Compost Toilet Trial Report - Ministry of Civil Defence and ...

4.8.4 Collection of waste material
For the trial all solid waste material was collected and disposed of at the Wellington
Southern Landfill. In the pre and post-surveys participants were asked about preferred
methods of waste disposal in an emergency, either stored for waste collection or used
as compost (Graph 4.9).
Graph 4.9: Comparison of emergency toilet preferences, both in the long and short term
Prior to the trial most people preferred that the waste would be stored for waste
collection, however by the end of the trial the majority of respondents would have
been willing to use the material as compost. In an emergency this means that the
material actually collected may be much less than generated with households
becoming accustomed to the idea of handling their own faecal material.
Comments in the survey results (Appendix 10) showed that participants would want
clear guidance on how to compost this material and be able to use it safely.
Many users of a compost toilet may compost and use the waste material generated,
even if initially against the idea. In an emergency clear guidance on how to do this
safely is required.
4.8.5 Emergency toilet preferences
Participants were asked to rank four possible emergency toilet options (compost toilet,
chemical toilet, port-a-loo or burying waste in plastic bags in their own garden) from
most to least preferred, in both the short term (1- 2 weeks) and longer term (up to 3
months). Graphs 4.10 – 4.16 show the findings of these surveys with compost toilets
as the preferred emergency toilet option for both the short and long term.
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