Komposttoilette

[Löwenzahn]

Anhaften, antrocknen und immer wieder benässen (Männerklo) ist etwas anderes als ein Urin-Tank, der einmal in der Woche ausgekippt wird. Klingt komisch, ist aber so und wird von ca. 1000 Kunden seit bis zu 15 Jahren praktiziert - ohne Beschwerden. Den Nachttopf fürs Kleine hat man sich auch früher unters Bett gestellt, ohne das es einem schlecht wurde...

[Knurrhuhn]

Ich nutze ja selber bei Krankheit oder im Camping-Urlaub gewisse Behältnisse, wo das auch mal ein paar Stunden drin bleibt bevor ich es entsorgen kann. Macht mir auch nix aus, und übel wird mir auch nicht. Aber daß es immer lapidar heißt, Urin sei ja geruchslos .... das stimmt einfach nicht. Aber so lange ich mich nur um mein eigenes kümmern muß ist es mir auch schnurz.

[Theo]

Ich hab das Prinzip noch nicht ganz verstanden, erscheint mir aber sinnvoller.

Urin für sich ist eine hygienische, praktisch geruchsfreie Sache.

...zersetzt sich aber, wenn er mit Luft in Berührung kommt.

[globedriver47]

eine richtig konstruierte Komposttoilette riecht nicht. Das wichtigste ist ein Siphon im Urinschlauch. Wer jetzt noch EMa in den Urintank giesst, kann diesen dann auch geruchsfrei entleeren. Warum wollt ihr das Rad neu erfinden? Ich selber habe auf Fermentation umgestellt. Die Toilette ist luftdicht.

[Knurrhuhn]

Hier ein System, das anscheinend direkt im Tank kompostiert, ohne Urintrennung:

http://www.clivusmultrum.eu/compostingprocessDE.asp

Die Abflussrohre der Toiletten haben 250 mm Durchmesser:

http://www.clivusmultrum.eu/toiletfixturesDE.asp

[PKnewbie]

Sagt mal, wieviel Dünger in Form von Urin vertragen Denn Pflanzen?
Wenn man mal von 2-4 Personen ausgeht kommt eine Riesenmenge Urin zusammen... Den verdünnt man natürlich, aber trotzdem gießt man doch dann vermutlich wöchentlich mehrere Duzend Liter aus.
Ist das nicht zuviel des Guten? Und: wenn nicht so, wie dann?

[AlterSchwede]

Kompostklo macht eigentlich nur Sinn wenn man das Klo unbedingt im (Wohn)haus haben möchte. Ansonsten macht ein (ordentlich gepflegtes) Plumpsklo ja ohne Anschaffungskosten und Stromverbrauch das Selbe. Es geht also primär um den Komfort nachts nicht buchstäblich "raus" zu müssen...

Darüber hinaus geht'sin der (schwedischen) Praxis fast immer um das Problem daß konkret keine entsprechenden Tanks auf dem Grundstück vergraben werden können - oder die entsprechenden Kesselfahrzeuge zur Entleerung wegen unzureichender oder fehlender Wege nicht anfahren können.

Von Bekannten hab ich die "Erfahrung" mitgenommen daß diese Dinger auch nur gut funktionieren wenn man sie quasi permanent und in einem ansonsten beheizten Haus benutzt. In Ferienhäusern und unbeheizten Außengebäuden gibt's ständig Ärger.
Ich hab mich darum dazu entschieden das ganz normale Klohäuschen "in Ehre zu halten" und habe auch kein Problem damit. Wenn sich der Erbauer des Klohäuschen ein bißchen Gedanken gemacht hat und Hauptwindrichtung und Entfernung berücksichtigt wurden - dann bleibt der Geruch auch dann erträglich wenn man nicht mit halben zerbröselten Hochmooren die Kacke "trockenlegt".

[fuxi]

Kompostklo macht eigentlich nur Sinn wenn man das Klo unbedingt im (Wohn)haus haben möchte. Ansonsten macht ein (ordentlich gepflegtes) Plumpsklo ja ohne Anschaffungskosten und Stromverbrauch das Selbe. Es geht also primär um den Komfort nachts nicht buchstäblich "raus" zu müssen...

Äh, nein.
Es geht auch (oder vor allem) darum, aus einem nährstoffreichen Grundstoff keinen giftigen, gewässerbelastenden Klärschlamm zu machen.
Der Schmodder aus einem Plumpsklo-Tank muss dann ja doch wieder ins Klärwerk.

[Sabi(e)ne]

Ich hab mich darum dazu entschieden das ganz normale Klohäuschen "in Ehre zu halten" und habe auch kein Problem damit. Wenn sich der Erbauer des Klohäuschen ein bißchen Gedanken gemacht hat und Hauptwindrichtung und Entfernung berücksichtigt wurden -

Und bitte die Wassergefährlichkeit bedenken - Plumpsklo sollte weit weg von Brunnen, Bächen und Teichen sein....

[DieterB]

Sagt mal, wieviel Dünger in Form von Urin vertragen Denn Pflanzen?
Wenn man mal von 2-4 Personen ausgeht kommt eine Riesenmenge Urin zusammen... Den verdünnt man natürlich, aber trotzdem gießt man doch dann vermutlich wöchentlich mehrere Duzend Liter aus.
Ist das nicht zuviel des Guten? Und: wenn nicht so, wie dann?

Hier sind einige Infos zum Thema Urin (ich kann mich an die URLs nicht erinnern). Ich hab die relevanten Textpassagen markiert:

"Keep in mind that urine is very high in nitrogen. You may need to pee daily, but your plants don’t need your daily pee. Choose plants that need lots of nitrogen, such as corn and squash, tomatoes and cucumbers during their fruit-bearing stage, and older plants that need a boost. Signs of nitrogen deficiency include yellow or pale green leaves, and some plants have key signs, like pointed cucumbers. Don’t overdo it at the beginning of the season, as excess nitrogen can lead to bushy, leafy plants that bear little fruit. Signs of excess nitrogen include curled leaves, and these plants may also attract aphids. For garden plants in need of a genuine nitrogen boost, once or twice a month is generally fine, though some people will add highly diluted pee a couple of times a week. If you have more pee to give, try your lawn, trees and bushes.

As a basic premise, the urine must be mixed with carbon-rich materials in order for the nitrogen to become accessible to the plants. Carbon-rich materials can include leaves, straw, or just good quality earthy soil. The nitrogen in urine is in the form of urea, creatine, and ammonia; when mixed with carbon-rich materials, the aerobic bacteria convert it into nitrates, which the plants can then uptake.

Here are a few possible ways to use pee in your garden or landscaping.

Recipe 1: Watered-down pee
For soil with good drainage that is crumbly and earthy-smelling. Also works well for container gardens.

Grab a reclaimed plastic container and take a pee. Dilute it with eight to ten parts water, and apply it to the soil. Easy peesy. Working the urine into the soil or applying the urine under the top layer of soil would ensure that less nitrogen is lost due to conversion to ammonia gas, and the presence of soil organisms would help neutralize the (rare chance of) pathogens, though just pouring it on the soil works okay too. After applying the pee, water the plant.

Recipe 2: Straight up pee
For soil with a thick layer of carbon-rich mulch, like wood chips and leaf mulch.

This is the easiest method. Just pee on the mulch. The mulch will stop the plants from receiving an overly-concentrated blast of urine, as well as helping to break down the nitrogen into a source the plants can use. Peeing between two layers of mulch will lessen nitrogen losses from conversion to ammonia gas.

Recipe 3: Compost pee
Urine can be composted. It’s very high in nitrogen, so it counts as a "green" in the compost, and shouldn’t be added to a compost bin that is already high in nitrogen-rich materials like food scraps. Be sure to add plenty of carbon-rich materials, like dry leaves, sawdust, straw and cardboard. Urine can act as a starter for a compost, encouraging the decomposition process, such as adding urine to a pile of leaves.

Recipe 4: Straw bale bathroom
You can urinate directly on a bale of straw until the straw decomposes, and this compost can later be added to your garden. We’ve even met a gardener from Montreal who plants directly in the decomposing straw bales to create a new garden.

Recipe 5: Greywater with a hint of yellow
Greywater is the waste water from showering, doing dishes, etc, and urine can be added to a greywater system. The greywater provides some carbon and significantly dilutes the urine. Ideally this should drain into an aerobic greywater system with natural filters like plants and gravel. Instructions for installing such a system can be purchased from the EcoWaters Project in the guide How to Build a Washwater Garden Plan.

Keep in mind: Urine is high in salt. This is one reason why it needs to be properly diluted. Not all plants respond well to high salt content. Reducing the salt in your diet can be helpful to your own health and improve the salt ratio in your urine."

Urine is a liquid product of the human body that is secreted by the kidneys. A big share of the soluble substances in urine consists of essential plant nutrients like Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus(P) and Potassium (K) that can be easily reused in agriculture. There is almost a mass balance between nutrient consumption and excretion, but the actual nutrient content in urine is of course dependent on the diet and varies between countries as well as between individuals.
The amount of urine produced per person and day depends on the amount of liquid a person drinks, but usually lies within a range of 0.8 to 1.5 L per day for an adult person and about half as much for children, respectively (WHO 2006). On average, an adult person produces around 500 L (550 kg) of urine per year, thus approximately 4 kg of N, 0.5 kg of P and 1 kg of K per person per year (JOENSSON 2004). Urine can therefore be considered as a nitrogen rich liquidfertiliser. Due to its comparably high N and low organic matter content it is often recommended to complement urine application with other nutrient and organic matter sources.

Urine from healthy people can be considered pathogen free. For additional safety, a storage time of one month in completely sealed container is generally accepted to guarantee that it will be safe for agricultural application at the household level. If urine is used for crops that are eaten by those other than the urine producer, it should be stored for at least 6 months (WHO 2006). You can find more information in the factsheet regarding storage of urine. During storage, high pH (above 9), temperature and ammoniaare the main factors for inactivating pathogens (SCHOENNING 2004). The rise of pH to above 9 occurs naturally, when ureais degraded to ammonium. At this pH, the initial concentrations of phosphate, magnesium, calcium andammonia are no longer soluble, but precipitate forming a bottom layer, which can be handled as fertiliser together with the rest of the urine. Special attention should however be paid on the ventilation of the urine collection and storage chamber: Because of the high pH, coupled with the high ammonium concentration of urine, there is a risk of losing Nin the form of ammonia to the air. As long as the collection and storage chambers are sealed and the contact of the urine with air is reduced to a minimum, neither losses of nutrients nor changes in their availability can occur (JOENSSON 2004).
Because of its high nitrogen content, urine should be applied at a rate corresponding to the desired plant nitrogenrequirements. A starting point for dimensioning urineapplication are local recommendations for use of mineral nitrogen fertilisers.
Urine can be applied neat or diluted with water. The existing recommendations vary widely, depending on the local conditions. A common and often recommended dilution rate is 1:3 (1 part urine with 3 parts of water). It should be considered that dilution increases the volume to be spread and thus labour, transport expense, equipment needed, healthrisk etc. Yet, the advantages of dilution include a noticeable odour reduction and a decreased risk of over-application.

For best fertilising effect and to avoid ammonia losses to the air, urine should be incorporated into the soil as soon as possible after application, preferably instantly. Equipment that can be used for the application comprises watering cans, dippers, but also empty water bottles cut into half etc. A shallow incorporation is enough, and different methods are possible. One is to apply urine in small furrows that are covered after application. Washing the nutrients into the soil with subsequent application of water is another option. When spreading urine, it should not be applied on leaves or other parts of the plants, as this can cause foliar burning.

A good availability ofnutrients is particularly important in early stages of cultivation. Once the crop enters its reproductive stage it hardly takes up any more nutrients. Fertilizations should stop after between 2/3 and 3/4 of the time between sowing and harvest. A waiting period of one month between fertilizations and harvest should always be observed for health reasons.
Health risks associated with the use of human urine in plant production are generally low. However during the source separationfaecal cross-contamination can occur. Respective measures to reduce potentialhealth risks to an acceptable minimum following the WHOmulti-barrier strategy should always be considered.

Applicability
Urine is especially beneficial where crops are lacking nitrogen or require a lot of nitrogen to grow. Examples of some crops that grow well with urine include: maize, rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, chard, turnip, carrots, kale, cabbage, lettuce, leek, onions, bananas, paw-paw, and oranges. Urine application is ideal for rural and peri-urban areas where agricultural lands are close to the point of urine collection. Households, schools etc. can use their own urine on their own plot of land. Regardless, the most important aspect is that there is a need for nutrients otherwise the urine can become a source of pollution and nuisance if dealt with improperly.