Have you already thought how crazy it is to use drinkable water to flush a toilet? I know, you won’t go back to the time of the « little house » at the bottom of the garden, surrounded by honeysuckle. Nor to the septic tank, which needs to be emptied regularly. But you understand that something has gone wrong in our world, our wasteful world, where some people die of hunger, they die of thirst, they can’t cultivate what they need to eat, and at the same time, other people waste our common natural resources.

Dry toilets are a modern and ecological response. We urinate and defecate several times each day. It would be less urgent to think about a healthy way to evacuate waste if we didn’t do it so many times. But nature gave us a bladder and an intestine, a stomach, and before that, an appetite, and maybe more, an insatiable gluttony. So, the « little room », is used very frequently. There are always more eliminations, the flush works, and again, and again, the water flows, the bill becomes burdensome. Then the flush breaks and you have to buy a new one, or repare the old, pay another bill, the infernal cycle begins and you almost dream about honeysuckle.
An inox seal, and its cover, some sawdust from non-treated wood are enough to begin. You can also use shavings, straw or dried and crushed hay. Then, after having tried and proven this new way, you’ll let your imagination work and then, build some dry toilet like your liking. Don’t forget to think about the place where you’ll empty it. If you have a garden and compost, you can empty it there. But if you live in an apartment, it could be better to think about this point first.

Usually, people are afraid about smells. If you eat healthily, your eliminations won’t smell bad. They’ll be immediately covered, begin to decompose and later, will fertilize your garden. Depending on the kind of sawdust you’ll use, your « ecological little room» will smell of pine, fir, or another tree.

To know more about this subject, here are some websites to visit. (In French and in English.) Their explanations are convincing, practical and simple. Very good and proven references are given. Their pictures help you to vizualize this concept and stimulate your imagination.

http://www.habitat-ecologique.org/toilette.php

http://www.eco-bio.info/ouaterre.html

http://www.oursoil.org/drytoilet.php

http://www.laneta.apc.org/esac/drytoilet.htm