I had planned on hauling up a load of dirty hay from the chicken coop to add to the compost pile but it was so frosty that the hay wasn't very movable and I have already broken the handle on one hay fork this winter so I left the hay alone and just made due when I went to empty the toilet bucket.
The Hunanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins is by far the best description if a low cost do it yourself compost toilet.
To briefly explain, below is a picture of my purple sawdust toilet. One side is where you "go" and the other side contains a bucket of sawdust to cover your shit.
When starting a new bucket you would add several inches of sawdust to start to absorb urine and then when you make a deposit into the toilet bucket you cover it up with sawdust, just like a cat.
I work at a grocery store and can come home with old newspapers that were going to be thrown away. I tear those up and use them as a cover material as well.
There is no odour, except the usual odour that we all make when we go and that dissipates just like with a flush toilet.
Today was washing out bucket day. Info admit that the process is quite a bit more difficult in the winter. From having to melt snow or use water left from washing dishes or laundry to wash out buckets. There has to be a little more planning than when the rain barrel is full
I have found it easiest to empty the buckets as we go and wash them all at once. Though I have several buckets that have gone snowbound that hopefully will surface shortly.
Another problem that I have run into each year is that I run out of space in the compost pile So making two new bins is definitely a priority this summer
Another issue with the compost pile in winter is that sometimes it freezes solid and sometimes you don't have enough cover material. I can't do much about it freezing solid but my supply of cover material gets more abundant each year.
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