Always check with your own council concerning planning permission before siting a compost toilet: They are mobile structures and generally do not need planning permission as they generally fall within permitted development rights, but each county or district has variations when it comes siting buildings which are mobile, or with a degree of permanence, such as a wee hoose.

 

Necessary use/need

​

Compost toilets are necessary and needed for the enjoyment of your land; they're ecological, environmentally friendly, and necessary to relieve oneself whilst enjoying the use of your land; or are working on the land, and improve the local environment without the pollution like normal loos or need for reliance on local infrastructure. 

​

Liquids

​

Soakaways

​

If you use a soak-away then it needs to be no closer than 10 meters from any watercourse and no closer than 50 meters to any water borehole or spring. You must also be mindful of flood plains, slopes, and the water table. You can safely discharge and self-certify your compost loo with an output of up to 10 litres of liquid per day in to the land without and issue from the Environmental Agencies. 

 

If you are emptying the urine directly on to the land at a rate of less than 10 litres per day it can used around shrubs and trees, but be mindful of the water table and wells. Diluted with water it makes a great fertilizer.

​

Solids

​

Your composting loo material; solids and sawdust mixture, if it is linked to a household, can be used on your own land with no permissions required.

​

There are no "waste" products involved in the process of using a compost toilet and no sewage to be handled or collected by an agency. Sewage is mixture of urine faeces and polluted waste water which needs a specialist agency to deal with. 

 

Business Use

 

If the compost loo is linked to a business then you may need to check your local regulations via your local council or Environmental Agency. There may be a need to see that the loo contents (minus the person inside using it)  are being composted responsibly.

 

A compost area must not cause nitrogen run off to vent in to ditches or watercourses much in the same way urine should be monitored when siting a soakaway; 10m from a watercourse and 50m from a well.

​

Please click the PDFs for basic information on the treatment and disposal of wastewater where there is no connection to the public foul sewer.

​