Although this may seem a bit rambling (and maybe it is), just bear with me, and I think you'll see there is some value in this post.
In all the groover talk, I've never read anything like what I do, so I want to tell all here, for review, comments, etc.
To start, I have a composting toilet at home (a "sawdust bucket", to be exact) and have been composting my poo for many years. Anyone who wants to know more about this ought to read "The Humanure Handbook" by Joe Jenkins. Anyway, when I got into boating and looked around at what my new boater friends were doing....and following my cheapskate/DIY instincts, I just got a gamma lid, bucket, standard toilet seat and some sawdust, and I was set! Now I know some river offices frown on buckets with Gamma lids and I understand why; in a serious wreck, it could be crushed.....however the point of this post is not to defend buckets. My point is this: SAWDUST. Though it may be hard to believe, anyone who uses a sawdust toilet at home or wherever will tell you that they do NOT stink. There are several reasons for this, all explained in the Humanure Handbook, but briefly, it balances the PH of the poo and it dessicates the poo....and dessicated poo does not stink. Of course, you CANNOT pee into a sawdust groover! It just makes a squishy mess. I see no reason why most any groover on the market couldn't be used with sawdust. The downside is that it takes up some poo space, and so you'll have less user days (so for longer trips/bigger groups, maybe an extra groover is needed), but it's much less stinky and much less messy to clean. Before the trip, I just fill my groover about 1/4 to 1/3 with sawdust, then at every use or once a day, just put the lid on and give it a few shakes; poo is heavier than sawdust, so it moves down (and so does the smell). It's kinda like a catbox....or jumbo almond roca (sorry). At home, I just dump mine in my compost pile. I realize many of you may not have that option, but you may know someone who does. Also, I wonder if the contents of a sawdust groover could be dumped at a dump station? If not, maybe a revolution is in order. IMO, there is no reason to put up with the smell or mess or to use obnoxious chemicals (for the most part). Sawdust is the way to go!
Thoughts?
In all the groover talk, I've never read anything like what I do, so I want to tell all here, for review, comments, etc.
To start, I have a composting toilet at home (a "sawdust bucket", to be exact) and have been composting my poo for many years. Anyone who wants to know more about this ought to read "The Humanure Handbook" by Joe Jenkins. Anyway, when I got into boating and looked around at what my new boater friends were doing....and following my cheapskate/DIY instincts, I just got a gamma lid, bucket, standard toilet seat and some sawdust, and I was set! Now I know some river offices frown on buckets with Gamma lids and I understand why; in a serious wreck, it could be crushed.....however the point of this post is not to defend buckets. My point is this: SAWDUST. Though it may be hard to believe, anyone who uses a sawdust toilet at home or wherever will tell you that they do NOT stink. There are several reasons for this, all explained in the Humanure Handbook, but briefly, it balances the PH of the poo and it dessicates the poo....and dessicated poo does not stink. Of course, you CANNOT pee into a sawdust groover! It just makes a squishy mess. I see no reason why most any groover on the market couldn't be used with sawdust. The downside is that it takes up some poo space, and so you'll have less user days (so for longer trips/bigger groups, maybe an extra groover is needed), but it's much less stinky and much less messy to clean. Before the trip, I just fill my groover about 1/4 to 1/3 with sawdust, then at every use or once a day, just put the lid on and give it a few shakes; poo is heavier than sawdust, so it moves down (and so does the smell). It's kinda like a catbox....or jumbo almond roca (sorry). At home, I just dump mine in my compost pile. I realize many of you may not have that option, but you may know someone who does. Also, I wonder if the contents of a sawdust groover could be dumped at a dump station? If not, maybe a revolution is in order. IMO, there is no reason to put up with the smell or mess or to use obnoxious chemicals (for the most part). Sawdust is the way to go!
Thoughts?