I'm starting the deisgn of my new 100% off the grid home. I have many systems to work out. My land is at 11,200' in Colorado! so things can not be done as normal but I want them to appear as they are normal to any visitors.

One of the systems I need to work on is the waste system. Obliviously a traditional toilet system wont do. for one water is going to be one of the limiting factors. I have a few plans to remedy this. I have been looking into composting systems. One of the things that worries me is the lack of water. I was hopping to have a small amount of water move waste from the two bathroom locations in the home to a central composting tank near the green house about 15 yards from the house.

Does any one know of a hybrid composting toilet system that may work.

Flushing water will be water that is collected from snowmelt, river water trucked to the house and filtered gray water from the sink, shower, dishwasher, washing machine...

I'm building a green house with the premise of not compromising on current living standards. I believe its when things change to radically that people are turned off to the green life.

I suspect that filtered grey water would work fine (both cleanliness and quantity) for a standard toilet. So it's not clear to me that an otherwise traditional toilet + septic system isn't appropriate.

I am trying for something similar in New Hampshire. I have property that won't allow for a normal septic tank or well, the biggest problem for me is an affordable alternative to a septic tank. What are you using for potable water?

Posted By NH_Derek on 13 Jul 2014 08:05 PM
I am trying for something similar in New Hampshire. I have property that won't allow for a normal septic tank or well, the biggest problem for me is an affordable alternative to a septic tank. What are you using for potable water?

For potable water I'm using two different systems. A gravity fed zero loss RO system that will filter river water I truck up as needed and an atmospheric water generator that runs when there is an excess of power. In the winter months a wind generator will be coupled to heating elements to melt snow.. Being that this will be a weekend home until I retire the system will have plenty of time to build up a reserve.

But any ways the area I'm building in has low soil. Mostly rock. So a septic system is out. Plus I really want to use the compost for the green house.

NH Derek
You might check out Clean Solutions, based in Canterbury NH - they have developed a system which will work with a tiny leach field.

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Posted By Bob I on 14 Jul 2014 08:03 AM
NH Derek
You might check out Clean Solutions, based in Canterbury NH - they have developed a system which will work with a tiny leach field.
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Interesting! I wonder about finding a way to intercept the solids, process and reuse the liquid. I want/need to build a system that wastes as little water as possible. It's ok if it uses water so long as it doesn't just dump it.

Sorry; had the name wrong - it is Clean Solution. Here's the website:

http://www.thecleansolution.com/

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Posted By Bob I on 14 Jul 2014 08:56 AM
Sorry; had the name wrong - it is Clean Solution. Here's the website:

http://www.thecleansolution.com/
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Yeah I found it. I like how well it cleans ups. I just want to go a few steps further and take care of the solid waste and use the liquid for flushing again.

RO wastes a lot of water and usually filtration + chlorine are all you need.

My understanding is that aerated septic systems produce pretty clean water - that might open up some options for disposing of the output.

Posted By jonr on 14 Jul 2014 12:48 PM
RO wastes a lot of water and usually filtration + chlorine are all you need.

My understanding is that aerated septic systems produce pretty clean water - that might open up some options for disposing of the output.

Not a big fan of chlorine, plus that would be another supply i would have to buy and and I'm trying to become more self sufficient not more reliant on chemicals.

Also they now have developed a lossless RO system. I've worked with large commercial RO systems in the past and there are ways to use that output until the concentration of contaminants gets to high and then its dumped. Even the dumped water can be used.

For example I'm trucking up River water to use when I am unable to produce enough from other collection means. If the RO system waste 75% (High for large high pressure RO systems) then for every 10 Gallon I run threw the system I will get 2.5 Gallons of Drinking water and 7.5 gallons of water that I could filter for use in the toilet, green house, or even my fire protection system. My goal is to only bring up supplies to replace stuff I can not make, recycle or reuse my self.

Both of my grandmothers had chamber pots, outhouses and wells. Now that is a small eco footprint.

The Swiss lived in the mountains (in summer) for a few thousand years. New mountains like yours were not inhabited year round and now we know the reason.

You might start with the Colorado plumbing code and the DNR for what is acceptable and narrow the possibilities.

http://water.state.co.us/SURFACEWATER/SWRIGHTS/Pages/RainwaterGraywater.aspx

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Posted By BadgerBoilerMN on 14 Jul 2014 02:50 PM
Both of my grandmothers had chamber pots, outhouses and wells. Now that is a small eco footprint.

The Swiss lived in the mountains (in summer) for a few thousand years. New mountains like yours were not inhabited year round and now we know the reason.

You might start with the Colorado plumbing code and the DNR for what is acceptable and narrow the possibilities.

http://water.state.co.us/SURFACEWATER/SWRIGHTS/Pages/RainwaterGraywater.aspx
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Yeah, I won't be doing chamber pots. The idea is to maintain the standard of living not regress a 1000 years. I know I could do a standard system but It would be extremely wasteful. As for the building codes... Would take an inspector on a 4wheeler to even get to the house. So building codes be damned. I'll be going above and beyond them any how.

There is a reason why life expectancy was 30 years old in years past. One of those reasons was waste sanitation. No point in trying to reinvent the wheel. Septics are tried and true. Septics work and don't require much maintenance. Alternative septics also work but require power and more maintenance.

Codes exist for a reason. You could do more damage to the environment by dumping raw waste into the soil or polluting water supplies.

What will you do for internet access?

Posted By Lbear on 14 Jul 2014 06:09 PM
There is a reason why life expectancy was 30 years old in years past. One of those reasons was waste sanitation. No point in trying to reinvent the wheel. Septics are tried and true. Septics work and don't require much maintenance. Alternative septics also work but require power and more maintenance.

Codes exist for a reason. You could do more damage to the environment by dumping raw waste into the soil or polluting water supplies.

What will you do for internet access?

Its not that I'm going to short cut the sanitation of the water, the opposite in fact. The ground where Im building will have a hard time accepeting a leach field. the slope of the hill. the altitude. the frost line.... every thing makes doing an exterior leach field very hard. And Point in fact the water I will be drinking will be far purer that that of most peoples tap water. No trace element, no heavy metals, no chlorine...

Codes exist become people did/do little to no research, and above all try to cut corners to save on the all mighty dollar. On top of that they exist to give inspectors a job and a way for the local municipalities to keep tabs on its people. Please explain how having plugs every 24" on my counter is going to make or break my house? I will be far exceeding my local code requirements in every way. I've built a great many homes and have seen inspectors worry about the dumbest stuff and pass right over the stuff that really maters. My GF worked in a planning dept and watch them collect money for reviewing plans and spend all of 15 min on it.... Ill pass on giving them money when that money could be better spent on making my home far more efficient!

1. I will not be dumping ANY waste into the soil... nearly 100% of it will be cleaned for every ounce of nutrients it contains. These will used in the my next phase. my bio reactor used to make alage bio diesel for the back up power for the home.. but this is for a different topic. All the solid waste and water will be used to its fullest before the purest form of it will be returned to the environment.
2. One of the problems of doing a traditional septic tank is getting the waste truck in, Being that you need either an extremely off road ready 4x4 truck or an ATV... I just don't see it happening. Heck, To get my building materials in I have to wait until winter and will be towing my Batch Concetrete mixer, raw materials and other building supplies in behind my Piston Bully 400 Snowcat! :) No damage to the vegetation with 15' of snow on the ground!

3. I have a long range GeoSynced WiFi network to the town I currently live in. I own a small home here and will be bouncing the high speed network off two 5 GHz dish antennas almost 25 miles, The other antennas are on buddies land :)

Since I also plan on using a composting toilet, is there a way I can avoid the high costs of a septic system ? I am currently looking into this https://www.thenaturalhome.com/greywaterdrywell.htm

Posted By NH_Derek on 15 Jul 2014 05:30 AM
Since I also plan on using a composting toilet, is there a way I can avoid the high costs of a septic system ? I am currently looking into this https://www.thenaturalhome.com/greywaterdrywell.htm

Bob I post this link earlier. You should check it out. The Clean Solution

The issue is whether the STATE will go along with it. There are strict rules in NH regulating septic. Follow them. A septic designer might know or you. An call or visit NH DES SUBSURFACE. Good people there.

Posted By BadgerBoilerMN on 14 Jul 2014 02:50 PM


http://water.state.co.us/SURFACEWATER/SWRIGHTS/Pages/RainwaterGraywater.aspx

I just saw this link. Here's the funny thing, This seams to only be enforced on the front range of Colorado. Where I live, lets just call it a mountain town. and not a small one mind you. People have pumps next to a river and use it for every thing from washing their cars to watering their laws. Even saw some one use for a water slide. At this point the building depts are so underfunded they can barley police the town. The inspectors are a joke. They only enforces the sections of the building codes they can remember from last night reading of the IBC..... so not much! its a joke! I've break out laughing every time i hear the guy say "I just read this last night".

Heck the website link you gave me wont even load. I've actually been in contact with a few of Colorado Environmental Sciences and Green Building Professors at a few of the major universities and they say the same thing. Its time to try new things and develop new low waste systems, learn how to reuse more in the home and slap the committee members in the face when they try to tell us it their way or no way! Seen too many building dept's destroy what would have been an awesomely green home build, simply because they didn't get it and it was too much work for them to understand how it actually worked. In the end we did it their way. as soon as they where gone we swapped it out and damn if things didn't work good! 

Check out the new solar toilet invented over in Boulder a few months ago. Composting toilets or dry toilets work very well too!