BrownMaterial, Mr. Jenkins is telling you the truth... This toilet is merely the collection vessel used in conjunction with an outdoor bin for composting human manure and urine. Separating the two stages makes for a very economical, scalable (large or small) and user friendly technique.
I know because I use this system. There are no flies or odor associated with the toilet, and no flies or odor escaping from the compost bins, which yield rich, earthy humus. Read the book...
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're not deliberately deceiving the audience to gain profit, but instead don't understand what a compost toilet is.This is NOT a compost toilet. I don't think you understand what a compose toilet is and that you should Google the subject.
Technically, this is a pit toilet, not a comp toilet, which is far more complicated. Will it compost human waist? Yes. However, this toilet will produce foal odor, making it unsuitable for indoor use.
It's not a "compostING" toilet. It's a compost toilet because it's part of a compost toilet system. A compostING toilet is supposed to compost inside the toilet. This doesn't actually happen however as most commercial compostING toilets are dehydrators. A pit toilet requires a hole in the ground. And there is no odor whatsoever from the Loveable Loo when properly used. read the Humanure Handbook.or go to the LoveableLoo website and read the customer testimonials.
@jcjenkins01 By using "compostING" and compost, your using word play. Regarding your statement about composting not happening in most commercial "compostING toilets - you're in error. Decomp happens in all these toilets - it just a matter of rate and efficiency. "A pit toilet requires a hole in the ground." How is your toilet different from a pit in the ground? And if there's no separation of solids and liquids in an enclosed pit, how then can you not need chemicals for odors?
is throwing sawdust into an outhouse a good idea? I've never filed the outhouse yet but am wondering if it will evetually fill up or would sawdust or lime break everything down?
I bought your book 7 years ago and built one of these. Codes don't allow composting human manure here, but if the power goes out I would use it anyways. I think all of the politicians should read your book. It could make a big difference on the environment and government finances.
This is a smart idea. I was going to purchase a expensive composting toilet but I had no idea they could be made so cheap and effective. If people would only stop worrying about what everyone else thinks then they could be free to use things like this. This process just seems more natural. For thousands of years mankind has used the bathroom outside and Im sure they covered it with leaves, etc. Even animals know this. It is a natural process.
the trouble is that the contents are not just clean cover material but also fecial matter. I dont know about flies in the states but over here we have types that only occur here and they have a much keener sense of smell than any human and can be in there billions in summer( just ask any aussie that lives in the bush), besides children dont always do the right thing and cover as well as they should.
The toilet contents are kept covered with clean a cover material at all times. This is how this toilet system works. Flies aren't attracted to sawdust. Yes, children may not cover the toilet contents adequately, but they also will not close a lid tightly either, if at all. This, as any toilet, should be supervised when used by children. The toilets are best located inside where they can be attended to easily. There is no odor (hence no flies) when used properly.
I think its a great idea. The only problem I can see from a design point of view is that the outer lid doesnt fit down snug to create a seal on the seat. Here in Australia this would allow way to many flies into the system. A six millimeter / 1/4 inch piece of ply stuck to the underneath part of the top lid would fix the problem.
Can lovable loo be used like a regular toilet by a family of 3, or is this meant only as a camper's toilet? Also if I replaced my flush toilets with a composting toilet do I have to drill a pipe through the roof?
its cute, and well made, but.... saw dust isn't eco friendly, the debri isn't isolated when the loo isn't in use, there is no vent fan, and there is no urine separater. I like that it is made with practical materials but...
urine separator trays are easy to purchase and install.
With the extra depth a simple bath fan could be installed with a switch on the side.
something to consider for the "new and improved" model. forthcoming.
Fans are totally unnecessary, as is urine separation. These things only complicate and hinder what is a simple process - thermophilic composting. You do NOT want to separate urine when using a thermophilic (hot composting) system. Read the humanure book.
just started using mine in my yurt about a week ago and so far it has met the expectations i had from reading others feedback. works great and doesn't smell!
Would be nice if you had a vent hole and piping configuration to possibly utilize a person's current bathroom fan hole or window. The vent hole could be in the back with a collar that a purchaser would then attach a PVC pipe to.
@TheBgcheez If you use enough cover material (sawdust, leaf mold, etc.) you have no odor, but that of earthy carbon. Too much nitrogen smell means you need to add more carbon.
The compostable parts of feminine hygiene products will compost. Any plastic parts will not compost and you will have to pick these out of the finished compost.
We have such a toilet(home-made) in our bathhouse, but with a separation for the urine that goes into a plastic container. Makes the bucket really light for carrying outside. It works pretty well, but I wouldn't say it's odour free even if we use sawdust, so I would put it outside, in an outhouse or a utility building rather than in a small home, unless you can isolate the toilet space really well. I however find a urine toilet works inside, it doesn't smell, and I live in a one-room cabin. :)
this could be well advertised for say fishing ships too! heck, bring one toilet, and a barrel of dirt, and crew's safe for the trip. no need for power pumping water, no need for plumbers out in the middle of the sea!
in a house, it'd be a first choice! this is the future, with less and less water available!
only i think society has to develop a type of culture to do this, but than again, it wouldn't be a first time - remember how in 19th cent. hygiene was tought to people.
i'd like to ask though: is (only) urinating also ok (besides urin and feces), or is (only) urinating better done someplace else?
How is this not going to produce any sort of odor? What about people who have diarhea? Some people eat a lot of meat and that is really strong for an odor. Nah there would not be any "curtain hiding" going on here. LOL! How does this even work outside when snow and ice are on the ground? Wouldn't the cold temps kill worms and other compost aid insects?
we built our own for our 1964 shasta and it works well , good idea its funny that people dont wanna deal with their own poop....come on people using fresh water to flush your poop away is killing us. compost your poop!
I wonder also if a compost tumbler could be used to compost the contents of the loveable loo. (I'm in Texas. It is hot here, mild winters too, and we get 45" of rain per year in my area).
What can you use besides peat and raw sawdust, that will be just as effective? I ask because I don't want to have to buy peat, and there are no sawmills in my area.
Also, roughly, how much peat or sawdust does it take to cover one...dump? A liter? 2? Thanks.
@personalities9 At the moment human waste is flushed into the sea , which is polluting and gets into the food system anyway when you eat any seafood. When human waste is made into sludge at the water works it is mixed with chemical waste which in some cases is put back onto the fields anyhow- thus contaminating the field. The end product of human waste as shown here is nothing more than earth, after it has been passed by worms , beetles and bacteria etc.
A septic tank is basically a 600 times larger version of this loo. Trucks that clean out your septic system take the waste to farms and composting sites. Loveable loos are irrelevant.
@zomgwtfbbqbagel Septic tanks cost more initially, require more infrastructure and a waste field and still use water and electricity. Then you have to have the waste trucked away, or pay for the system to be maintained after a few years as you say.
A compost toilet uses no energy at all and no water, most parts of the world can no longer afford to use water to transport human waste.
@hablerz It would be news to my septic tank that they require electricity. There isn't an electrical line within three miles of it. It's 17 years old and a family of three have been using it that whole time. It's never had a honey pot anywhere near it. In fact, you can't get a truck near it for the same reason there is no electricity.
@WurledPeas Point taken regarding the electrical use but what about water use? because if you have water piped to your house for sewerage use then that still uses electricity. Basically im in favour of compost toilets and localised septic systems. Its not efficient to use water for human waste, it takes too much energy to purify and supply for it to be sustainable ,plus it ends up in the sea.
@hablerz No, no pipes, river water and gravity. When I say off grid I really mean off grid. But I do agree. I'll be trying one of these composting toilets. That's why I am watching these videos much to my lovely wife's disdain. She lived off grid growing up. Going back to that is not her favorite subject being we live in So Cal right now and she has grown most accustomed to modcons that I think may be a thing of the past one day.
I just was at a festival in Israel where there was a sawdust outhouse. AMAZING!! Clean, no smells, no flys. Literally hundreds of people using the outhouse-Would love to make one of these-
WOOD DUST CAN CAUSE CANCER! Please do not bring wood dust into your home! The IARC lists wood dust as a group1 CARCINOGEN! This is the same category as tobacco. I'm a woodworker and I go to great lengths to control wood dust. It gets everywhere. You cant see the smallest particles which do the most damage and they are blown into the air very easily. Is there a better option?
Have you read the Humanure Handbook? Joseph Jenkins. Its a great read and covers all the relevant areas required to compost human manure. They recommend wood chips from the lumber yard, so from untreated wood rather than chips from the joinery end which may have been treated.
If you are unhappy with wood chips i guarentee that you will be able to find a "waste" product that you can mix with the manure which optimises the carbon/nitrogen mix and as a cover material. Good luck!
@FishyMoe Nope, good old oak is one of the offenders. also many others. some studies show smoking combined with wood dust exposure to have a synergistic effect on lung cancer.
@FishyMoe The clearvue cyclones website is a good place to start. Click on "general info" then from the menu click on "wood dust" for a good summary of many of the wood dust dangers. Otherwise just do a google search for "wood dust lung cancer" or any variation. After that, google "broccoli lung cancer" for fun.
i use the wood ash as a border around my humanure pile on the downhill side. it's absorbent so any liquid overflow will be contained. when it rains i don't add any urine. everything else composts well except maybe salted peanut shells and avocado seeds. great success with citrus peels, onion parts, bannana peel, nut shells, avo peels, paper, salad extras, and parts of carrotts, spuds, lettuce and other greens, reds, date seeds. . .i still have my humanure handbook. love it
I've switched to sawdust, too, but accidentally got some planer shavings mixed with sawdust, and they seem to work just fine although a bit fluffier as Joe mentions. Next time, I'm getting sander sawdust. I get them for free from a woodworkers club.
I wanted to thank you, Mr Jenkins for his excellent video and advice.
We are growing some of our own produce in the back garden of our home, built on the site of a former limestone quarry. The heavy clay soil needs masses of compost, which we produce from kitchen scraps, garden waste and a wormery. Your excellent loveable loo could double the volume of organic compost and add body to the soil at the same time.
As sawmills are rare here, we might try shredded newspaper and wood ash. Thanks!
At last we can give the news about the global economic crisis the home they deserve and make the Financial Times useful, at last... LOL! (I don't read it often, but my other half insists on buying it! ;o)
Absolutely! :o) Surfers Against Sewage would most likely endorse the Loveable Loo as returning organic waste to its right and proper place, where it can do some god, instead of leaving flotsam of the most disgusting nature, to haunt surfers and marine life alike!
CFL light bulbs are worse for the environment than the regular incandescent light bulbs because they are full of mercury, so be careful not to break one.
Have you thought about using biochar as the cover material? Does a great job of absorbing odours and it would transform your loo into a CO2 sequestration device as well :)
Sounds interesting... I am considering building one of these and using wood ash from our woodburning stove, is that what you mean by 'biochar'? At present we simply sprinkle it on the garden, in the [somewhat vain!] hope of keeping down our olympic strength population of slugs and snails. Of course, adding the ash to humanure would reduce pH hugely... I wonder whether that is a good or bad thing? Presumably the pH is an important factor in the bichemical composting process.
Funny mental image of your giant slugs. As for pH ash will up your pH levels and there is too much of a good thing. Biochar is a type of charcoal (its about 80% carbon) very absorbent helps retain nutrients and water and provides a nice home for helpful fungi like mycorrhiza and like perlite or vermiculite its low density can help soils. Additionally if you were to precharge biochar with humanure it would be nutrient rich and the char would absorb the smells. A win win
It's funny, belong to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm and their organic farm is in part supported by their own version of loveable loos; they use dried and crushed fall leaves as cover material with great success, but I could see how a pine, hemlock or cedar sawdust would provide better odor cover. Cheers guys, five stars.
I have acces to some significant quantities of leaf mould. I think some of it, the intermediate stages, seams fine/crumbly and porous enough to be useful here. It's also easier for me to obtain then large quantities of sawdust.
Yes - of course - the TP goes into the toilet, just like a flush toilet. Even the cardboard rolls in the center of the tubes. It all goes into the toilet.
I want to get a composting toilet as soon as I have my own house. I would be embarrassed if other people found out about it, though. How many people in the US know about these, and what percent of those approve?
I am not sure approval will be much of an issue all too soon, we are all set to pay an escalating sums of money for our drinking water.
The smart money is on alternatives to wasting this dwindling and precious resource to flush excrement into the sewers, to start its expensive journey to a Sewage Treatment Plant that emits scary volumes of CH4 and squander its precious C and N nutrients where they do harm instead.
Composting toilets: because s#it happens to be worth gold to gardeners!
You could also try coffee grounds, if you are near a local coffee shop that is willing to set them aside for you. Sawdust can also be acquired from woodworker clubs...
Hi there - thanks for the info. I have a huge supply of free wood chips from a tree pruner (abourist?) They mulch up the trees with a truck mounted chipper. Would this wood chip work instead of sawdust?
The composting toilet is always an option to people who couldn't easily implement the startegies I could devise. Sometimes people don't have a septic system and the loveable loo is very economical/practical in those cases. Given that I have the septic system, water and gravity in my favor, I would simply prefer to keep the handling of waste, while it's still inside the house, conventional. I am sure my wife and mother in law prefer that too.
Just wonder, how would recycling the sludge from the septic tank work for composting instead of paying to have it hauled away. Seem to me that for someone not morally or econimically bothered with the water usage could relcaim the feces with much less expense and hassle not to mention gross factor with the loveable loo.
I think that sludge from a septic tank would have a huge gross factor compared to the benign Loveable Loo. Yes, you pee in the same toilet receptacle. The object is thermophilic composting. Read the book - it's free.
Thanks for your response. I pulled off the lid to the septic tank and think I could strategize a somewhat reasonable method to handle cleaning the septic and harvesting the sludge.This only needs to be done every several years vs. handling those 5 gallon buckets and all the sawdust issues. However, if I were to actually do it, I would put a smaller solids strainer basket ahead of the septic and handle it this way.
I would burn the scum layer from the septic in an outdoor fire pit.
You need to read the book "humanure Handbook" This is one of the greatest contributions to the clean up of our earth. Brilliant, researched,scientific, funny. Thank you, Thank you Joe for your great contribution. BTW, some of the comments show that you did not in fact read this book. A must read for our current society, if we want to leave a liveable planet behind for our children
I joke here but when I was a little boy I remember my grandfather had an old toilet outside his house. you know...the one with a big hole in the ground.
I was under the impression that human waste had too many viruses, such as E.Coli and what have you so you should not use it in your garden. Am I misinformed?
E.coli is not from space already exists in soil, only its concentration will rise up and before using of this muck should be mixed with enough amount of soil...that's it...
I just met a guy who retired from a sewage treatment plant. They tested the raw stuff all the time and almost never found any pathogens in the stuff. But time will also kill off the pathogens due to the antagonistic ecosystem of the compost pile.
Not gonna lie. I like the look of the toilet but that's a really stupid idea for the toilet. I'd suggest that people put a HUGE drop under the toilet. I wouldn't want my guests looking at my turds or make them take their crap outside. Imagine the smell... I figure a drop would be much better.
That's what we've been saying all along. Apparently there are plenty of people who either can't make one (too old, don't have tools, don't have time, etc.), or who would rather just buy one already made for convenience. We had enough requests for them that we started making them and they have been selling.
would you recommend mulched up leaves instead of sawdust...maybe grass clippings. wut are other readily available resources that will serve like the dust.
There is *no* odor when properly managed, which means using the right cover material in adequate amounts. Therefore, the toilet can be set up anywhere. No one will be able to smell anything or even know it's there if they don't see it. You can put one in your bedroom, office, house, etc.
This is about as Eco-friendly as you can get.
NiteWing06 4 months ago
not sure on this hole deal, I mean if i shit in a five gallon bucket....it fucking stinks!!
who8that2 5 months ago
human litte! lol!
80spopQueen 6 months ago
BrownMaterial, Mr. Jenkins is telling you the truth... This toilet is merely the collection vessel used in conjunction with an outdoor bin for composting human manure and urine. Separating the two stages makes for a very economical, scalable (large or small) and user friendly technique.
I know because I use this system. There are no flies or odor associated with the toilet, and no flies or odor escaping from the compost bins, which yield rich, earthy humus. Read the book...
dragon4166 6 months ago
Omg how you even flush it we put water not fucking soil lol SO WERIDO
smaafts 6 months ago
ok i am like WTF! what kind of toiler is this i live in england lol we don't have these kind of toilet omg So small RoFl
smaafts 6 months ago
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're not deliberately deceiving the audience to gain profit, but instead don't understand what a compost toilet is.This is NOT a compost toilet. I don't think you understand what a compose toilet is and that you should Google the subject.
Technically, this is a pit toilet, not a comp toilet, which is far more complicated. Will it compost human waist? Yes. However, this toilet will produce foal odor, making it unsuitable for indoor use.
BrownMaterial 7 months ago
@BrownMaterial @BrownMaterial
It's not a "compostING" toilet. It's a compost toilet because it's part of a compost toilet system. A compostING toilet is supposed to compost inside the toilet. This doesn't actually happen however as most commercial compostING toilets are dehydrators. A pit toilet requires a hole in the ground. And there is no odor whatsoever from the Loveable Loo when properly used. read the Humanure Handbook.or go to the LoveableLoo website and read the customer testimonials.
jcjenkins01 7 months ago
@jcjenkins01 By using "compostING" and compost, your using word play. Regarding your statement about composting not happening in most commercial "compostING toilets - you're in error. Decomp happens in all these toilets - it just a matter of rate and efficiency. "A pit toilet requires a hole in the ground." How is your toilet different from a pit in the ground? And if there's no separation of solids and liquids in an enclosed pit, how then can you not need chemicals for odors?
BrownMaterial 7 months ago
@BrownMaterial
Do some research, then let's talk. Obviously, you haven't taken the time to educate yourself.
jcjenkins01 7 months ago
@jcjenkins01 lol
smaafts 6 months ago
is throwing sawdust into an outhouse a good idea? I've never filed the outhouse yet but am wondering if it will evetually fill up or would sawdust or lime break everything down?
WHEALMN 7 months ago
@WHEALMN
Sawdust will kill the odor and keep the flies out.
jcjenkins01 7 months ago
how much money are the kits?
jobehen 7 months ago
@jobehen
$185 kit, $225 assembled loveable loo dot com
jcjenkins01 7 months ago
Thanks for the info. Will lime work instead of sawdust?
catgirl24 9 months ago
@catgirl24 Lime kills bacteria and what we're doing here is encouraging compost bacteria, so no, lime will not work in this type of toilet.
jcjenkins01 9 months ago
AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE
LoveVanillaRose 9 months ago
Listening to you on Stern now. Very interesting.
bmedeiros678 10 months ago
Looks like a fool proof system to me.. Great VID :)
Apostle0fLove 10 months ago
we simply removed the plastic bits on the seat and cover, so it shuts nicely: flyes were managing to get in before, and this solved it.
duezingarelle 10 months ago
Flies aren't a problem when the correct cover material is used in adequate quantities. The cover material is the "lid."
jcjenkins01 10 months ago
I bought your book 7 years ago and built one of these. Codes don't allow composting human manure here, but if the power goes out I would use it anyways. I think all of the politicians should read your book. It could make a big difference on the environment and government finances.
dontlikenumbers 10 months ago
I think I saw one of these in a Tumbleweed Home out here in Olympia. How regularly do you need to empty it out?
dead4fun 11 months ago
Roughly once a week per person.
jcjenkins01 11 months ago
This is a smart idea. I was going to purchase a expensive composting toilet but I had no idea they could be made so cheap and effective. If people would only stop worrying about what everyone else thinks then they could be free to use things like this. This process just seems more natural. For thousands of years mankind has used the bathroom outside and Im sure they covered it with leaves, etc. Even animals know this. It is a natural process.
bloodbought2003 11 months ago
the trouble is that the contents are not just clean cover material but also fecial matter. I dont know about flies in the states but over here we have types that only occur here and they have a much keener sense of smell than any human and can be in there billions in summer( just ask any aussie that lives in the bush), besides children dont always do the right thing and cover as well as they should.
backyardbean65 1 year ago
The toilet contents are kept covered with clean a cover material at all times. This is how this toilet system works. Flies aren't attracted to sawdust. Yes, children may not cover the toilet contents adequately, but they also will not close a lid tightly either, if at all. This, as any toilet, should be supervised when used by children. The toilets are best located inside where they can be attended to easily. There is no odor (hence no flies) when used properly.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
I think its a great idea. The only problem I can see from a design point of view is that the outer lid doesnt fit down snug to create a seal on the seat. Here in Australia this would allow way to many flies into the system. A six millimeter / 1/4 inch piece of ply stuck to the underneath part of the top lid would fix the problem.
backyardbean65 1 year ago
If you use the correct cover material, no lid is needed at all. Flies are not attracted to clean cover material (such as sawdust).
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
Can lovable loo be used like a regular toilet by a family of 3, or is this meant only as a camper's toilet? Also if I replaced my flush toilets with a composting toilet do I have to drill a pipe through the roof?
highhighsky1 1 year ago
Yes, it can be a solo and permanent toilet system for any size family. No ventilation is needed.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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vince2468motorway 1 year ago
holy @#)*($@#)(*$@#)(* this is serious
jazzbassmatt4 1 year ago
What can you use if you don't have access to a ton of sawdust?
sterlingturk 1 year ago
its cute, and well made, but.... saw dust isn't eco friendly, the debri isn't isolated when the loo isn't in use, there is no vent fan, and there is no urine separater. I like that it is made with practical materials but...
urine separator trays are easy to purchase and install.
With the extra depth a simple bath fan could be installed with a switch on the side.
something to consider for the "new and improved" model. forthcoming.
check out separett.com for some ideas.
StMeade 1 year ago
Fans are totally unnecessary, as is urine separation. These things only complicate and hinder what is a simple process - thermophilic composting. You do NOT want to separate urine when using a thermophilic (hot composting) system. Read the humanure book.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
@StMeade Might as well put a seat on the plastic paint bucket. Save a lot of time.
Cstrife234 1 year ago
GROSS!!!!Give me a water toilet ANY DAY!!
Chris242tt 1 year ago
This toilet option is far more environmentally sound than a septic tank and leach field.
dragon4166 1 year ago
Great video!! I am curious about the toilet tissue. Does it compost as well or are there versions that do?
Bmilesonline 1 year ago
The tissue composts - any tissue will work.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
just started using mine in my yurt about a week ago and so far it has met the expectations i had from reading others feedback. works great and doesn't smell!
bigleu44 1 year ago
What about using dirt or sand instead of sawdust?
Lee68Perry 1 year ago
It has to be a carbon based material.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
It seems to be very well made, neat and tidy... compared to most I've seen. :)
snowmountain2007 1 year ago
Would be nice if you had a vent hole and piping configuration to possibly utilize a person's current bathroom fan hole or window. The vent hole could be in the back with a collar that a purchaser would then attach a PVC pipe to.
TheBgcheez 1 year ago
No venting is needed.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
@TheBgcheez If you use enough cover material (sawdust, leaf mold, etc.) you have no odor, but that of earthy carbon. Too much nitrogen smell means you need to add more carbon.
dontpanicjack 1 year ago
Can you compost tampons? or do you need to keep that separate?
Spiritflier07 1 year ago
The compostable parts of feminine hygiene products will compost. Any plastic parts will not compost and you will have to pick these out of the finished compost.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
We have such a toilet(home-made) in our bathhouse, but with a separation for the urine that goes into a plastic container. Makes the bucket really light for carrying outside. It works pretty well, but I wouldn't say it's odour free even if we use sawdust, so I would put it outside, in an outhouse or a utility building rather than in a small home, unless you can isolate the toilet space really well. I however find a urine toilet works inside, it doesn't smell, and I live in a one-room cabin. :)
dropthatwand 1 year ago
so its just a bucket you shit in
pelonissafe 1 year ago
this could be well advertised for say fishing ships too! heck, bring one toilet, and a barrel of dirt, and crew's safe for the trip. no need for power pumping water, no need for plumbers out in the middle of the sea!
bluemoondiadochi 1 year ago
boy, i sure do love it!
in a house, it'd be a first choice! this is the future, with less and less water available!
only i think society has to develop a type of culture to do this, but than again, it wouldn't be a first time - remember how in 19th cent. hygiene was tought to people.
i'd like to ask though: is (only) urinating also ok (besides urin and feces), or is (only) urinating better done someplace else?
thank you, and great job!
bluemoondiadochi 1 year ago
It can be all urine (see comments below).
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
@jcjenkins01
thanks for the quick reply!
bluemoondiadochi 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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teofagia 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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teofagia 1 year ago
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teofagia 1 year ago
How is this not going to produce any sort of odor? What about people who have diarhea? Some people eat a lot of meat and that is really strong for an odor. Nah there would not be any "curtain hiding" going on here. LOL! How does this even work outside when snow and ice are on the ground? Wouldn't the cold temps kill worms and other compost aid insects?
Timothy2035 1 year ago
Read the instruction manual at humanure handbook dot com.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
could you use ash?
spraywithpleasure 1 year ago
Ash doesn't compost.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
I have read that the only manure that can be used for fertilizer is manure from vegetarian animals. Is this true with humanure?
innerverseman 1 year ago
No.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
How much urine can you allow to get in the bucket?
MrClayton2014 1 year ago
It can be all urine.
jcjenkins01 1 year ago
we built our own for our 1964 shasta and it works well , good idea its funny that people dont wanna deal with their own poop....come on people using fresh water to flush your poop away is killing us. compost your poop!
6bettyboo9 1 year ago
I wonder also if a compost tumbler could be used to compost the contents of the loveable loo. (I'm in Texas. It is hot here, mild winters too, and we get 45" of rain per year in my area).
BooKittyRadley 1 year ago
Gee,looks a lot like the WROL loo design????? Must be a good design .
soggybuilders 1 year ago
What can you use besides peat and raw sawdust, that will be just as effective? I ask because I don't want to have to buy peat, and there are no sawmills in my area.
Also, roughly, how much peat or sawdust does it take to cover one...dump? A liter? 2? Thanks.
BooKittyRadley 1 year ago
That'd be awesome to take a dump in that--No clogging of the toilet! Aheehee :)
Julieluvzu 1 year ago
Awesome. thanks for sharing the new and improved and inevitable poo-solution.
rhaixa 1 year ago
what can you use instead of sawdust? what if there is no sawdust available in your area?
themountainviewguy 1 year ago
is that jimmy falon?
dmschafft 1 year ago
what about having sick times, all along the sides lol?
budgielover9 1 year ago
i think we should start in the white house.
verdewest 1 year ago 2
Thank you, gracias hermano, ahora he hecho uno en mi casa
ivanboyaca 1 year ago
I think the idea of loveable loo is a great idea. But that gross.who wants to recycle humannure. NO.
personalities9 1 year ago
@personalities9 At the moment human waste is flushed into the sea , which is polluting and gets into the food system anyway when you eat any seafood. When human waste is made into sludge at the water works it is mixed with chemical waste which in some cases is put back onto the fields anyhow- thus contaminating the field. The end product of human waste as shown here is nothing more than earth, after it has been passed by worms , beetles and bacteria etc.
hablerz 1 year ago 2
"he is twelve he probably runs the whole place" -That's cute-LOL
"Humanure Handbook "is a must read - everyone does it -it will make you think :)
Thank you- Joe Jenkins -
sivaddivad 1 year ago
A septic tank is basically a 600 times larger version of this loo. Trucks that clean out your septic system take the waste to farms and composting sites. Loveable loos are irrelevant.
zomgwtfbbqbagel 1 year ago
@zomgwtfbbqbagel Septic tanks cost more initially, require more infrastructure and a waste field and still use water and electricity. Then you have to have the waste trucked away, or pay for the system to be maintained after a few years as you say.
A compost toilet uses no energy at all and no water, most parts of the world can no longer afford to use water to transport human waste.
hablerz 1 year ago
@hablerz It would be news to my septic tank that they require electricity. There isn't an electrical line within three miles of it. It's 17 years old and a family of three have been using it that whole time. It's never had a honey pot anywhere near it. In fact, you can't get a truck near it for the same reason there is no electricity.
WurledPeas 1 year ago
@WurledPeas Point taken regarding the electrical use but what about water use? because if you have water piped to your house for sewerage use then that still uses electricity. Basically im in favour of compost toilets and localised septic systems. Its not efficient to use water for human waste, it takes too much energy to purify and supply for it to be sustainable ,plus it ends up in the sea.
hablerz 1 year ago
@hablerz No, no pipes, river water and gravity. When I say off grid I really mean off grid. But I do agree. I'll be trying one of these composting toilets. That's why I am watching these videos much to my lovely wife's disdain. She lived off grid growing up. Going back to that is not her favorite subject being we live in So Cal right now and she has grown most accustomed to modcons that I think may be a thing of the past one day.
WurledPeas 1 year ago
I just was at a festival in Israel where there was a sawdust outhouse. AMAZING!! Clean, no smells, no flys. Literally hundreds of people using the outhouse-Would love to make one of these-
sclisrael 1 year ago
How much does the Loveable Loo cost?
nomoreremakes 1 year ago
If it's this easy to make your own composting toilet, why are people selling them online for so much damn money?
The current retail prices for these things are ridiculous. It's like they don't want people to compost or something.
nomoreremakes 1 year ago
WOOD DUST CAN CAUSE CANCER! Please do not bring wood dust into your home! The IARC lists wood dust as a group1 CARCINOGEN! This is the same category as tobacco. I'm a woodworker and I go to great lengths to control wood dust. It gets everywhere. You cant see the smallest particles which do the most damage and they are blown into the air very easily. Is there a better option?
miraclesthepony 2 years ago
Have you read the Humanure Handbook? Joseph Jenkins. Its a great read and covers all the relevant areas required to compost human manure. They recommend wood chips from the lumber yard, so from untreated wood rather than chips from the joinery end which may have been treated.
If you are unhappy with wood chips i guarentee that you will be able to find a "waste" product that you can mix with the manure which optimises the carbon/nitrogen mix and as a cover material. Good luck!
SaltSeahorse 2 years ago
Please take your meds.
nomoreremakes 1 year ago
@nomoreremakes Thank you for reminding me! I almost totally forgot to take them again!
miraclesthepony 1 year ago
@miraclesthepony what? you mean treated pine right...
FishyMoe 1 year ago
@FishyMoe Nope, good old oak is one of the offenders. also many others. some studies show smoking combined with wood dust exposure to have a synergistic effect on lung cancer.
miraclesthepony 1 year ago
@miraclesthepony do you have any links to these studies? What is considered dust? (like size of particles?) What trees are safe?
FishyMoe 1 year ago
@FishyMoe The clearvue cyclones website is a good place to start. Click on "general info" then from the menu click on "wood dust" for a good summary of many of the wood dust dangers. Otherwise just do a google search for "wood dust lung cancer" or any variation. After that, google "broccoli lung cancer" for fun.
miraclesthepony 1 year ago
@miraclesthepony There is no dust if you follow Joe's directions. Use green sawdust. Better yet, READ THE BOOOOOK....
birdland5 1 year ago
Comment removed
miraclesthepony 2 years ago
I like the simplicity of the design and the craftsmanship that goes into the loos. They must be a pleasure to use.
Snurdgerbly 2 years ago
i use the wood ash as a border around my humanure pile on the downhill side. it's absorbent so any liquid overflow will be contained. when it rains i don't add any urine. everything else composts well except maybe salted peanut shells and avocado seeds. great success with citrus peels, onion parts, bannana peel, nut shells, avo peels, paper, salad extras, and parts of carrotts, spuds, lettuce and other greens, reds, date seeds. . .i still have my humanure handbook. love it
guyglowmore1 2 years ago
Are you, or anyone else, working on a Federal mandate so that everyone must start doing this to save our Mother Earth?
treehugger460 2 years ago
No.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
I've switched to sawdust, too, but accidentally got some planer shavings mixed with sawdust, and they seem to work just fine although a bit fluffier as Joe mentions. Next time, I'm getting sander sawdust. I get them for free from a woodworkers club.
1too3fore 2 years ago
would this be stinky?
AnnieNM06 2 years ago
no - there is no odor when properly managed.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
I wanted to thank you, Mr Jenkins for his excellent video and advice.
We are growing some of our own produce in the back garden of our home, built on the site of a former limestone quarry. The heavy clay soil needs masses of compost, which we produce from kitchen scraps, garden waste and a wormery. Your excellent loveable loo could double the volume of organic compost and add body to the soil at the same time.
As sawmills are rare here, we might try shredded newspaper and wood ash. Thanks!
GeaVox 2 years ago
The wood ash won't help the compost process, but the carbon-based materials (shredded newspapers, for example) will.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
Wonderful stuff!
At last we can give the news about the global economic crisis the home they deserve and make the Financial Times useful, at last... LOL! (I don't read it often, but my other half insists on buying it! ;o)
GeaVox 2 years ago
whoever created this needs help this is gross..
gayweatherman23 2 years ago
Do you not think sewage flowing out to sea is much more gross?
GeaVox 2 years ago
When you surf, sewerage and seaweed (which sometimes has sea lice) is undesireable.
guyfromtheairport 2 years ago
Absolutely! :o) Surfers Against Sewage would most likely endorse the Loveable Loo as returning organic waste to its right and proper place, where it can do some god, instead of leaving flotsam of the most disgusting nature, to haunt surfers and marine life alike!
GeaVox 2 years ago
CFL light bulbs are worse for the environment than the regular incandescent light bulbs because they are full of mercury, so be careful not to break one.
adeshaies 2 years ago
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are not "full of mercury".
On average, the bulbs contain about 5 milligrams of mercury -- about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen.
Stop quoting propaganda and do your own homework next time.
Tuxster3 2 years ago
Have you thought about using biochar as the cover material? Does a great job of absorbing odours and it would transform your loo into a CO2 sequestration device as well :)
WorldStove 2 years ago
Sounds interesting... I am considering building one of these and using wood ash from our woodburning stove, is that what you mean by 'biochar'? At present we simply sprinkle it on the garden, in the [somewhat vain!] hope of keeping down our olympic strength population of slugs and snails. Of course, adding the ash to humanure would reduce pH hugely... I wonder whether that is a good or bad thing? Presumably the pH is an important factor in the bichemical composting process.
GeaVox 2 years ago
Funny mental image of your giant slugs. As for pH ash will up your pH levels and there is too much of a good thing. Biochar is a type of charcoal (its about 80% carbon) very absorbent helps retain nutrients and water and provides a nice home for helpful fungi like mycorrhiza and like perlite or vermiculite its low density can help soils. Additionally if you were to precharge biochar with humanure it would be nutrient rich and the char would absorb the smells. A win win
WorldStove 2 years ago
It's funny, belong to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm and their organic farm is in part supported by their own version of loveable loos; they use dried and crushed fall leaves as cover material with great success, but I could see how a pine, hemlock or cedar sawdust would provide better odor cover. Cheers guys, five stars.
chully99 2 years ago
I have acces to some significant quantities of leaf mould. I think some of it, the intermediate stages, seams fine/crumbly and porous enough to be useful here. It's also easier for me to obtain then large quantities of sawdust.
What are your thoughts?
nosuchthingasshould 2 years ago
Leaf mould is reported to work very well as a cover material in a humanure toilet.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
Thank you.
nosuchthingasshould 2 years ago
what about shredded newspaper?
aussiebluemax 2 years ago
what about putting just plain dirt on top of the Do' do,s'? cos i dont have no sawdust?
pklfsh 2 years ago
Yes - of course - the TP goes into the toilet, just like a flush toilet. Even the cardboard rolls in the center of the tubes. It all goes into the toilet.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
What do you do with the tp you use? Do you just toss them in the bucket too?
RedWhiteandBetrayed 2 years ago
I want to get a composting toilet as soon as I have my own house. I would be embarrassed if other people found out about it, though. How many people in the US know about these, and what percent of those approve?
AnElephantThatPaints 2 years ago
I am not sure approval will be much of an issue all too soon, we are all set to pay an escalating sums of money for our drinking water.
The smart money is on alternatives to wasting this dwindling and precious resource to flush excrement into the sewers, to start its expensive journey to a Sewage Treatment Plant that emits scary volumes of CH4 and squander its precious C and N nutrients where they do harm instead.
Composting toilets: because s#it happens to be worth gold to gardeners!
GeaVox 2 years ago
You could also try coffee grounds, if you are near a local coffee shop that is willing to set them aside for you. Sawdust can also be acquired from woodworker clubs...
1too3fore 2 years ago
so you just dump this on your garden or does it have to be treated im an ignorant city boy
verdemanthe1 2 years ago
the waste is thermophilicly composted. The compost rises to a high temperature killing all pathogens.
Its not used directly on garden without being thoroughly composted.
Check out the book for more info.
zenjirou 2 years ago
Hi there - thanks for the info. I have a huge supply of free wood chips from a tree pruner (abourist?) They mulch up the trees with a truck mounted chipper. Would this wood chip work instead of sawdust?
Hamish121212 2 years ago
Wood chips are not recommended (too thick).
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
The composting toilet is always an option to people who couldn't easily implement the startegies I could devise. Sometimes people don't have a septic system and the loveable loo is very economical/practical in those cases. Given that I have the septic system, water and gravity in my favor, I would simply prefer to keep the handling of waste, while it's still inside the house, conventional. I am sure my wife and mother in law prefer that too.
Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos.
Rustico62 2 years ago
Just wonder, how would recycling the sludge from the septic tank work for composting instead of paying to have it hauled away. Seem to me that for someone not morally or econimically bothered with the water usage could relcaim the feces with much less expense and hassle not to mention gross factor with the loveable loo.
Where do you pee, also in the same toilet?
Rustico62 2 years ago
I think that sludge from a septic tank would have a huge gross factor compared to the benign Loveable Loo. Yes, you pee in the same toilet receptacle. The object is thermophilic composting. Read the book - it's free.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
Thanks for your response. I pulled off the lid to the septic tank and think I could strategize a somewhat reasonable method to handle cleaning the septic and harvesting the sludge.This only needs to be done every several years vs. handling those 5 gallon buckets and all the sawdust issues. However, if I were to actually do it, I would put a smaller solids strainer basket ahead of the septic and handle it this way.
I would burn the scum layer from the septic in an outdoor fire pit.
Rustico62 2 years ago
You need to read the book "humanure Handbook" This is one of the greatest contributions to the clean up of our earth. Brilliant, researched,scientific, funny. Thank you, Thank you Joe for your great contribution. BTW, some of the comments show that you did not in fact read this book. A must read for our current society, if we want to leave a liveable planet behind for our children
m2smart4u2000 2 years ago 2
after you fill the bucket you have to wait enaught to put it on soil for the plants or it will be too strong and may kill them.
steblizz 2 years ago
They are not sticking the crap/sawdust on the soil, they are putting it into the compost for the bugs and microbes to process.
SaviourSole 2 years ago 2
go shit in your garden! it's the same!
I joke here but when I was a little boy I remember my grandfather had an old toilet outside his house. you know...the one with a big hole in the ground.
steblizz 2 years ago
what other materials can be used instead of sawdust?
evilmonkeyimc 2 years ago
Peat moss, leaves, rice hulls, coco coir, etc.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
I was under the impression that human waste had too many viruses, such as E.Coli and what have you so you should not use it in your garden. Am I misinformed?
WoundedEgo 2 years ago
E.coli is not from space already exists in soil, only its concentration will rise up and before using of this muck should be mixed with enough amount of soil...that's it...
selcukkucuk 2 years ago
I just met a guy who retired from a sewage treatment plant. They tested the raw stuff all the time and almost never found any pathogens in the stuff. But time will also kill off the pathogens due to the antagonistic ecosystem of the compost pile.
1too3fore 2 years ago
please tell us what you do with the toilet paper!...Why did you chose to leave that out of your video??
marceltony 2 years ago
What do you do with your toilet paper now???? Most people put it in the toilet. That's what you do with the loveable loo.
jcjenkins01 2 years ago
Not gonna lie. I like the look of the toilet but that's a really stupid idea for the toilet. I'd suggest that people put a HUGE drop under the toilet. I wouldn't want my guests looking at my turds or make them take their crap outside. Imagine the smell... I figure a drop would be much better.
cptnsmelly 3 years ago
There is no smell. The turds are covered. A HUGE drop is impractical. Read the book.
jcjenkins01 3 years ago
Mr. Jenkins, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. :-) I am very grateful.
Nilyentaraka 3 years ago
Why buy one when you can make one?
303Miles 3 years ago
That's what we've been saying all along. Apparently there are plenty of people who either can't make one (too old, don't have tools, don't have time, etc.), or who would rather just buy one already made for convenience. We had enough requests for them that we started making them and they have been selling.
jcjenkins01 3 years ago
That's great! Keep making 'em then. It's a good idea.
303Miles 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
nasty.
brokenarrow2222 3 years ago
would you recommend mulched up leaves instead of sawdust...maybe grass clippings. wut are other readily available resources that will serve like the dust.
THREEFLOORSDOWN1 3 years ago
Doable, but with this system, you need plenty of absorption which some materials are lacking. From personal experience, compost does not work.
wiredforstereo 3 years ago
I use all different kinds of stuff, including grass clippings, old flour, leaves, horse manure, hot compost, whatever I happen to have on hand
1too3fore 2 years ago
There is *no* odor when properly managed, which means using the right cover material in adequate amounts. Therefore, the toilet can be set up anywhere. No one will be able to smell anything or even know it's there if they don't see it. You can put one in your bedroom, office, house, etc.
jcjenkins01 3 years ago
Your videos are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your ideas and knowledge with us.
Nilyentaraka 3 years ago