We received this question during a recent webinar and thought it would be helpful to discuss here.
The urine diversion toilet mechanism can handle millions of foot pumps and uses per year. This has been demonstrated at Angel’s Landing in Zion. The number of stalls defines how many people can use the toilet per year. Waste Away systems need their solid waste bags removed when they are full and replaced. This is about 10,000 uses per 1 cubic yard bag as most people just pee and use a few pieces of toilet paper. The larger the bag the longer between change intervals. The Decompose system size in relationship to annual capacity depends on how quickly the human waste is decomposing. In regions thawed and moderate temperature all year round can decompose rapidly. But what specifically defines a DCV filling up is the rate of filling minus the rate of decomposition, and each site is very different annually and seasonally and Toilet Tech doesn’t keep track. What we have heard from our Decompose customers is the following:
BC Parks - Squamish Smoke Bluffs - front country - 2’ deep DCV - emptied every 4-5 years
Smith Rock, OR - almost front country - 2’ deep DCV - emptied 4-5 years.
Terwilliger Hot Springs, OR - 0.3 miles hike - 4’ deep DCV - never emptied (2021 install)