Hi All,

Another user asked me what composting was so I have written a brief overview of composting basics. Please feel free to add your comments and suggestions as I'm still learning myself.

We have been composting for many thousand years and will be composting for many years to come.

I personally believe that even dumping on the ground surface is not a wise move for even grey water but too dispose of the waste as the NFS suggests (demands), bury your waste 200ft from a potable water source.

Vinegar used at 1cup/25gal black water disolves all solids and TP (non-colored TP, septic safe) in approx 48hrs, depending on the temperature. That waste can be safely composted in a pit. This is the first stage of composting.

I would never like to see anyone dump raw sewage on top of the ground as it's just not sanitary to do so and can take a couple years to self compost.

That being said:
One topic that has not been brought up is composting waste.

Composting takes:

(3parts) carbon (wood, leafs, toliet paper, newspaper, wheat straw. etc) Also called "browns"

(1part) nitrogen (manure, human or animal it don't matter, hay, vegetable scraps, or other nitrogen source) Also called "greens"

Water (enough water that it will slightly drip when squeezed in your fist in a earth ball)

Oxygen (as much as it can get, as in turning the pile)

This makes excellant plant food. Composting has been used for many thousand years and works well.

If I hold my waste longer than a week then I add one cup vinegar for odor control. This method also works well for cleaning tank sensors.

Bleach/chorline will kill the good bacteria used for composting.

I returned from a trip to the same spot I camped in July and August, 2003 for 6weeks.

While there I dug a compost pit where I dumped my grey/blackwater for the 6wks. I then added wood fibers, leafs, and evergreen needles (for odor control until the compost process took over) and a lite cover of earth.

My compost pit: 36"L X 14"W X 14"D to handle 35gal black, 45gal grey, table scraps (what the dog won't eat), in heavy clay soil (hardest to compost in). Pit composting is twice as hard too do as a above ground compost pile as it's hard to control the ingredient balance.

Once composting starts, about a week (temperature dependent), then there is no odor "if" the compost pile is balanced with the above 4 ingredients. After each dump I once again added the same ingredients. When done, I buried my "pit" with the earth removed.

If the compost pile has a odor other than a "earth smell", an ingredient is not in balance, most likely a lack of "browns"!

When I returned, I once again used the same compost pit that I had used 2mths earlier. What I found was a very nice compost pile of rich compost (plant food).

What was not completely thru the compost stage was, a single cornhusk leaf (we ate fresh corn every day), a piece of onion peal (that was strange), a piece of toilet paper, a evergreen limb (takes about 6mths to compost large diameter limbs, 1/4"), lots of earth worms.

Thats is about 6wks between the first time I used my compost pit and when I reopened the same compost pit. Now I can compost my garden scraps in 30days at home but I had never checked on an area where I had dumped my tanks at, so I was impressed with the results.

If you would dig in the same compost pit next spring, there would be no signs of any type of waste had ever being dumped there.

Septic systems also work on the composting priciple.

There's much more too understanding the compost process than I wrote here but it's just pretty simple to do as I discribed above.

One note: I have not used commerical toilet chemicals in my tanks for the past 18yrs. I do use 1cup of vinegar per 25gal black/grey as this starts the composting process by disloving the solids and TP in 48hrs (depending on the temperature) and keeps the odor away.

I sure wish it was manatory that all school childeren had to be taught basic composting and how to grow a garden. To me that sure would help with the new generation thinking of how to help our enviorment stay clean.

(Edit) I didn't think we'd have to mention discharging gray water in a developed camp ground, which LTVA is considered, as discharging gray water on the ground has been illegal since the mid 1960's. Black water discharge has never been allowed in any Federal developed camp ground.

Composting pits can only be used on "most" Federal, includes BLM and National Parks, and State lands in non-developed camping areas.

There are some areas, both Federal & State, that require "all" waste to be packed out, requardless of camping method and includes some "day use" only areas.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: T_Bone,

For those who for whatever reason don't want to do the full septic system thing, how about this...

The use of outdoor potted plants could take some of the waste water generated by things like doing dishes without being an offense to anyone.

Whether one would use water such as that used in bathing may be more questionable, though if done in extreme conservation mode, may not be a large quantity of water to deal with.

We have a 49 gallon black tank hooked up only to the toilet. If we don't go overboard with extra water when we flush, that tank is capable of lasting a month without much ado, probably considerably longer if we were to make an effort to "go" when we're in other public kinds of places.

Just a thought...

Brian

T-Bone - Do you use Balsamic vinegar, red / white wine vinegars, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar or plain distilled vinegar?

Hi Brian,

In reading the NF rule, it just doesn't give any lee way to gray water or black water difference and appears to be treated the same requardless, bury your waste.

I've had NF Park rangers check on my "pits" while I'm at camp as well as when I've been gone for the day without any comments.

We're in the process of building new home. I'm planning on a seperate 500gal two chamber gray water tank for irrigation just like what your thinking.

I want the two chamber tank as I want to start the compost action in the first chamber that spills over into the pumping chamber(filter) as I want the fertilizer benefit of the process for plant food while we water.

Hi ogaddcb,

I use cheap white vinegar. I've also tried apple cider without any difference so that led me to believe it doesn't matter on the type of vinegar???

Just be sure of the rules, fines can be pretty stiff if the ranger doesn't see things your way and a lot of places don't allow any waste disposal solid or liquid.

Hi Stan,

You can find the NF rule easy as it's listed under National Parks section.

I see that I was editing my post as you were making your comments