Bucket toilets are the simplest of the toilet options when boondocking. Ideally they are only used for solid waste, to keep odors low. Urine should be deposited elsewhere.
- Simplest: A bucket (a standard 5-gallon pail works well), lined with a durable heavy-duty trash bag
- Added comfort: Add a seat designed to fit the bucket
- More compact: A specialized portable toilet (it's really just a fancy bucket with a removable inner bucket, but it is a good deal smaller which can be convenient. You'll still want a plastic bag liner.)
- Even more compact: Folding portable toilet. Needs to be used with some bags to contain everything. Very heavy duty garbage bags are a good start, or specialized bags that also have absorption media are available specifically for it.
Pee before using the bucket toilet, even if you feel like you don't have to. It is hard for your body not to pee when you relax, and urine in the bucket toilet will cause it to stink and it will make a huge mess.
Remove and dispose of the liner. Or, if compost-style, cover each deposit with the media after use. Close the lid.
When you are ready to change media in compost-style buckets, tie off the top of the liner, pull/pour out the closed liner and transport to a suitable receptacle. Re-line, and add media to the bottom.
Remember that if you have guests you will have to instruct them how to use the bucket.
The usual size is 5-gallon bucket like the ones found at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. There are reports that some smaller buckets also fit the Luggable Loo-style seats.
The media can be all types acceptable in a composting toilet plus:
- sawdust, made popular in Jenkins' Humanure guides
- cat litter (can be very heavy)
- small animal pine/cedar shavings
- Bio-Gel - particularly useful for those unfortunate times when your solid waste isn't quite solid.
A trash can liner can make emptying and transporting waste easier and more discreet. Heavy duty kitchen bags fit the bucket nicely.
A makeshift seat can be made with a pool noodle (slit and bent in a circle). Commercial bucket seats/lids (“luggable loo”) resembling residential toilet seats are available. They are typically <$20 in the Walmart camping aisle. Some people use split pool noodles to cushion the bucket rim.
For easiest cleanup when using a bucket with a seat and tall garbage bag, put the seat on the bucket first, then drop the bag through the seat hole into the bucket, and fold the bag down around the side.
A compost-style bucket toilet is basically the solids portion of a DIY composting toilet.