Porta-potty users, sound off

[mhiscox]

Although, say 2 people deuce twice a day but can get one each into a public toilet most days while some days you're either in a hotel or walking around a village or town all day so no van dumps while some days you're at the beach or camped in the mountains so 100% van dumps...okay that gets complicated...say in a year abroad you average 1/3 of your dumps in the portable toilet/bucket/etc. That's 365 x 2 poops a day x 2 people = 1,460/3 = 487 anticipated bowel movements to be captured by whatever portable receptacle you choose plus say you both pee in the middle of the night at least once per night and again whiz in the bucket at least once per day (WAY less than that for me but she's a bit prissy and small-bladdered) so that's 365 x 2 pees a day x 2 people = 1,460 so you have 487 poops plus 1,460 pees that's 1,947 uses I'd expect my toilet/bucket/etc to see in a year abroad.

Pretty good math, and no one would argue that the WAG bags aren't pricey, but for campers in the boonies, it's not quite as bad as your prediction, since you only pee into the bag to provide the liquid necessary to gel the poop. Number Ones by themselves don't require the bag and, indeed, you wouldn't want to waste the bag space. (Peeing 200+ feet from a water source/campsite/trail is considered a non-issue.) Also to take into consideration is that, depending on financial motivation or a higher tolerance of grossness, you can use the bag multiple times--the bag is good for up to 32 ounces of waste.

The Pack It Out movement is gathering momentum as the extent of the pollution and general nastiness has become a serious problem, and it started to get so you couldn't did a cathole without hitting another cathole at popular sites. There's also a growing sense that having individuals handle small amounts is better than having the NPS/NFS/BLM use everything from mules to helicopters to fetch it for them. Anyway, as the sign says, "If you're tough enough to climb Mt. Whitney, you're tough enough to pack out your poop."

If you're interested in a pretty comprehensive look at backcountry waste management details and strategies, check this link: http://www.trailspace.com/articles/backcountry-waste-disposal.html.

 

[mhiscox]

I feel better about the kitty litter treated bag in the dumpster, which winds up in a landfill, relatively dry, than I do about liquid slurry waste which, after flowing down a fancy porcelain bowl, begins making its way back towards someone's drinking water.

It's my last word on the subject--too old for a pissing contest (no pun intended)--but are you seriously suggesting that fecal waste dried out by kitty litter in a landfill is to be preferred to neutralization at a sewage treatment facility? Assuming you do, do you follow through with that approach by not using the toilets in your own home?

After you get an inch or 2 off the pavement, you will realize that there are lots of "correct" ways to dispose of waste.

That's not an opinion held by most people knowledgeable on the topic, including the people who make the rules about such things for backcountry recreational areas.

I realize this has not occurred to some people who have never had to go anywhere other than their own porcelain throne. Your provincialism is excused.

Not sure what I did to deserve that. I've been at this a good long while. Possibly, judging by post count and join date, longer than you.

Last week on the White Rim Trail:

 

[350outrage]

It's my last word on the subject--too old for a pissing contest (no pun intended)--but are you seriously suggesting that fecal waste dried out by kitty litter in a landfill is to be preferred to neutralization at a sewage treatment facility? Assuming you do, do you follow through with that approach by not using the toilets in your own home?



That's not an opinion held by most people knowledgeable on the topic, including the people who make the rules about such things for backcountry recreational areas.



Not sure what I did to deserve that. I've been at this a good long while. Possibly, judging by post count and join date, longer than you.

Last week on the White Rim Trail:

View attachment 253406

Yes, I use toilets at my home; they go to my septic system. So I guess you could say I'm consistent with what I said earlier. You must think there's some real magic they perform at these waste treatment plants. All they do is repeatedly aireate and settle the stuff, until the fc count decreases to an "acceptable level". Acceptable to whom? Would you drink the stuff? I wouldn't. Nevertheless, it is then summarily dumped into a handy river or lake. I'm not sure this is better than burying dried out waste, no I am not.

As for back country practices, I saw your earlier post promoting the pack-out of poop, and I must say, that's just Nasty! Bag of poop in the same pack as my food and water?! No thank you, sir. Everyone that I backpack with carries a scoop shovel and quick decomposing TP, and we've never had a problem with "cathole density" , nor with the "rulemakers" in the Public Lands. And what do you do with your bag of poop once you get home? Throw it away, unopened? Yup. Isn't that what you were chiding me about on the "dumpster" issue?

Finally, I will note that when you adopt a sarcastic tone in replying to someone's post (see yours to my first post), you should not be surprised to intercept a return barb. However, I apologise for not being strong enough to just let it go.

 

[mhiscox]

As for back country practices, I saw your earlier post promoting the pack-out of poop, and I must say, that's just Nasty! Bag of poop in the same pack as my food and water?! No thank you, sir.

Any Mt. Rainier/Mt. Hood/Mt. Whitney/Canyonlands Needles/etc. backcountry user want to take over here? I'm done.

 

[TripLeader]

Let's just agree to keep it out of the pool.

 

[350outrage]

Any Mt. Rainier/Mt. Hood/Mt. Whitney/Canyonlands Needles/etc. backcountry user want to take over here? I'm done.

Yes, I know packing it out is required in those places, and if there, I would of course follow the rules. (It's still Nasty!) Guess part of our differences is regional. Places I frequent are more sparsely populated. Enjoying nature is a little harder when you're in a crowd of thousands of other people.

 

[350outrage]

Let's just agree to keep it out of the pool.
View attachment 253444

I think I can go with that. :ylsmoke:

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: No problemo--

Hope everything comes out OK !

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[Railvan]

I've had a Thetford PortaPotty in my van for 8 years and love it. I use the tablet chemicals and it does not smell. Mine was the battery powered pump version but the pump died. I tried to find parts to replace it with a manual pump but couldn't figure out which pump to use. I now use a cup stashed in the recess on the side of the potty and just use water from the sink faucet to flush the toilet with. I didn't think I'd use the potty much before getting it, but I do use it a lot now... that I'm older...

 

[Toolman]

livin under the stars

 

[350outrage]

livin under the stars

Looks a little breezy, but should work! :sombrero:

 

[dcguillory]

nice one Toolman

 

[GR8ADV]

Guess part of our differences is regional.

It is soooo hard for me not to go there; so hard.

 

[Herbie]

I currently use the Thetford 135. It fits well between the front seats and I made a short wooden "box" for it. When in motion the box sits on top and turns it into a center console and gives me a way to strap everything down. When camping, the box goes underneath as a riser to make things more comfortable on the knees.

I have zero complaints about using or "servicing" the toilet. Emptying it at home or on the road is fast and simple. Having the toilet makes the difference between happy ladies and unhappy ones, and that's the difference between enjoying the trip, and not. It is also quite the luxury on those cold nights when I had one too many beers by the fire and don't want to have to dress and put on shoes at 2am...

My only current issue is that we're now a family of three, and the relatively small 2gallons of black storage are just barely enough for a long weekend of one dude and two ladies (where the ladies do all business in the toilet). I am considering upgrading to one of the Thetford units with a larger tank, but the fit betwixt the seats is much tighter.

 

[350outrage]

Regional, Indeed!

Well, hate to return to the "crappy" subject, but for those who are concerned about what to do with human solid waste, and more particularly those who thought I was a complete cretin for suggesting you can put it in a dumpster, please see www.rivcowm.org/opencms/landfill.../70760-HumanExcrement.pdf; Riverside County California guidelines for disposal of human excrement, which specifically provide that for "small quantities under 10 pounds" you "double bag and dispose of as routine refuse". If its in a liquid form, like from your RV holding tank, or Thetford liqui-john, you have to dispose of the waste in a specially designated receptacle. BTW, there are approximately 4 BILLION baby diapers disposed of in this way each year, and while this is not a happy fact, the articles I've seen indicate that the landfills are designed to cope with this type of waste. It's not illegal, or even improper, despite urban legend to the contrary. If you don't like it, go argue with the Folks down at Riverside County Waste Management Department, and with the approximately 10 MILLION mothers in this country who are using disposable diapers. If you still have any tail feathers left after you tell them they can't use disposable diapers anymore, then I'll mop up what's left of you!