Disposal of human waste while camping

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DavidB4350

New Member
I've arrived on this forum by browsing to try to find what are the rules for disposing of human waste that was bagged while camping.
If you have a chemical toilet apparently you must dispose of the waste at a 'dump point'.
Bagged human waste in biodegradable can be dumped in deep pit toilets (if you can find one).
After lengthy internet research we think we like the idea of double bagging; clean, less smell etc.
But I cannot find anywhere if it is actually appropriate to dispose of this bagged waste in a general waste bin.
Do I just bring it back to town with me and chuck it in the garbage?
Some products suggest that you might be able to do this if you bagged it along with a disinfectant chemical. But are they just trying to sell me their product?
There is a great post on this forum going back to 2011 about everything else to do with camping and toileting but it does not answer that final question.
Any comments gratefully accepted.
 
callmejoe

callmejoe

Well-Known Member
Personally if your going to all the trouble to "bag" it. I'd go a proper camping loo like therford 145 etc. (2 people 4 days use )
1. Its in a solid case so no breaking of a plastic bag. Me personally transporting something with the potential to break..... No thanks.
2. They seal well so no smell.
3. You can use A. Standard Chemicals that break down down everything so its pretty much just a liquid form by the time you want to dump it. B. "Green" break down stuff. It does work but is less effective in hot temperatures.
If using standard chemical stuff it can be tipped down yr loo at home. (WARNING BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SPILL).
If using the green stuff you "could" use a long drop of dig a hole for disposal.
Depending on what state your in if you actually research toilet drop you may find 1 near you...

There is a older thread on portable loos as well somewhere in here which might also help picking 1 on them if you go that way.
 
hiluxdriver

hiluxdriver

Well-Known Member
Hi David and welcome to the forum.
No chance would I be bagging it and carrying it around, but if you have to bag it - walk 50m from a track, 50m from a water source, dig a hole, put your bag in and fill it in. I would think that would be acceptable.
 
Hoyks

Hoyks

Well-Known Member
If using a bag, then bag it and chuck it in the general waste.
Its what everyone does with nappies and I'm sure what comes out of babies is more toxic that what comes out of most humans;).

I use a portable toilet and sodium percarbonate (cheap Aldi laundry whitener/sanitiser as its more concentrated than the more expensive NAPPY SANitiser). It breaks down to oxygen and salt water, so you can dig a hole and dump it in the bush or use the designated dump point.
 
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Albynsw

Albynsw

Well-Known Member
As Tink said, it is not environmentally friendly burying a bag.

What is wrong with using the shovel method? No different to what the native animals are doing except they don't have a shovel
 
Swaggie

Swaggie

Moderator
I've never used my portable loo because I'm scared of spillage in the back of the vehicle..:eek::eek:
So I bought a Jimmies Thunderbox and take a post hole digger..Bugger carrying shit about...

Thunderbox seals from flies etc, I use enviro bags as lining in the inside, remove Thunderbox and fill with dirt and possibly a rock on top etc..
 
stevemc181

stevemc181

Well-Known Member
The compostable bags (Compostapak) we use with our Jimmy's thunderbox are made from Corn and will be 99% composted within 45days if we bury them. We usually dig a hole and burn the waste, we've found way too many remnants in our travels of animals digging up human waste and then the poo tickets get scattered everywhere. Some of the holes we came across on our last trip across the Madigan were buried quite deep, but they had still been dug up and the contents scattered far and wide. This has prompted us to add a little fuel and burn it in a hole. Not ideal either, but better than having poo tickets for miles through the desert. I am reluctant to throw the bags into a bin, but have done this (double bagged) from time to time if we can't find a suitable spot to bury and burn them. We have also thrown the bags down into a long drop, I don't see any issue with this using the corn bags. We use the same bags for our kitchen scraps at home and throw the whole lot in the worm farm.

We are usually on the move each day and if the ground where we are camped is too hard to dig, I'll just throw the waste bag into the spare tyre rubbish bin and find a soft spot along the way to bury and burn it. We've got a portaloo also, but we're reluctant to take it with us after the last time I forget to empty it and it sat in a camper trailer in 40° heat for 4 days! Dry retching was the order of the day!
 
cam04

cam04

Well-Known Member
stevemc181 said:
The compostable bags (Compostapak) we use with our Jimmy's thunderbox are made from Corn and will be 99% composted within 45days if we bury them. We usually dig a hole and burn the waste, we've found way too many remnants in our travels of animals digging up human waste and then the poo tickets get scattered everywhere. Some of the holes we came across on our last trip across the Madigan were buried quite deep, but they had still been dug up and the contents scattered far and wide. This has prompted us to add a little fuel and burn it in a hole. Not ideal either, but better than having poo tickets for miles through the desert. I am reluctant to throw the bags into a bin, but have done this (double bagged) from time to time if we can't find a suitable spot to bury and burn them. We have also thrown the bags down into a long drop, I don't see any issue with this using the corn bags. We use the same bags for our kitchen scraps at home and throw the whole lot in the worm farm.

We are usually on the move each day and if the ground where we are camped is too hard to dig, I'll just throw the waste bag into the spare tyre rubbish bin and find a soft spot along the way to bury and burn it. We've got a portaloo also, but we're reluctant to take it with us after the last time I forget to empty it and it sat in a camper trailer in 40° heat for 4 days! Dry retching was the order of the day!
Click to expand...


Isn't leaving crap in a portaloo for 4 days what it's all about? Maybe I'm missing something. We get a week out of ours no probs with laundry soaker as the active ingredient. We crossed the Simpson with it, no problem. Last trip the loo bounced it's way back across the Woralie Rd on Fraser Island to the refuse station. Not a drop spilled, no holes dug. The island has had sand spears banned now because of thousands of people digging holes and crapping in them and ruining the water table. Leave me out of crapping in a bag and carting it around then setting fire to it, but I get why you do it. I have a genuine interest in people taking their refuse with them, and believe that we all should. Humans are a scourge and the more we lighten our footprint the better IMHO.
 
stevemc181

stevemc181

Well-Known Member
cam04 said:
Isn't leaving crap in a portaloo for 4 days what it's all about? Maybe I'm missing something. We get a week out of ours no probs with laundry soaker as the active ingredient.
Click to expand...

That was for four days in a sealed camper in 40° heat after we had already used it for the previous 4 days, it wasn't a pleasant experience.
 
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