Toilets & Bush Drop Pits
Where
toilets are provided you must use them.
Toilets are placed in areas where there is a significant level of visitors and the environment has been assessed to be unable to handle the impact of
toilet waste at that volume.
Where there are no
toilets, consider that urine will quickly be absorbed by the ground however repeated use in the same area will create a saturation of smell that is extremely offensive, difficult to get rid of and may unsettle wildlife in the area. The odd urination behind a tree or in open spaces when travelling is not a problem however please consider that some
places in Australia only receive rainfall for a few months each year - smells will linger until thoroughly washed away. Please consider where you urinate for the enjoyment of other visitors and also so you may return to enjoy it yourself next time.
If you are camping for a few days in the same
bush camp with a group, then one extremely effective method is to dig a communal
toilet pit at least 1 metre deep that can be filled in with plenty of fresh soil on top when you depart. Do not leave
toilet paper in the hole however, as dingoes and other small animals will definitely dig it up and it becomes a disgusting mess. You must burn your
toilet paper.
Burning of
toilet paper for all bush toileting is very important. If you regularly use bush camps where
toilets are not provided then we suggest you carry a basic toileting kit and educate your family how to appropriately prepare and leave the "hole". A gas lighter will fit nicely inside a roll of
toilet paper - make sure your family members take both when they head off to dig a hole with the spade. Choose a place to dig where the soil is soft enough to get a hole to a decent depth (about 30-50cm), away from waterways, and clear of flamable materials. Gently clear a space to dig the hole, ensuring the area is free of leaves or dry grass with the spade if necessary (without damaging living shrubs or plants of course). When digging the hole, carefully place each shovelful of soil in a pile alongside the hole so that you can backfil when you're done. After you've done your business, take time to ignite the
toilet paper (
check again for no other flamable material nearby that could catch alight). Take the time to watch that all the
toilet paper burns and that the fire is fully extringuished to ash before backfilling the hole with the soil that you had stockpiled. Pat the soil down hard again. Ideally it should be almost impossible to see where you've been if you've done it right. Everyone can learn this technique - kids included. If you aren't prepared to do this - take a porta-potty or
camp only in areas where
toilets are provided.
It is not surprising that many campgrounds are now requesting that campers bring their own porta-potties. In fact, some operators are not allowing access without a
toilet and have units available for hire (such as at
Ningaloo Station on the WA Coast). These porta-potties are similar to a boat
toilet in that they are flushed using a hand-pump into a small storage unit and require a chemical activator to
breakdown toilet waste into a slurry. If the solution you use is the environmentally friendly one, then you simply tip this waste into a hole every couple of days. If not using the environmentally friendly solution, you'll need to tip the slurry into a chemical
toilet dump point (normally located in caravan parks). For only around $150 these are a practical, comfortable, and eco-friendly solution to solving the problem of bush
toilet problems.