Composting
Off-Grid
Indoors
Split-systems
Self-contained
Tiny House
ADU
Urine-diverting
Year-around
Luxurious
Cabins
RVs
Large capacity
Cold climate
Glamping
Outhouses
Batch toilets
Public use
Continuous
AccessoriesWhere can I use a waterless toilet? #
Almost anywhere a conventional toilet is impractical, too expensive, or simply not permitted. For most of our customers, the only trigger isn’t a desire to go just eco-friendly — it’s a septic system that would cost $20,000–$40,000, a county that won’t approve conventional plumbing, or a building with no soil pipe. A waterless toilet gives you a real, comfortable indoor bathroom without any of that.
Where our customers actually use them #
The most common settings we supply are cabins and rural homes (both finished places and new builds where septic is the budget-breaker); off-grid homes, homesteads, and tiny houses; hospitality sites like glamping operations, short-term-rental cabins, retreat centers, and wedding venues, where guests need a clean, dignified bathroom that still feels part of the experience; and public and community settings such as parks, trails, and campgrounds. They also solve smaller problems neatly: an ADU or garden room, a basement or workshop with no drain, or a reliable backup for when mains water or sewage isn’t available.
Cold climates and seasonal use #
This is one of the most common questions we get, and the answer is yes. The toilet itself keeps working in the cold; what slows down is the composting, since the natural breakdown of waste needs warmth and effectively pauses below freezing, then resumes when temperatures climb again. That doesn’t harm the system — it just means a little planning and higher capacity.
Two practical points to know. First, on systems that separate liquid, the separated urine can freeze and cause a blockage, so in very cold setups the liquid line and canister are insulated to keep it flowing. Second, you’ll want to service the toilet in the warmer months and size it so you’re not emptying mid-winter. As a rule of thumb, expect the composting process to take at least 12 months in a cold climate before the finished compost is ready to use.
The easiest options for cold climate use are batch composting toilets like our Green Toilet Lux range, which use swappable bins — you simply leave a full container to finish composting and empty it once the solid waste is fully finished with composting process — no winter emptying required. A self-contained unit installed indoors is another good choice for an off-grid cabin, since keeping it inside shields the composting process from the worst of the cold. For seasonal cabins used only a few months a year, many of our systems can run all season and be fully emptied just once. A thermal seat is a small, very popular add-on that makes a cold-weather bathroom far more comfortable to actually sit on.
For more, see our full guide: Can composting toilets work in cold climates?
Full-time vs. occasional use #
There’s a model suited to both the everyday family bathroom and the cabin you visit a few weekends a year — the difference mostly comes down to capacity and how often you’ll empty it. We walk through that in Choosing the right model, or our product finder tool can match you to the right one in a couple of minutes.
