How Composting Toilets Work (vs. Chemical Toilets)

How Composting Toilets Work (vs. Chemical Toilets)

When you’re traveling off-grid, waste management affects more than most people realize. It shapes where you can go, how long you can stay, and how freely you travel. For those comparing chemical and composting toilets, the choice is about more than convenience — it’s about freedom, sustainability, and peace of mind. Knowing how composting toilets work can make that choice easier.

Let’s get down to business – how you handle your waste when you travel matters. It affects where you travel, how you travel, and your impact on the environment. 

But, since this is a conversation you probably shouldn’t have around the dinner table, we’ll discuss it with you here, in the safety of this blog.

Travelers (when deciding about what their travel toilet will be) have the choice between a chemical toilet and a composting toilet. If the RV, van-life, or off-grid travel is familiar to you, you’ve probably done your research. But for those who are seeking a new adventure, for the first or hundredth time, and are searching for the best portable toilet for this year’s travels, we’ll break it down here in this blog. We want you to be informed so you can decide what type of travel toilet is best for you, and how to break down your waste when using a composting toilet. 

Chemical vs. Composting Toilets – What’s the Difference?

When it comes to your bathroom, as you adventure, you usually don’t have the luxury of unlimited space and unlimited access to water. You only have so much that you’re working with, and when it’s time to make the decision, it matters. No one wants to be inconvenienced with clean up, smell, and maintenance when you’re trying to enjoy a cross-country road trip or a weekend boat trip. 

Head into the bathrooms of RVs, and you’ll typically find what is called a chemical toilet. Chemical toilets have been a popular choice for travellers because of their convenience and similarity to traditional toilets at home. Chemical toilets flush with water to get rid of your waste, manage odors with the use of chemicals, and can be dumped at proper stations and facilities. Go, flush, and dump. Sounds nice, right?

While chemical toilets do the job, they aren’t the most eco-friendly – and convenient – way to travel. Chemical toilets use lots of water to flush down waste, and the chemicals used to mask the odor are harmful to the environment. Plus, the only way to properly empty your waste is to do so at proper dump stations. That takes time out of your travels, leading to more stops and planning ahead of time.

Compost toilets, on the other hand, offer a more eco-friendly way to travel, while giving people the freedom to roam as far as they desire. Compost toilets are a natural way to break down waste, and without needing to rely on water sources and black tanks, travelers don’t have to hunt down dump stations. Composting, when done correctly, is the most efficient way to travel, for your time and the environment.

How Do Compost Toilets Work?

Don’t be intimidated by the composting process. It doesn’t require you to get down and dirty – it’s quite the opposite, actually. The normal composting toilet process works like this:

  • Separation of Liquid & Solid Waste – Compost toilets separate your liquid and solid waste, usually through a urine container and a solids container, which helps to prevent excess moisture.
  • Add a Dry Composting Medium –  Once you’ve gone #2, cover your waste with a dry, compost medium (we recommend using Coco Coir). This helps to absorb moisture, prevent odors, and begin the breakdown process.
  • Mix the Waste and Medium – When mixed together, it adds oxygen, allowing for airflow. This speeds up the breakdown and keeps everything dry.
  • Ventilation – A small fan pulls out air through a vent hose. Most composting toilets, when installed properly, have a great ventilation system, keeping odors to a minimum.
  • Natural Breakdown – Microbes begin breaking down the waste, creating a dry, soil-like material over time.
  • Empty the System – When your system is full, you can empty the tank – without the need for a blacktank or hookup. Trust the composting process. Your waste and medium together can help to benefit the soil of the environment around you.

So, for those who skimmed through this and want to know how a composting toilet works, the process is this – a composting system keeps waste dry, separates liquids, and uses airflow to transform it into an odor-free, soil-like material.

Your waste becomes repurposed, keeping your footprint light, and your travels unrestrained.

Why Travelers Choose OGO as their Compost Toilet.

“I live on an island where water and septic toilet systems are impossible to install, and I tried several models of toilets before starting with OGO. I must admit, the OGO toilet is a marvel. Far better than all the others.” -Harper T.

No shame if you find chemical toilets to fit your lifestyle better. But here at OGO, we stand behind composting toilets time and time again. Sure, it’s our job, but we know the benefits a composting toilet brings to your adventures, and the wellbeing of the places you go. 

Earth is our home, and we believe it’s meant to be explored. But we’re committed to doing so in the most clean and sustainable way possible. Our toilets have simple, waterless, chemical-free systems that leave a lighter footprint wherever you roam. We believe waste systems should be cleaner and more sustainable.

Thousands of people choose composting toilets are their preferred travel toilet, for it’s benefit to the environment, and for the freedom it gives them to go further.

So, when nature calls, OGO answers. We hope you find our toilets to be the best travel investment for all the destinations on your list.