I played with my poop

[John61CT]

Local land-use regulators rarely allow for much creativity in using modern technology for handling human waste.

If there isn't a sewer pipe, they usually want a septic field and / or pay for pump-outs.

EPA is largely irrelevant wrt local / individual behaviour, it would fall to local enforcement to specify and police what the dumpster companies put into landfills, much less what individuals can place in them or trash cans.

I have yet to see a specific law against either, and I have been looking, and asking widely.

 

[Cammalu]

I went on an earthship tour at least 20 years ago up near Taos. The toilet was a solar toilet which burned everything up into ashes.

 

[Dingfelder]

Never heard of those and I'm curious re the implementation. Sounds like a great idea!

 

[John61CT]

Not practical in a mobile context.

Here are some good incinerator threads from a marine forum

https://www.google.com/search?q=incinerator+toilet+site:www.cruisersforum.com

 

[pksmart]

Well, I'm still experimenting with different methods to get rid of the contents of pooping in a bag. There have been several long threads on this, but I didn't see any really "good" solutions. I am hoping to head south in the next month or so, so have been playing at home.

Of first note, it seems from reading various official sites that tossing human waste into the landfill is definitely illegal, despite people's rationalizations. So, I'm looking for alternatives. Also of note, I brought this issue up on the caravan forum, but there seemed to be only denial over there. But I can only only imagine the reputation the caravans will be getting when 50 van people come in every other day and toss 200 bags of poop into the local gas station's dumpster. Gakk.

So, my preferred method is still using kitty litter in the bag, then dumping the "contents only" into a pit toilet. And despite having been castigated for this approach. "Don't ever put anything into the pit toilet except ....". Foo.

However, I've been trying a couple of alternatives. First, I dumped a 1/4 cup of kitty litter into my home toilet, and it flushed 100% down on the first flush. So, I think the kitty method can generally be used with elimination in regular flush toilets when on the road.

Secondly, I tried using a mixture of 1/4 cup cooking oil and dish detergent rather than kitty litter in the poop bag, and that flushed down with no problem in the regular toilet. The purpose of the liquid mixture was so the plastic bag would be fairly clean when emptied, and that it would also be a fairly benign liquid to dump into a flush toilet. Maybe try a bleach mixture too.

Still thinking.

 

[RowanFae]

Local land-use regulators rarely allow for much creativity in using modern technology for handling human waste.

This is a fact.  I couldn't afford the incinerator toilet anyway lol, and I'm pretty sure the neighbors (even several acres away) would be calling in complaints.

 

[wanderin.pat]

pksmart:

Is there any particular reason for merely quoting the entire original post?  

If you had a message in there, could you please put it outside the quoted portion? Please.  

Thanks,

WP

 

[Rabbit]

"Disposing of untreated human waste in landfills is prohibited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)."

Would Poo Powder perhaps be considered "treatment"? It claims to promote full breakdown of the stuff, and that's actually why I spent a little money on it. I'm trying to do the right thing, but the longer I read this thread the more impossible it seems.

 

[John61CT]

Well since other regulatory agencies are publicly promoting that solution as making our poo acceptable for landfill disposal, it certainly appears so.

 

[Dingfelder]

I guess they're hoping the enzymes break down the poop.

That would depend on whether they work anaerobically or not, I suppose, if they are in a plastic bag. Otherwise they will start to work for a while, then die off when the oxygen runs out, perhaps with some work still left to do.

Anaerobic decomposition is the stinkiest, too. So ... I wonder at how reliable the whole decomposition process is.

If anything, it may be how the gelatinizing effect contains liquids that makes this approach more appealing to the authorities. A bag full of liquids is way harder to handle, and old urine stinks way more than old poop.

 

[John61CT]

Again, there are millions of tons in the existing waste stream, with actually toxic substances doing actual harm to the environment.

Plus all the existing poop going into every landfills every day. The additional, gelled or not treated at all, going in from vandwellers is +.00001%.

You are overthinking this far more than any EPA officials.

 

[lenny flank]

^^^ I agree with John. Poop from even one backpacker would be a problem in an environmentally-delicate area like an alpine meadow or a desert. In the context of dumping poop in an urban garbage can, though, it is a non-issue.

When they start arresting babies, then I'll be worried about it.

 

[Ticklebellly]

 First, I dumped a 1/4 cup of kitty litter into my home toilet, and it flushed 100% down on the first flush. So, I think the kitty method can generally be used with elimination in regular flush toilets when on the road.

Secondly, I tried using a mixture of 1/4 cup cooking oil and dish detergent rather than kitty litter in the poop bag, and that flushed down with no problem in the regular toilet.

Isn't Kitty Litter mostly clay?    Absolutely sure the sewage authorities would not want that in their system.    Ok, the Kitty Litter might have gone with the first flush but what about downstream problems?   Out of sight, out of mind, is short thinking, it seems to me.

 

[John61CT]

Yes and even better media like coir, peat moss, wood shavings

would not flush

 

[WanderingCanuck]

Kitty litter that I know is bentonite clay with fragrance and minor quantities of whatever it takes to clump up with urine. As was mentioned in another post, after it absorbs a bit of moisture it comes apart into a slippery yet sticky mess. In a municipal sewage system it will quickly build up and clog pipes. In a septic system it will do the same and be VERY expensive to repair.

Similar to the other member talking about using it as a traction aid, I've carried it in my pickup truck in the winter as weight over the axle and a traction aid because it's relatively cheap and nicely packaged. It ONLY works as a traction aid with very cold temperatures! If you're stuck in slush it will make things worse. Clay is used as a well drilling lubricant, if I'm not mistaken.

Back to the idea of incineration or hot composting, who wants to develop a solution that uses waste heat from the engine coolant or exhaust to render it sterile so it can be scattered without concern? I'd buy one.

 

[QinReno]

For reference, y'all might be interested in the Incinolet from the link john posted. You can see more of the design if you d/l the users manual. It has a heating element inside that takes 120VAC @ @25A or so, and literally vaporizes the poo. Then there are platinum catalysts in the exhaust pipe (like in a car) that burn any residual. But takes hours to empty the chamber, so lots of power expended.
- https://incinolet.com/how-it-works/

 

[Dingfelder]

^^^ I agree with John. Poop from even one backpacker would be a problem in an environmentally-delicate area like an alpine meadow or a desert. In the context of dumping poop in an urban garbage can, though, it is a non-issue.

When they start arresting babies, then I'll be worried about it.

Me too.  And dogs.

And as far as going in the woods, I guess it would depend on the location.  Around here we have so many wild animals that whatever poop or pee humans put out is completely trivial by comparison.  But if there's a small spot visited by hundreds or thousands of people a year, I can see how that would be too much.

 

[bullfrog]

Barth motorhomes in the 1970's offered a system that injected the gray and black water (as they were both in one tank at that time) into the exhaust of the chevy motor which burned or turned it into steam as you drove down the hwy. Using a macerator pump and some simple plumbing you should be able to do this if not running a converter.

 

[QinReno]

Isn't Kitty Litter mostly clay?

Both of those ideas mentioned have been discarded.

 

[WanderingCanuck]

Barth motorhomes in the 1970's offered a system that injected the gray and black water (as they were both in one tank at that time) into the exhaust of the chevy motor which burned or turned it into steam as you drove down the hwy. Using a macerator pump and some simple plumbing you should be able to do this if not running a converter.

This is along the lines of what I had in mind with my above comment, except I'm thinking of a shell around the catalytic converter instead of into the exhaust. You have some sort of system where the slurry goes through the hot area, gets sterilized, then as it becomes dirt/dust it just falls (in small quantities at a time) down onto the road as you drive. It might be a crappy thing to experiment with (see what I did there?) but if a simple DIY way could be found, it could eliminate problems for some people.