We recently received a sustainable, composting toilet from TROBOLO called the TeraBloem to check out and it’s perfect for anyone that needs a toilet where there’s no connection to mains sewage, making it ideal for camper vans, remote rural locations, off grid homes, camping, self builds or gardens and allotments.
The TeraBloem arrived flat packed and took about 30 minutes to assemble. It’s well made, doesn’t use water and the waste, processed correctly, can become fertiliser for your garden.
You can find out more about the TROBOLO TeraBloem toilet here. If you’re considering buying a toilet from TROBOLO, please use this promo code – MyHomefarm10 – at checkout to get a 10% discount. This code expires at the end of March 2022.
Also, if you’re thinking of building a composting toilet, there’s a great resource on TROBOLO’s website to assist you.
Dimensions when closed in mm:
Height 497 | Depth 470 | Width 330
Seat height in mm:
477
Tested load-bearing capacity:
200 kg
Weight
The weight of the TeraBlœm is 12.7 kg.
We have used dry toilets for over 8 years now in our house as the only method of going to the toilet, and other than occasional comments we have never had a problem. One thing I will say is that of the other people that we know who use or have tried a similar system the urine separator is the thing that makes the system smell. It is an unnecessary component to what is an otherwise simple solution.
There is no need to separate the urine, if anything it is a required component in the composting process as it adds much need nitrogen to the pile.
Anybody considering a dry toilet should first read The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins as he goes into far more details as to why you need the pee in the pot, not in a separate container 🙂
Last summer, we cleaned out and fixed up the old pit style outhouse on the property, having had septic problems twice, just since we’ve moved here. This year, we will be fixing up the outside, but long term, we plan to build an outdoor bathroom with a composting toilet and washing station. It’s just a handy thing to have!
The one thing to consider about using the resulting compost is medications. If someone in your household is taking medications or, like my husband, on many powerful prescriptions, there will be substances that may cause issues. In our case, we would never use the resulting compost anywhere where we could be growing food. These are not substances we want to inadvertently end up on the dinner plate!
An excellent point about medications. Top tip!
But the compost could be used for non edible plants, you have to get rid of it somewhere! The liver will break down the drugs to other compounds that may or may not be biologically active, perhaps small amounts of the active compound end up in the urine. These chemicals will eventually get broken down but far far far quicker that plastics, so there should be no danger of a gradual increase in polluting materials if they are used on flowers / trees etc.
Of course I am willing to accept that “we might not know” the long term consequences. But that could be applied to virtually everything we do, and going down that route leads to conspiracy theories etc.
Great post. I own a bit of railway cutting and might think about such a toilet, Even though I could get mains water up there without too much difficulty.
Hello everybody, this is Kai from TROBOLO. The question of medication and composting is coming up more often by customers. Important is here to use the “Thermo composting” method, means you need temperatures between 50-70 degrees Celsius for a period of several months. In this temperature window almost everything is pasteurized means free of bacteria. We are now preparing a more profound and detailed composting guideline which will cover as well the question of medication. For urine and plants: just leave or store the urine for a few weeks/months until bacteria will disappear. Our composting guide (update coming soon): https://trobolo.com/en/composting-correctly/
I think a safe composting guide to waste is a great idea Kai, and one that many people would benefit from. Does TROBOLO’s composting unit get temperatures up to 70C?
Thanks Malcolm. Let us know which toilet you opt for.