Eco-friendly toilets are a great way to be eco-friendly and save money on your water bill. We will share our list of eco-friendly toilets for home and business! We hope you enjoy our list of eco-friendly toilets that can help make you more environmentally conscious while also saving some cash!
Table of Contents
What is an eco-friendly toilet?
Many people don’t know that there are eco-friendly toilets. They might think that a toilet is a toilet, and the only thing to worry about is clogging. However, many of today’s toilets run on electricity or batteries, which aren’t considered ‘eco-friendly.’ Other things that may go into an eco-friendly toilet are recycled water, composting components, and handwashing holders. Many things go into an eco-friendly toilet.
What are the common features of eco-friendly toilets?
Eco-friendly toilets are designed to conserve water, reduce carbon emissions associated with the transport of waste products, and promote local recycling.
One common feature in eco-friendly toilets is composting components or systems that allow the users to separate urine from solid waste. Urine by itself does not require treatment for pathogens before it can be reused. There are two types of eco-friendly toilets:
1) Onsite Systems – Onsite systems require infrastructure investment at the source of wastewater generation but provide flexibility in sitting options and have little or no public health risks if they are properly installed. This includes black water systems, which treat toilet wastewater on-site; greywater systems, which treat soap suds from washing machines that drain into septic tanks; and combined systems, which treat household wastewater from both sources.
2) Centralized Systems – Centralized systems transport wastewater to a treatment plant for processing before returning it to the environment. These systems typically require fewer infrastructures but are more costly to operate and maintain.
Other common features of eco-friendly toilets include use of half or no water at all, waste treatment before discharge into waterways, repair and replacement components that can be recycled, easy access for maintenance without entering an enclosed space, e.g., hard to reach public restrooms with UDDTs (up-flow constructed wetlands toilet), flushing mechanisms that do not release greywater or blackwater into the drainage system, units built from material free from hazardous compounds used in manufacturing or installation.
1. AeroRoto Composting Toilet System
The Aeroporto composting toilet system is powered by a manually turned turbine extractor fan, mixing the waste material to speed up the composting process. The unit costs $2,000 and does not need an external energy source beyond small amounts of biomass to incinerate the remaining waste and provide warmth for the composting process.
2. Dry Toilet with Two Chambers
The dry toilet with two chambers is an example of a waterless composting toilet that uses kitchen waste, straw, or sawdust to cover material after each use. A naturally occurring layer of bacteria in the feces decomposes the waste material into compost or humus. This system costs $400 to install, but it does require some external energy in the form of biomass at least once per week for drying out each chamber.
3. Dry Toilet with One Chamber
This waterless composting toilet is similar to the dry toilet with two chambers, but it requires less frequent external energy use in biomass. This system uses straw, sawdust, or leaves to cover material after each use and costs $300 to install.
4. Envirolet Composting Toilet System (with Electrical Backup)
The Envirolet composting toilet system is an example of a waterless composting toilet that needs only small amounts of external energy in electricity. The unit uses sawdust, wood shavings, or coconut coir to cover material after each use and costs $1,900 to install. The system has an electrical backup for heating during the winter months.
5. Envirolet Composting Toilet System (without Electrical Backup)
This Envirolet composting toilet is similar to the system with electrical backup but without that unit’s heat source. The system uses sawdust, wood shavings, or coconut coir to cover material after each use and costs $1,500 to install.
6. Enviropot Composting Toilet System
The Enviropot composting toilet system uses heat from the sun to warm up the waste material to speed up decomposition. This system costs $2,800 to install and does not require an external energy source beyond sunlight. The amount of sunlight required varies depending on latitude; however, Enviropot recommends installing units no more than 15 degrees away from the equator.
7. Fluidized-Bed Dry Toilet System
This type of dry toilet uses heat from burning sawdust, rice hulls, or other biomass to evaporate water for easy composting. The system does not require an external energy source for this process because the heat is generated internally. It costs $850 to install and includes two chambers. The first chamber is used for permanent storage, while the second one is used as a compost box that must be turned once or twice per week.
8. Go-Anywhere Composting Toilet System
This Go-Anywhere composting toilet system is an example of a waterless, self-contained composting toilet that needs only small amounts of external energy in the form of electricity. The unit uses sawdust or coconut coir to cover material after each use and costs $1,300 to install.
9. Green Latrine Composting Toilet Facility
The Green Latrine composting toilet facility is an example of a waterless, self-contained composting toilet that needs only small amounts of external energy in electricity. The unit uses sawdust or coconut coir to cover material after each use and costs $1,400 to install.
10. Green Oscar Self-Contained, Dry Toilet
This dry toilet unit is an example of a waterless composting toilet that uses sawdust to cover material after each use. It costs $900 to install and requires at least 1 cubic meter of space for storage. The system has an internal thermal insulation layer, which helps the waste decompose.
11. HEP-100 Self-Contained, Flush Toilet
This flush toilet is an example of a waterless composting toilet that uses sawdust to cover material after each use. It costs $200 to install and requires at least 1 cubic meter of space for storage. The system has an internal thermal insulation layer, which helps the waste decompose.
12. KEO Self-Contained, Waterless Toilet
This waterless composting toilet requires an external energy source to warm up human waste. This system uses coconut coir and costs $650 to install.
13. Nature’s Head Composting Toilet System
This waterless composting toilet requires an external energy source to warm up human waste. This system uses sawdust to cover material after each use and costs $1,300 to install.
14. Nature’s Head Dry Composting Toilet
This waterless composting toilet requires an external energy source to keep its contents warm. This system uses sawdust to cover material after each use and costs $1,500 to install.
15. Neo-Metro Self-Contained, Flush Toilet
This flush toilet is an example of a waterless composting toilet that requires electricity for heating. The unit uses coconut coir and costs $650 to install.
16. SavEc Waterless, Dry Toilet
This waterless, dry composting toilet requires an external energy source to keep its contents warm. This system uses sawdust or rice hulls for cover material after each use and costs $1,300 to install. The size of the unit varies depending on the capacity required.
17. Smart Composting Toilet System
This waterless composting toilet requires an external energy source to keep its contents warm. The unit uses sawdust to cover material after each use and costs $1,200 to install. This system requires only one cubic meter of space for storage, but it does need electricity to work properly.
18. Sustainable Onsite Waste Management Unit
This waterless, self-contained toilet system is an example of a composting toilet that needs only small amounts of external energy in the form of electricity because it heats itself with natural gas or wood chips burned inside the unit. The cost varies depending on the system’s location, but installation typically costs from $1,300 to $2,800.
19. Vacuum-Pack Toilet System
This waterless composting toilet requires an external energy source to keep its contents warm. This system uses sawdust or coconut coir for cover material after each use and costs $1,100 to install. The unit is completely self-contained and does not require electricity or a sewage hookup. The size of the unit varies depending on the capacity required.
20. World’s Advanced Saving Project Composting Toilet System
This composting toilet system is an example of a waterless, self-contained composting toilet that needs only small amounts of external energy in the form of sunlight for the solar panels during the winter. This system burns sawdust or coconut coir with natural gas for heating and uses sawdust or coconut coir as cover material after each use. The unit costs $1,600 to install.
Conclusion
This guide has helped you find the best toilets for your home and business. You might be wondering how to choose between all these eco-friendly options, but we hope that by following this list of twenty different types of toilet experiences, you’ll get a better idea of which one will work best for you. We hope that this article helps in deciding on what is right for your needs.
