Best Composting Toilets

Earlier, when composting toilets came into existence, they were considered a good option for people who own RVs, houseboats, and holiday cabins. But due to the great advantages of these composting toilets and portable car toilets, you can now find them in most contemporary houses as well.

How to pick the best composting toilet?

Buying composting toilets is tough. Even though most of them look the same, you need to consider a few things while shopping for them so that you make the right choice. Here is a small guide that would help you in that –

Physical Space

Even though composting toilets come in different sizes, on average, they take a bit more floor space than regular toilets. If you are looking for a composting toilet for your RVs, boats, or a tiny house, then a compact model with a smaller waste tank would be the perfect choice for you.

However, note that smaller waste tank capacity also means your tank will get filled very sooner. Therefore, if possible, you should go with a split system type design. Such toilets will be worth the investment as you will get extra holding capacity and yet can fit your composting toilet in RVs, motorboats, and tiny houses.

But if you are primarily looking for a composting toilet for your RV or motorboat, go with the ones that are travel-ready. Such toilets come with an in-built power system. There are also non-electric versions available which can be a great buy too.

Portable vs. Composting

Even though composting toilets are quite portable, there can be a significant difference that you need to understand. Composting toilets are the ones that use bacterias to break down human waste material. Such toilets separate liquid content from solid waste and let bacteria feed the rest of the organic stuff. Once the composting process finishes, you can use humanure for fertilizing purposes.

On the other hand, most portable toilets don’t do anything like this. They just collect human waste. You cannot use that waste for any good, and not only that, but the end waste still requires septic tanks or sewer systems in the end for the treatment.

Tank Capacity

Tank Capacity is one of the most important things to consider while shopping for a composting toilet. However, the answer to this question completely depends on the number of people who will use the toilet, appropriate use, and how often you would like to treat the humanure. Check for the toilet flappers to regulate the water flow of bowls.

For instance, if you have a small family of 3-5 members, you need a split system toilet with a high-capacity tank. On the other hand, if you are looking for a composting toilet for one person only, a self-contained toilet with 5 gallons of tank capacity would be more than sufficient.

The idea here is to pick a tank capacity that will have sufficient time to break human waste into humanure before the tank fills. Ideally, you should be looking for a toilet that can easily go for a month before emptying.

Utility Usage

Most commonly, composting toilets require electricity to run a fan that draws fresh air into the tank. This air exchanges the CO2 caused by bacterias, helping down bacterias to break your waste efficiently. While buying a composting toilet, you should look for the electric system it requires to function properly.

Some composting toilets require a 120-volt AC system, while others can run on a 12-volt DC power system driven by RVs and cars’ batteries as well. You can also find models that can work with both AC and DC systems. Non-electric and in-built power system toilet models are also available, so look for that too.

Additionally, some composting toilets may also require a water line. Though these toilets will still use far less water than regular toilets, they need water to function properly. Find the best toilet tank cleaners to keep your area stain-free and stay away from bad smells,

Odor Removal

Toilets that require electricity are considered the best composting toilets. That is because the fresh oxygen drawn by the fan also reduces the CO2 emission and other gases’ odor caused by other bacteria. This is the main reason why you should opt for electric composting toilets.

Additionally, you can add organic material such as sawdust or more to block the odor without affecting the breakdown process of the waste.

Follow government regulations

While composting toilets are universally accepted in the US, you need to look at your state’s regulations for it. Some states have some additional regulations regarding the treatment of waste material. Therefore, you need to take those regulations into consideration and adhere to them.

Best Composting Toilets of 2021

If you are looking for some recommendations, here we have the list of the five best composting toilets of 2021 –

Separett Villa 9215 AC/DC

The very first on our list, we have Separett Villa 9215 AC/DC composting toilet. It is an entirely waterless, self-contained composting toilet that runs on electricity. The best thing about this composting toilet is that it can operate in both AC and DC power supplies, making it an excellent choice for both homes and RVs, motorhomes, etc.

Our Opinion: The tank capacity is large enough to store waste of up to three to four weeks of an average family.

This composting toilet requires a 110-volt AC power supply or a 12-volt DC supply. This power supply is required to run the electric fan that exchanges gases to make the manuring process easier. This compact size composting toilet just weighs a bit over 34 pounds, making it an excellent choice for small houses as well as RVs, boats, etc.

Nature’s Head Self Contained Composting Toilet

If you are looking for a composting toilet for one or two people, this product from Nature’s Head can be a good choice. This composting toilet weighs just over 28 pounds with very small dimensions, making it a perfect companion for people having tiny houses or looking for a toilet for their RVs or motorboats.

Our Opinion: The good thing here is that it supports both AC and DC connections.

The tank comes with a decent capacity. For a small family of two to three people, the tank can last for up to 4 weeks without emptying. The emptying process is also very easy and hardly takes 5 minutes. This is also a waterless toilet, meaning you will need to give an electricity connection to make the toilet functional and keep the odor at bay.

Sun-Mar Excel Electric Waterless Composting Toilet

Sun-Mar Excel Electric Waterless Composting Toilet is more suited for people who are looking for a composting toilet solution for their home. That is primarily because the dimensions of this product are a bit bigger than the other composting toilets. Plus, it only runs on a 110-volt AC power supply. You can use it for your RVs and motorboats, though. We would not recommend this one if you are primarily looking for a composting toilet for that purpose.

Our Opinion: The combination of both these makes the liquid evaporation and waste breakdown process very quick and fast.

If you have three to four adults in your family, you can use this toilet for up to two months without emptying it. Unlike regular composting toilets, this one features a thermostatically controlled heater along with a rear fan. Also, this toilet design has received NSF Standard 41 certification.

Centrex 3000 Non-Electric Waterless Ultra High-Capacity Composting Toilet System

If you have a big family and you want a reliable composting toilet solution, installing a central composting system would be a perfect choice. This composting toilet system features a bio-drum that delivers very fast and odorless decomposition. Plus, it doesn’t require any electricity, helping you save some extra bucks on electricity bills.

Our Opinion: The entire toilet system will cost you around three grand, but it is worth every single penny.

When you buy this product, it comes fully assembled. However, you might need to ask for a plumber to set it up properly. Also, note that it is not a toilet but a toilet system, and therefore, you will need to buy a one-pint flush toilet along with this product. After all, it will help you save a lot of money on water and electricity bills.

GTG Portable Electric Waterless Toilet by Sun-Mar

Lastly, we have another product from Sun-Mar, but this one is more budget-friendly and portable. Therefore, if you are looking for a composting toilet for your RVs, cabins, boats, or more, this is going to be a perfect choice. Similar to other composting toilets in this list, it also requires a 110-volt power supply to run the fan that replaces waste odor and other gases with fresh oxygen.

Our Opinion: Other than that, if you are looking for a solution for your home, this certainly might not be a good choice.

Since it is a portable toilet, it features a bin. You need to install composting liners to collect used waste, meaning that you need to do the emptying process very often. The major difference between portable camping toilets and this composting toilet is that it keeps the odor away and divides solid and liquid wastes.

FAQs

Which is best, composting or incinerating toilets?

Both composting and incinerating toilets are good options, and the best thing is that both are eco-friendly. However, composting toilets are a bit more cost-effective, environment friendly, and require less frequent emptying. On the other hand, incinerating toilets offer more convenience and cleanliness. So, which of these is best will depend on which one suits your needs.

What kind of mulch works best for composting toilets?

Even if you buy the best composting toilet, you may feel some odor-related issues after a while. If you want to fix that issue, you can try a different type of mulch. The best mulch you can try is sawdust, sphagnum moss, hemp stalks, or coco coir.

What are the best composting toilets for tiny houses?

If you are looking for a composting toilet for a tiny house, I would recommend buying Separett Villa 9215, Nature’s Head Self-Contained Composting Toilet, or Sun-Mar Excel Electric toilet. These toilets are best for tiny houses.

However, if your bathroom space allows you to install the Centrex 3000 NE composting system, go for that, as that will be the best option in the long run.

Closing Comments

These were the best composting toilets that you can buy right now. If you ask me for suggestions, I recommend buying Separett Villa 9215 or Nature’s Head Self-Contained Composting Toilet. These toilets are the best and work well with tiny houses, cabins, boats, and RVs, with the little help of a toilet brush you can make them as new again after using.

But if you are primarily looking for a reliable solution for your home, I would suggest going with the Centrex 3000 NE Waterless composting toilet system. This is the best you can buy for your home. In the end, I would say, buy the one that fits your budget and meets your requirements.