My humanure (bucket) system experience

I read the “Building a Better World in Your Backyard” recently and came across the chart on the different pooping contraptions and their respective ratings on a 1-10 scale. I have experience with several of the different contraptions (8 of 10) and have been using the humanure bucket system for quite some time.
I found that the author’s experience and rating did not reflect my experience with that system, and I wanted to offer another perspective on the humanure system that may encourage its use in certain situations.

There is very little smell related to the compost toilet portion of the system. If everything is done correctly, you only have a smell while you are going. The compost pile, when covered with cover material, has no smell whatsoever. When opening the compost pile to make a deposit, there is sometimes a smell of urine/ammonia. That is only if the pile is hot and when you uncover it, your face is over the hole you are making for your new deposits. Steam literally rises off the open hole, even in warmer temps.

I do not have issues with flies very often. When I do, it is fruit flies, and they start on something else at home and make their way to the bucket. I add some essential oil to the water I use to hydrate the sawdust. When I do see a fly, I change the bucket out before the night is over if it is more than 1/3 full. I normally change buckets when I am around ¾ full. I do get a lot of BSF in the pile when it is cool enough for them to be there. I understand that as a good thing, so I like seeing them.

I handle everything related to the system for my family of 7. All everyone else does is to make the deposits, I do the rest. I have a forward-thinking mindset about the beautiful compost it makes and that gives me rose-colored glasses when I process the buckets. I don’t mind it at all and really enjoy turning the deposits into something that is very useful.

Initially, my pile was not getting hot because I was only adding a bucket at a time. Now I save at least 3 and add them at one time. I just put a lid on the bucket that is getting full and put it in the barn until I have 3. When I add the deposits, I usually run 145-150 degrees for 1-3 days in the pile.

Adding the essential oil to the water I use to hydrate the sawdust was an extremely helpful addition. That may be why my fly issues are little to none. I like to change the oil up to whatever we have an excess of. I have not used any that seem to inhibit any microbial activity in the pile.

I use grass clippings to keep the pile covered. Junk hay or leaves work also. I use horse pelletized bedding to cover the deposits in the bucket. They come in dry pellet form, and I hydrate with the water and oil mixture. 2/3 part water to 1 part pellets. I start with a hydrated 2” in each new bucket. 1 40# bag of pellets is $7. 1 bag lasts 2 or 3 months for my family of 7. I bought 5 buckets and 4 lids and a snap on toilet seat lid for $35. That was a 1-time expense.

I am on the fringe in that I have no issues whatsoever to use the finished compost on anything we are growing. I am convinced by the research of Joseph Jenkins and other publications that the temps I get my pile to, and the duration of those temps kill any pathogens. I check my pile with a thermometer all over and once I start a new pile, I let the old pile get happy for 8 months to a year.

I live in MS and do not experience much cold weather. Jenkins lives in PA and says his piles have never frozen.

I have profited much from these forums and I hope someone finds this helpful when considering options for toilet alternatives.

Seconding this.

I too have used the bucket system from Joe Jenkins "Humanure Handbook". It is easy to operate, not at all smelly, simple and clean. The hot composting process is incredibly effective at breaking down waste - a bucket added to the heap and covered is typically unidentifiable within a week or less.

Many of the negative comments about bucket systems seem to be from people who either have not used them, or have not followed the management steps properly.

Eg a key feature of the system is using copious sawdust as a cover for any deposits - solid or liquid. Cover everything properly and there will be no odour, no flies etc... Someone I know tried it and was put off by the smell. When I went round to see what they were doing it turned out that they were trying to avoid changing the bucket as frequently so were only using the sawdust to cover poo. Oddly enough urine when uncovered gets smelly. No surprise there.

As for emptying buckets... I have never found that the bucket ends up dirty or is a hazard to clean. Again, it's about using the sawdust properly. I tend to start with a  bucket 1/3 full of sawdust. No poop ever touches the sides of the bucket. When you empty it out the contents slides out easily and no marks are left on the bucket.

I used the humanure system for a couple years, and my experience was much like yours.  I used sawdust as a cover material and had no smells except the smell of clean sawdust.  I also added some of my homemade charcoal to the bucket, eventually becoming biochar.  After using it for some time, I started to find the sound of a toilet flushing vey jarring and frankly, pretty obnoxious.  My brother used to make fun of the system, laughing about me "shitting in a bucket", until I explained that he shit in a bucket too, his was just made of porcelain :)