What you ever wanted to know

Dry Toilet is the generic term for toilets that operate without a water flush. The best-known type is probably the privy or outhouse back in grandma’s day. There are also composting toilets and so-called separating or incinerating toilets. Depending on the type of toilet, the excreta are either separated or collected in a single container. Then, according to toilet-type, the faeces are composted, disposed of in a waste bin, or incinerated. Most likely everyone has come across a few dry toilets at some point in their life, and perhaps already used one. They are often found at festivals, on construction sites, in public areas, at markets, on hiking trails, etc. Perhaps you’ve even spotted or used an öKlo before? A dry toilet, however, is not to be confused with a chemical toilet. Apart from the fact that you can already smell them a mile away, the use of chemicals makes one thing impossible: composting.

Pros: No drinking water is wasted – resource-saving No chemicals – no toxic waste It doesn’t smell It is environmentally friendly Disposing of the waste is not a laborious process requiring a great deal of energy and effort It can be set up or installed almost anywhere Hardly any electrics that could break down Cons: Requires accessories such as collecting bags or litter, for example When it comes to humus or incinerating toilets, sufficient electricity or gas is needed to operate them It is very expensive to purchase You have to deal with your excreta

Although all dry toilets can do without water, they differ a lot in how they function. Composting toilet – a dry toilet where liquid and solid substances are not separated. In a composting toilet, human waste is collected together in a container in order to then be composted. Covering material such as bark mulch or sawdust prevents the development of bad odours and promotes biodegradation. Separating toilet – a dry toilet where liquid and solid substances are separated. As the name ‘separating toilet’ already says, liquid and solid excreta are separated, either directly in the container using special insert, or already into two different containers when using the toilet. Separating toilets with two different containers are often used as camping toilets. These toilets have a so-called separator, which helps to direct the excreta into two separate containers while the toilet is being used: Liquid at the front, solids at the back. In both cases, litter is used to cover the excreta. This dries the faeces, at the same time absorbing any bad odours. Liquid and solid substances are disposed of and/or composted separately. Humus toilet – a dry toilet with composter With a humus toilet, excreta are pre-composted in the container before being added to the compost heap. When it comes to humus toilets, liquid and solid substances are either collected separately or together. Here, too, litter is used to cover the excreta. Humus toilets require quite a bit of technology as well, such as: Aeration vents, rotating drums, heating rods, and mixers. These prevent odour formation and trigger the composting process. This type of toilet requires an electrical connection to operate the system. Incinerating toilet – a dry toilet with an incinerator In incinerating toilets, the excreta are burned in a combustion chamber directly after the toilet has been used. The exhaust gases are extracted. All that remains is a little sterile ash. This toilet also requires sufficient electricity or gas supply for the combustion process. If the power supply is not reliable, the system may malfunction. Compared to other dry toilets, the cost of purchasing an incinerating toilet is very high.

Toilets without a water connection are very versatile. On the one hand, the toilet could be installed indoors. Examples of where dry toilets could be permanently installed: Prefabricated houses Garden houses Allotment garden houses Holiday homes Ski huts and mountain huts Campers and caravans Boats On the other hand, with portable dry toilets such as our öKlo Classic, the possibilities are almost endless as to where they can be used. Our portable toilets can be set up at whatever location our employees are able to reach on foot. Examples of where portable dry toilets could be used: Garden parties Construction sites Festivals Nature reserves Parking lots Allotments Playgrounds & cemeteries Locations without water and/or sewer connections As emergency toilets Disaster regions There are many more possibilities that we may not (yet) have even thought of.

Of course, it is possible to build your own dry toilet! However, what we would like to point out here, is that it takes a lot of planning and materials research to build a product that matches an öKlo in quality! If you choose one of our öKlo products, we will have already done all that hard work for you!