We are working on turning an old church bus into a tiny home. One of the latest projects has been a DIY composting toilet, since we did not want the hassle of dealing with a black water tank. The toilet is made to combat odors in multiple ways. Eventually we will have it set up as a true composting toilet, bags and all. That is not something that I ever thought I would have in my lifetime.
The frame of the composting toilet was made with reclaimed lumber. A 5-gallon bucket is the actual bowl part. My husband repurposed an old RV table for the shell. He cut it in half and used one half for the top and the other half for the bottom.
We used cedar fence planks for the outside cover. The benefits of that is it helps with odor control and it is lightweight. Everything other than the top was sealed on the inside with silicone.
We used a low-profile toilet seat that had no gaps or wide open spaces so we could direct airflow where we wanted. A 12-volt computer fan powered by a house alarm battery was mounted to vent odors out the side of the bus. We were able to repurpose a solar panel for charging the battery. The fan will vent and help dry out the poo.
An automotive funnel is serving as a urine diverter. The biggest odor comes from when urine and poo are mixed together. Separating the urine and the poo is yet another way that we are working to control any odors. We will also use sand, saw dust or pine shavings to cover up the poo once deposited.
The 5-gallon bucket will have a compostable bag and the urine diverter will have a bag attached as well. It will be a bag inside a bag design. There are eight screws around the bottom of the bucket to secure it. One final thing added is an airflow diverter using repurposed wood. This directs the fan to pull air only from the bucket area. We do plan to paint it once we decide on a color.
My husband is pretty proud of his latest project.
