grass clippings etc, are added to the bucket to act as a cover material. When the toilet is full it is emptied into a (properly managed) compost pile, where thermophilic activity will produce high temperatures which quickly kill harmful pathogens and parasitic worms. After a sufficient composting period the compost can be safely used on gardens.
Cold compost uses yard waste, such as dry leaves and grass clippings
Each flush of a toilet uses the same amount of water.
Yes they can, by stopping the toilet water and putting litter in the toilet.
If the toilet works each time on one flush, they use roughly half the water of a standard toilet. You would then use half as much a month on the toilet. They do not always flush completely on the first flush and the toilet is only a part of the water bill.
Depending on the toilet, between 1 and 5 gallons.
You have to use toilet more
Use water!
1. First loose the bolts that connect it to the flange on the floor and place the toilet in the bathtub 2.Turn off the water supply 3. Remove the lid of the toilet tank and flush the toilet 4. Use a plastic cup & dry sponge to scoop out water and dry up water drop. 5. Disconnect the water supply tube by turning the compression nut on the water supply valve. 6. use a flat head screwdriver to pry the caps from the washers at the base of the toilet. 7. Remove the nuts by using a wrench from the bolts. 8.Place the nuts, washers, and caps properly. 9. Hold the toilet under the bowl and rock it gently back and forth to break the old wax seal. 10. Lift the toilet off of the floor and set it down on a blanket, a piece of cardboard or in the bathtub. For more information visit mytoiletspares.co.uk
If it's wet, use toilet roll. If it's dry, I use a disposable cotton wool make-up removing pad, moistened with water. Wipe toward the tail.
Organic Farmers use very fine compost as a mulch. A Mulch sits on the surface and protects the Eco System underneath from intruders and, as it rains, the water will carry nutrients from the compost deeper to the bottom of the soil where the roots grow.