KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
28th January 2021
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Welcome to the
KBzine
Welcome back to the first issue of KBZine following our Summer break. Apart from keeping abreast of what's been going on in our industry (well you never can quite get away from it, can you?) I've actually managed to get some time away and one of the things I did was attend a festival run by an eco-conscious organisation.
No smelly banks of mobile loos for this lot! They'd built 'compost loos'. And while when I've read about these things in the past with horror, I didn't have any choice but to try them - and they were brilliant!
Built from wood from the surrounding forest, the loos comprised cubicles with proper seats. Inside each cubicle was a solar powered light, an enormous loo roll, a bottle of hand sanitiser and a bucket of sawdust which appeared to be mixed with soil and ash. The amount of this you sprinkled into the pit depended upon how much you actually needed - full instructions were on the door together with information on where to collect replacements.
Anyone who's been to this type of event where people camp out overnight will be aware of how awful the toilet facilities can be and how badly they generally end up smelling. There was no such problem with the compost loos though and despite what must have been going on inside them, they smelt absolutely delightful all the time - and everyone seemed to leave them as they'd hope to find them too!
As they were waterless they saved an important commodity and judging by the size of the melons and other fruit and vegetables in the walled gardens, the waste that was removed from them was put to excellent use. And yes - the walled gardens smelled delightful too!
I ran an item in KBZine about a year ago, sent in by the developer of a shower that uses the same water (filtered through beds of sand and various other layers) over and over again and am wondering whether anyone in the industry is considering developing compost loos for use inside the home?
In news just in, the Office for National Statistics says that the UK economy has grown 'more than first thought'. It says the growth - 1.2% - has been boosted by a strong performance by the construction sector, which grew by 8.5% in the second quarter. Others of course are saying that this growth is down to the pending increase in VAT, or the scramble to finalise deals before the government has the chance to axe them. Only time will tell...
Yours,
27th August 2010