HOW TO USE A BAMBOOLOO™
New to the world of Composting Toilets? Here are some simple to follow instructions on how to use our hand-crafted Bambooloo™ system.
The Bambooloo™ itself is a commode used to temporarily store human excreta before it is transported into an onsite Secondary Treatment System for composting and maturation.
Here is how to use your Bambooloo™:
- Line the bucket with a compostable bag
- Place a 50mm layer of carbon-based cover material in the base of the lined bucket
- Use the toilet to do your business
- After placing toilet paper into the bucket, wet it out with 3 sprays of BBL Tamper Spray
- Cover your business with cover material: 1 scoop after a pee, 2 scoops after a poo
- Use the toilet (repeating steps 3-5) until the bucket is 3/4 full
- Once the bucket is 3/4 full, put a layer of cover material over the mass
- Add 1L of water
- Tie your compostable bag in a knot
- Take the bag out to your Secondary Treatment System
- Repeat steps 1-10
You will need to set up an onsite Secondary Treatment System in which the contents of your compostable bags will be able to compost and mature prior to burial.
Recommended Cover Material
The key to humanure composting is striking the right balance of carbon/nitrogen ratio – just like with regular composting, this should be 25-30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen. In humanure composting, nitrogen comes from human excreta, and carbon is added in the form of cover material.
It is recommended you use a mixture of wood shavings and coco peat as cover material for the Bambooloo™ system. You can mix these in different ratios (refer to table below), but our recommended ratio is 50/50, which allows for optimum moisture retention within the toilet. Coco peat must be wetted out with water first, opening its cellular structure and increasing its ability to absorb moisture. The shavings should be untreated, and ideally from a species of tree that breaks down quickly (e.g. pine), rather than from one that is resistant to decay (e.g. cedar).
It’s difficult to add too much carbon to the system. If at any time you have problems with odour in your Bambooloo™, this is an indication that you are not using enough cover material. Bambooloo™ operation should be odourless.
