Bucket toilet with bidet?

Hi,

I'd like to make humanure with the bucket system. Lurking around, I found out that in general wet shouldn't go into the same bucket as poop. Being a fan of bidets, it seems like it would be more hassle to add it to a simple bucket system.

I've read (here, from Eve McKie) that it is possible to add 3lb of wood pellets at the bottom of the bucket to absorb urine and put saw dust after each use. Does anyone else use this technic? Are there similar alternatives?

I was thinking about using the pellets technic with a bidet for poop and peeing. I would use another toilet when it is just for peeing.

Hi, Jo

Welcome to permies!

I don't have any experience with the bucket system so maybe someone with experience will chime in.

Anne, thanks for bumping this post so I saw it.

Jo, I highly recommend getting a copy of Joe Jenkins Humanure Handbook. https://humanurehandbook.com/

You can buy an electronic copy for really cheap and it has all of the info you need for starting a sawdust toilet.

My wife and I have been using a sawdust toilet for approximately 6 years and follow Joe's guidelines. It makes it extremely easy because solid waste and liquid waste go in the same place and as long as you use adequate cover material, smell is never an issue. In fact, it is encouraged to have urine in the bucket with the sawdust as this really expedites the composting process with a great nitrogen/carbon ratio. I imagine having a bidet would greatly increase the amount of liquid in the bucket, which would result in more frequent emptying of the container. I have this "issue" as well as we have a 1 year old and use compostable diapers and wipes which take up a huge amount of room too. I place a few extra scoops of sawdust at the bottom of a new bucket to soak up excess urine. Maybe two inches which is definitely not three pounds of woody debris and nothing more has ever been necessary.

If you look in the bucket and you see wet material, you haven't covered enough. If you see dry sawdust at the top, then your good to go. I suggest building a bucket holder with room for 2 buckets so that you can switch them over in an emergency. There is nothing worse than procrastinating emptying your bucket and not having a spare lined up.

I'm interested in how this project turns out, you may be the very first sawdust toilet user with a bidet attached. Hope all goes well.

Awesome, thank you fo the tips.

Unfortunately I think I won't try it this year, because winter is coming and there is a lot of water running down my field and I need to make sure it won't spoil the water.

Till then, I will surely read the book!

We use a 2 bucket humanure system and have for over 38 years. The "solids" bucket can have some pee in it, but is mostly poo and paper. It goes in an outdoor composting chamber. The "liquids" bucket is pee and occasionally paper. You could run your bidet water into this bucket no problem. This bucket is poured on the outdoor garden compost heap or added to irrigation water if desired. We don't add sawdust or other high carbon material until the solids bucket is emptied into the compost bin. The fresh addition is covered with used wood chips, recycled from the root cellar where they were used the previous winter to pack veggies. The used chips are kept in a garbage can next to the compost chambers. One bin holds 6 months of poo from 2 adults plus the poo from 5 poultry. After 6 months we switch to an empty bin. We have another 2 bins with aging poo compost which is used on corn and sorghum plantings after a year.