Phil Wyatt  - Tasmania, Australia

Fly-out toilets

Why bother trying to compost when this may be the best solution in low use areas? Simple fibreglass bins that are easy to handle and hold up to 450 litres of "waste".

At first the idea of squatting on top of a tank, over an open hole does not really appeal to some people. But in low use areas where the environment does not make it easy to dig a hole 15cms deep, why not simply get the user to "deposit a load" in a fibreglass holding tank? Make it almost bomb proof and you have no worries in slinging it under a helicopter and having the waste removed by a commercial waste company.  We have some of these in areas with annual usage of 500-600 walkers and they only need servicing every 18 months.

A few minor problems

Early designs (old slip on fire tanks) did not allow for the "peaking" of the pile as loads were deposited. Improved with this design  however, when the bins get over about half full there does tend to be a bit of "splashback". Not great, so maybe the next design needs to allow for a "longer drop" to prevent this effect. No good for backpacker type walkers as they like a few more comforts (see fly-out plus or composter).

Positives

Excellent in low use areas where the "harder core" of walkers are likely to be in the majority. You would also hope that these people have the highest level of environmental responsibility, but this is not always the case. Excellent for sensitive areas or small lake catchments. Relatively cheap to purchase, you can place several bins in one location to increase the time between pump out. We can fly several empty bins in one net load. In Tasmania they have been registered as "Plumbing Products" to comply with all legislation.