INCINERATING TOILETS

 

Incinerating toilets collect waste in a chamber below the toilet seat and during their burn cycle the liquids are evaporated through boiling and the solids are converted to a sterile ash. There are both electric and gas (propane or natural gas) burning models available. Each unit requires a flue that exhausts to the exterior. They can be used indoors and outdoors, even under freezing conditions.

Some models are designed to burn after each use; some hold 40 to 60 uses before a burn cycle is initiated. They are manually operated. The electric models have a push button start. The gas fired models start similar to lighting a barbeque. Depending on the model and volume of waste that is being burned, burn cycles typically last between one to 4 ½ hours. At elevations greater than 4000 ft it is recommended to run the burn cycle for 6 hours. A 100 lb propane cylinder will burn 16 capacity loads (approximately 960 uses).

Incineration methods have two clear advantages when compared with other methods. First, there is no waste to remove when the process is complete, except a few cups of ash. Second, pathogen destruction is almost certain (some models perform better than others). There is low risk to maintenance operators.

The main disadvantage is that incineration uses fossil fuels. Odours are also cited as a problem, however, air pollutants and odours are minimized by filtering the smoke within the incineration chamber through an odor control catalyst (much like the one found on a automobile exhaust system) before it goes out the exhaust vent. The manufacturers of STORBURN incinerating toilets claim their product is odourless, but users say there is some odour during the burning process. Also, odours are present between burns much like an unvented pit toilet.