Should I install a composting toilet on my sailboat?

Lately, I’ve had an opportunity to talk to a few sailors about changing out conventional heads for a composting toilet. There are many factors to consider when making this choice; the cost, the labor to install and the mystery that surrounds composting to unveil. If those factors are addressed then composting toilets are an excellent decision that in the long run can dramatically reduce polluting our waters, accidental spills, expense of maintenance and the horror of having to maintain the conventional marine toilet.

Additional benefits include reduction of water use, end product recycled and maintenance costs all but eliminated. No Y valve, no black water entering our waters, no macerators, no hoses to burst and replace, no thru-hulls, plus, you get to use the space from the holding tank for another purpose.

The costs runs under $900 retail. This does not include the vent or piping to the vent. Not so bad when you consider many traditional heads cost this much when you add in the tank and hoses. Now the install is not nearly as complicated as a traditional head, however first you need to get that traditional head out, along with it’s tank and hoses and messiness.
The composting process is simple. Marine varieties of composting toilets work a little differently than land based models and there are only a few varieties of composting heads available for marine environments. I’ll speak to the Nature’s Head Marine models which are self-contained and need minimal electricity and a small vent. No water except for a spray down of the bowl! There is a door for #1 and a door for #2 in the bowl. It works out, believe me. The urine goes into a small tank that is removable and can be dumped in land based toilet or overboard and the feces go into a composting bin that along with some composting material such as coconut fiber or peat moss and a fan breaks down the matter into a benign dark matter called humus. Not stuff you’d want to add to your tomato garden but it can be added to the garbage, or allowed to compost further and dispose anywhere. The time between emptying depends upon the number of people using the marine toilet; 15 days on average. Which is darn good!

The draw backs are few. The composting toilet needs a vent, so a hole for the vent must be made thru the deck. The electrical needs are about 1 amp per hour for 6 hours a day to run the fan the size of a computer fan. The worst part is removal of the old system. On my next boat, I’ll be paying someone to do that job and worry about the installation myself.
If you add up the benefits of the composting toilet; reduction of water usage, minimal maintenance costs and hardly any probability of a break down, installing a composting toilet on a boat balances out the work necessary to rid yourself of the conventional system.

The larger picture of initial costs and installation of a composting toilet versus the maintenance costs and annoyance factor of conventional marine toilets creates a clear winner. You won’t have to worry about showing your crew how to use your head and crossing your fingers that you are not woken up in middle of the night with a clogged toilet. Composting toilets are a great alternative to conventional marine heads due to their simplicity not only their environmental friendliness.

Here’s a link to a good summary of an install on a sailboat.
http://sailboatfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/composting-marine-toilet-conversion.html

New Year Procrastination

In putting off making a formal (read: or any) new year’s goals, I’ve had additional time to consider the wisdom of my choices. The question I have posed to myself is, “What in my life can I make more sustainable?”

Over the last two weeks my partner Shay has countless time said, “This is made in China!” Well, it’s been brought to my attention that most of my holiday gifts and recent purchases have indeed been made in China. This is disturbing on many levels. Thus I have been considering this new (for me) realization of where most of my belonging were born.

First off, its not made in America. I’m not a nationalist, (but I live here and am part of the economy) but it does smack to realize how many jobs are lost to China ( and India, and Japan...). From a sustainable point of view this means the goods are shipped most likely across the ocean, then trucked to its final destination. This is not good if one likes to buy local to reduce environmental impact from CO2 emissions and oil and gas polluting one’s oceans. I’m realizing my hypocrisy just now as today I made a point to buy local, organic produce.

Then I consider the recent Copenhagen Climate Convention and the agreements with country leaders that were halted due to China’s unwillingness to implement strategies to reduce CO2 emissions. Well, of course they are not interested in changing the status quo. They have a good thing going with all us Americans buying goods made by their factories where they pay paltry wages and I’m sure have pressure from companies such as Walmart to produce goods for pennies so that American companies can make a killing at our expense.

After thinking this thru I realize that China does need to take responsibility for their countries pollution but admittedly we are part of the equation. I do make conscious choices where to buy my goods; I never enter a Walmart or Sam’s club, for instance. When I choose to buy goods make in China, I am hiding from the effects that my purchasing decision have on the country I live in, other countries environmental choices and the health of this planets ecosystems. Well, this is a depressing thought and no wonder I have put off making a New Year’s resolution.

So here it is: From now on I choose to get my head out of my ass and pay attention to where my purchases come from and how they arrived to my home/boat in order to better understand how I contribute to the world’s economy, CO2 emissions and the sustainability of the world.

I didn’t want to say, “I won’t buy anything from China.” I think that would be good, (maybe impossible) but I want to have a deeper understanding of the process that goes into creating goods that I purchase. I would hope that with this understanding I will automatically make the better choice. Albeit, sometimes the better choice is not to make a purchase.