Garden toilets by TROBOLO

A chemical toilet as a garden toilet?

Although chemical toilets function without a water connection and are thereby technically suitable for the usage in a garden, their chemical substances used do pose numerous risks for both humans and the environment, as mentioned before. The greatest caution should be exercised during the emptying and filling of the tank or collection container as the chemicals are toxic for all types of water and microorganisms and must therefore not come into contact with any garden areas or the water drainage at home – let along with your skin.

So if you’re fond of a functioning garden flora and fauna, you might want to refrain from using a chemical toilet when selecting your garden toilet.

Composting toilets in the garden

Classic composting toilets which collection excretions in one single collection container and – depending on the construction and capacity – only pre-compost or directly turn them into useful humus, function without any water connections and are therefore well-suited for a usage in the garden area. Furthermore, composting toilets reduce or even entirely prevent the development of odours thanks to the use of litter so far as an appropriate exhaust system has been installed.

The disposal of excretions is environmentally friendly and sustainable: the obtained humus can be utilised as fertiliser on ornamental plant beds at home and thus close the nutrient cycle. However, the more direct the composting of the toilet waste is to take place, the more complex and space-consuming the compost reactor’s performance usually becomes. Should the reactor be equipped with stirring units, heating rods or an exhaust system, electricity costs will also apply (however, these are usually only small).

More extensive information about the subject of composting toilets can be found in our guide of the same name.

Dry composting toilets as a garden loo?

The third toilet version which is perfectly suited for all of those locations without a water connection for a variety of reasons, is the dry composting toilet. Thanks to the separation of solid and liquid excretions, the development of odours is reduced to a minimum as unpleasant odours primarily result from the mixing of urine and faeces.

The addition of litter onto the solid excretions serves to visually cover them and to absorb the enclosed liquids which further minimises the development of unpleasant odours and additionally also significantly reduces the volume of the collected excretions. A dry composting toilet thus prevents odours before they can even develop and have a considerable advantage over the functionality of a composting toilet in this regard.

Moreover, the use of compostable inlays in the container for solids offers the option to dispose of the collected excretions along with the inlay into an external composter where they turn into useful compost soil together with garden and kitchen waste. This way, dry composting toilets also enable the return of valuable nutrients into the garden soil and thus close the natural nutrient cycle.