Taking the plunge with a composting toilet

"My usual response was to whip out the plunger and go to town, resorting to a plumber if that failed. Well, that failed -- and so did the balance in my checking account. The last time I'd called a plumber, it had cost me $110. At Christmastime, when my toilet decided to fail again, I didn't want to tap my emergency savings."

"I'd been meaning to install a waterless (a.k.a. composting) toilet for months. I just hadn't been able to pull the trigger because of the social stigma. What would people think? Where would I put it? What if it reeked?"

"Even ready-made (or "self-contained") units with a holding compartment right under the seat begin at $1,400. That's at least 10 times more than the cost of regular low-flow toilets (which use 1.6 gallons of water per flush)."

A single mother faced repeated toilet clogs requiring expensive plumber visits costing $110 each. When her toilet failed again during the holidays, she decided to find an alternative solution rather than deplete her emergency savings. She considered installing a composting toilet, which she had previously dismissed due to social concerns and misconceptions. Composting toilets offer water and sewage benefits but come with high costs—self-contained models start at $1,400, ten times more than low-flow toilets. She sought an affordable backup solution that avoided crude alternatives like bucket toilets. Despite their niche status, composting toilets are surprisingly accessible through online retailers and major home improvement stores.

Read at Los Angeles Times