As most homeowners realize, there is always a new or up and coming trend for household supplies and materials.
The composting toilet is something that is starting to gain quite a bit of popularity.
It is really no wonder that the composting toilet is becoming so popular.
There are a lot of great things about a system like this.
Of course, as with all great things, there is almost always a downside.
The downside in this situation is going to be the price.
Composting toilets come at a much higher price than a traditional toilet, and it’s a good idea to understand why that is.
Why Are Composting Toilets So Expensive?
1. Low Ongoing Costs
Although the price of the composting toilet is going to be quite high, your ongoing costs are low.
Since the ongoing costs should be the more critical thought for a consumer, this is an essential factor to consider.
It is much easier to maintain a composting toilet system than to deal with an entire plumbing system in a home.
Over time, plumbing systems are going to start to deteriorate, and they will need to have expensive repairs done.
Composting toilets do not need the same level of maintenance, and they will be very cheap to operate.
These systems also use considerably less water, so your overall water bill should be quite a bit lower as well.
This certainly helps to encourage those who may be leery of installing a composting system because of its initial cost.
If you can get through it, you will be glad you did.
However, for some people, the initial cost can be a reason not to install one of these systems.
2. Better for the Environment
A composting toilet is much better for the environment than a traditional toilet.
In fact, many humans have no idea of the impact traditional toilets have on our environment.
With the way people use bathrooms, we waste an extreme amount of water on a daily basis.
Although waste is a touchy subject and it does need to be handled in a very specific way, there is really no reason for us to waste as much water as we do.
A composting toilet is much better for the environment, and unfortunately, in this day and age, this makes it more expensive.
If you look at any of the products built to improve the health of our environment, they are priced higher.
Think about the cost of adding solar panels or the price of an electric car compared to a gas car.
These environmentally friendly products have not entirely made their way to the financially reasonable category quite yet.
This probably has quite a bit to do with the fact that many people are looking to save money, and they care more about that than the future of the environment.
For some, it is just a complete unawareness of the amount of water that is wasted on a daily basis.
We hope that, over time, products that are indeed better for the environment will start to drop in price, but that has not happened yet.
The good news about the composting toilet is that, even though it has a high upfront cost, the long-term costs are going to be a bit easier to handle.
If you care about the environment and the wasting of water, the higher upfront costs could very well be worth it.
3. Low Maintenance
Aside from the fact that you will need to remove the final composted product from the toilet, the rest of the process is quite low maintenance.
In fact, most people find that they have fewer issues with their composting toilet than they do with a standard toilet.
You will have to prepare yourself to deal with a certain amount of human waste product, but outside of that, the maintenance is not difficult.
In fact, some people make their own composting toilets.
This should prove to you that the overall workings and upkeep of a composting toilet are not terribly complicated.
Sometimes, when a product is easier to take care of, there will be higher upfront costs.
Manufacturers know that you will need less help and have fewer product purchases in the near future.
This increases the cost of the initial product that you buy.
4. Trendy
Composting toilets are becoming trendy and popular.
They are not quite what they once were, and some homes are having entire systems involved which help to cut down on kitchen waste as well.
As soon as a product starts to gain some attention and appeal from consumers, the pricing usually continues to go up.
Not until the product becomes mainstream does the pricing start to drop.
One thing which has led to the composting toilet becoming a bit trendier is that the designs are starting to look better.
If you haven’t noticed, a toilet is becoming just as important as a sofa in a home.
If you want your home to have a high-end designer look, it is important to look at the toilet you have and see if it is helping to elevate the look of your home.
In years past, this was very difficult to do with a traditional composting toilet.
However, they are now starting to look a bit better than they did in the past.
With more and more people paying attention to the environment and the fact that it is getting cool to be green, composting toilets are a great choice, even with the higher price.
5. Design
To get a composting toilet system to function properly, there needs to be a bit of time put into the design.
If the design is not right, the toilet may not flush properly, and you will end up with odor or even bacteria issues.
A few things will go into the design of a composting toilet and the systems that go along with it.
If you don’t have these things worked out prior to installation, this process will not work.
People who design composting toilets need to understand quite a bit about science.
In fact, their level of understanding has to be a bit higher than that of those who design traditional toilets.
Since there is a bit of science involved here and some issues which could lead to dangerous situations for the users, great designers are very important.
Of course, as soon as you consider a product to have a great design, the pricing is going to increase quite a bit as well.
With the composting toilets, you will pay for the better design, but in the end, you will be glad that you have invested in a better design.
6. Can Be Hooked Up to Work with a Solar Panel
Another great thing about composting toilets is that they can be hooked up to work with solar panels.
This means that you won’t even need electricity to get one to work.
When you add this factor in, you will very likely increase the cost that you are going to pay for one of these toilets.
This has everything to do with the fact that solar energy, renewable resources, and good things for the environment are more expensive.
Essentially, if you show that you can afford to pay for solar panels and composting toilets, manufacturers will assume you have discretionary income.
Another thing that makes the solar panel hookup cost even more money is that it is a problem solving solution.
Many people think of composting toilets as being a great way to save the environment, but they are also known for solving issues where there is no power or plumbing system.
For areas with no connection to sewage, a composting toilet with a solar panel can get a house to truly be entirely off the grid.
These situations make people self-sustainable, and therefore, the pricing will be a bit higher.
It’s almost as if you need to pay your dues on the way off the grid.
Once you are off, though, your overall maintenance and upkeep costs are going to be quite a bit lower.
7. Saves on Water
When you pay your water bill every month, have you ever considered how much of it is literally being flushed down the drain?
So much of the water we pay for and use is wasted.
This is a very frustrating thing when you consider the financial impacts but also the environmental effects.
Next time you get your water bill, you can calculate that about 25% of that bill is going to be from flushing toilets.
If your water bill is $100 total, that means that $25 of it was flushed down the toilet.
This is quite a bit of water and quite a bit of money to waste month after month and year after year.
If you have a way to spend a bit less, you can help justify the costs of the composting toilet you put in.
There are guidelines in place to help ensure that new toilets brought to the market are more efficient, but older toilets can waste up to seven gallons per flush.
Certainly, many homes still have an older toilet in place and are going through lots of wasted water each day.
If you were to flush a toilet about five times a day, that would result in close to 2500 gallons of water a year.
Multiply that number by the number of people living in our world, and it starts to get a bit disheartening.
With a composting toilet, you are not going to have these same concerns.
Of course, with the technology and design necessary to get these toilets to work properly, you will have to pay a higher upfront cost.
In the long run, you will, however, save quite a bit of money on the total that you pay on your water bill each year.
Certain areas of the country have a very high cost for water.
This means that you can make up your investment quite quickly.
8. Centralized Systems Require Design and Configuration
If you are going to go for the composting toilet setup, you probably want to consider a centralized system.
A centralized system is going to cost more money than the self-contained unit, but in the end, this is a much easier option to work with.
With a centralized system, you will notice that the toilet functions almost as if it were a regular toilet.
You will see that all of the waste for the home collects in one central location in the basement, where it goes through the system to eventually become compost.
This system would include waste from all bathrooms and from the kitchen as well.
Truly, it is a whole home composting system.
The problem with this, however, is that you will need to have a complete system with the proper pipes and the proper attention to pH and other byproducts.
If you don’t set this up correctly, the entire process will not work, and you will have quite a bit of maintenance on your hands.
Of course, the problem with setting up a perfect composting toilet system is that you will have to pay for it.
9. Problem-Solving Device
A composting toilet can be a problem-solving device.
Sometimes some homes are located away from sewer systems, and the only option is a self-composting toilet.
You will notice this quite often with a person who builds a tiny home in a remote area.
There will be no sewer lines for the home to tap into, and most of the time, these homes will move from one location to another.
Therefore, putting in a complete plumbing system is not going to make much sense.
In addition, the self-composting system can work for homes that have plumbing in the downstairs of the house which may not run to the upstairs.
Essentially, the composting toilet can be a problem-solving device.
If you are trying to solve a problem, whether it be logistics or environmental, composting toilets can truly make a difference.
The upfront cost is higher, but when your situation warrants a product like this, it is going to be hard to complain.
10. Soil Byproducts
How many toilets out there give you a product that you can use?
This is probably the most crucial benefit of composting toilets, and it certainly increases the price that you pay for them.
This type of toilet produces a soil byproduct that can be used in your yard.
If you have ever tried composting before, this is essentially the same thing.
The composting toilet systems will take everything, from old banana peels to human waste, and create soil that you can use for gardening in your own yard.
If you are unsure of how beneficial this is, it is worth taking a look at the price of a great soil bag from your local garden center.
The pricing is quite high, and some will argue that the product is not quite as good.
You will have a bit more to deal with than when you work with a regular toilet.
However, for most people who have been in the composting game for a while, they will tell you that the process is simple and worth it.
The fact that the composting toilet eliminates waste and turns it into something useable is a major reason it is so expensive.
The price you pay will undoubtedly pay off when you can essentially recycle your waste to make your yard grow better than it ever has.
Are Composting Toilets Worth It?
We have certainly established the fact that composting toilets come at a cost.
The decision most people are left with is whether or not these toilets are worth it.
This will undoubtedly be a personal decision that will come down to how often you will use it and how you will benefit from its functionality.
If you have a remote cabin in the woods, you may not even need to make this decision as you will likely have no other choice than self-composting.
However, if you plan to change your entire home system over to be more environmentally friendly, there are some tough financial decisions to make.
The best advice we have is to try and look at the long-term costs in addition to the upfront costs so that you can understand the true financial impact of this decision.
Leave a Reply