What items can you use in humanure?

Can you use the same things in humanure as you do in regular compost? What are the do's and don'ts when making humanure?

So I have a couple of composting toilets I live in the tropics and things decompose really fast here.

So remember that good compost is a ratio of around 25:1 carbon : nitrogen so our pee and poo are high in nitrogen so we need to add a carbon source, saw dust, chain saw cutting, small dead leaves  are what we use. Depending on your setup you need to advise users not to fill up your containers with the carbon material as that just fills up your container faster than the composting can work.  Toilet paper seems to disappear really quick as do The cardboard rolls.  I recommend using a composting toilet rather than a dry composting toilet, the difference being if you separate pee at the pan level and it goes off to a different container(that’s a dry toilet) composting works better when it’s wet but not too wet as then it goes stinky and anaerobic so the same for a composting toilet , everything goes in together (so it’s wet) then excess liquid is drained off (avoiding smells) ... composting is a bacterial process so if we consume antibiotics and then pass them, this will effect our humanure. I would not recommend nappies or tampons in the system.

For clarification, are you asking what can you compost as humanure? Or could you be talking hardware or equipment for the humanure process?

If you're curious about what you can compost, I'd like to add tampons to your list! I think the organic guck-free ones would be best, some of the others might not break down at all.

Gene, if you're asking if you can put regular composting items in with humanure, I do.  

My understanding is that you build a pile over a year (or some period) and then let it compost out.  Then turn the pile and let it go again.  If you add other compostables at times, just cover it with carbon when adding with humanure or by itself.  

If you have enough room and compostables for a separate pile, that might be better if you want compost sooner.  I don't have a lot of other material so I add what I have.  Bones might be a good addition and I'll see how the lobster carcasses come out after a year and then two.

I would just like to recommend reading the Humanure Handbook.  It covers most every question you can think of.

I’m looking for more “earth friendly “toilet paper for a compost toilet I plan I building. Any suggestions? Could someone answer the question about main stream commercial paper being hard on our tush and on the environment?

I use Scott toilet paper and have good results with it breaking down. I never knew that medicines would be bad for composting because I thought you're body would use them and change them.

Gene Short wrote:I use Scott toilet paper and have good results with it breaking down. I never knew that medicines would be bad for composting because I thought you're body would use them and change them.

Same thing when using animal manure for composting , if animal has been medicated it can effect your compost results... ask owner of the animal if it has been medicated recently..