Most of us just do our business and flush, when lots of clean treated water magically (or so it seems) washes away the evidence. But if you live somewhere without access to a city water or sewer system or to your own septic system, you may need a composting toilet. These toilets, which use little or no water and come in more types than we can possibly detail in this small space, are useful in Maine on islands, along the coast, in camps, cabins and state parks.

Composting toilets require vents (and consequently don’t smell, very unlike their quite stinky outhouse predecessors), a heat source to keep the decomposing waste at a steady 75 degrees, and a drain to remove excess liquid (which must be piped to a septic system, leach pit or container). Over time, the waste dries out and decomposes while aerobic organisms eat the bacteria it contains, and ultimately it turns into compost, Blueberry Beeton of the Shelter Institute in Woolwich explained. How much time that takes depends on how much use the toilet gets.

“Very little or no clean water is being used to take away dirty waste,” she said. “Material coming out of composting toilet can be used on flower gardens. It doesn’t need to be transported and treated at a sewage treatment facility. And it’s self-sustaining.”

That said, Beeton made clear that a composting toilet isn’t automatically a better choice than the ordinary sort, because it needs to be used correctly, which involves knowhow and commitment, including such chores as adding wood chips, peat moss or mulch; rotating the compost and occasionally emptying the toilet. She compared its upkeep to that of a compost bin for kitchen scraps. (But don’t add kitchen scraps to your composting toilet!) “It’s sort of like a pet. You have to take care of it,” Beeton said, adding “in certain applications, it’s perfect.”

— Peggy Grodinsky