The "Sunny John"

At the end of May we broke ground to build a small "sunny john", composting toilet. In this photo Eli is starting the first posthole. The soil is very rocky, great for building terraces and muscle. The "sunny john" is a moldering toilet that uses no water and when used correctly, produces no more smell than a conventional flush toilet.

Just what is a moldering toilet anyway?

A moldering toilet is simply a waterless toilet that is built to allow for very long term slow decomposition in place – the waste molders, rather than composts, much as leaves and plant debris "molder" on the surface of soil through the action of bacteria, fungi, and microorganisms. With moldering, the "technology" applied for waste treatment is mainly isolation, and simply time itself! All that is required is a temperature and humidity stable aerated vault that can support enhanced growth of fungus. There is no heat generated and consequently no nutrient is 'burned' out of the pile - all of the nitrogen in the waste AND that generated by decomposing microbes is sequestered in the finished product. Virtually no carbon is consumed because there is no high temperatures to create carbon based 'greenhouse gases'. After a year or more, all you are left with is half the mass of the original waste converted into fine, lite weight black humus suitable for application back into your landscape and virtually all of the moisture (80% of the original weight!) evaporated into the atmosphere.

http://www.sunnyjohn.com