Toilets, Episode IV: A New Hope

If composting and remote propane combustion isn't your bag, then an incinerating toilet is another option. This is the Cinderella toilet from an earlier post, and with Cinderella here is Johan, the helpful gentleman I spoke to a few weeks ago.

This really is the way to go; you simply place a paper cone (like a big coffee filter) into the bowl, sit down, do your business, and press flush. The cone slides down into a big combustion chamber, which is over 600°F (I think it's F, maybe it's C??).

Anyways, temperatures that hot will turn the waste to ash quickly, with little smell, and no handling of any poop. Plus there's no need for any tanks or plumbing, only a vent tube and an electric outlet is needed. It's all self-contained.

Here's the money shot, me on Cinderella's throne. The photo was Johan's idea.

Plusses: No waste handling, no tanks, no muss, no fuss. Can handle lots of waste in a short time if you have visitors for, say, a long weekend. No need for maintenance when not being used. Easy to install and use. No direct exposure to poop.

Minuses: Cost is 28,000 kronor, which is a lot no matter what the exchange rate does. You have to remember to use a paper filter every single time, it gets nasty without one. Also, 600°F (or 600°C) is pretty damned hot. And it has a lot of electronics; if there's a power outage or a electrical problem, then you're [insert joke here]!

But still, you can tell which way I'm leaning with this decision.