St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada

No stink about composting toilets

New composting toilets continue to be installed on park islands. By the end of 2009, the park intends to replace all of the old pit privies with these environmentally-friendly toilets.
© Parks Canada

No one’s making a stink about the new composting toilets—and they’re not making a stink either!

The new toilets are also environmentally friendly and cost much less to maintain than the old privies.

The biggest savings are in maintenance time.  The old privies had to be emptied of their smelly waste sludge at the end of each summer—a time- consuming process that also had environmental risks in the transportation of large quantities of raw sewage across the river.  The modern composting toilets have a much better solution.

Human waste is broken down by living organisms (worms and other invertebrates) just like food is decomposed in a home composter.  Park staff periodically add wood chips to the toilets to keep the waste from becoming compacted.

The end product, collected every month or so, is clean soil that is spread through the forest like fertilizer.  It’s a win-win situation!  No stink, less cost, and good for the environment.

To help the toilets work most efficiently, please:

• Close the lid.  This allows the ventilation system to provide the air required to decompose the waste to humus and also eliminates odour
• Do not put the following into the toilets:
  • cigarettes or matches
  • bottles, cans, or plastic
  • disposable diapers
  • garbage
  • chemical toilet disposal