Bush toilets, storage & dumping

Burn poop wipes. Got it!

But should I bury biodegradable bags? They mention it will degrade in a 'compost' environment.

And could I add use toilet tissue, not wet wipes. They will not burn.

Cheers

Hi Rangana and Rocco

Do not use biodegradable bags, they will still get dug up and then more unwanted bush confetti to spoil the outback.

You must remember that wild dogs and dingos will dig up where you have dug the toilet hole, as they have unreal scenes of smell and it times when things are lean, will ear what you have deposited.

Treat the bush like your back yard, you would not drape toilet paper around your yard.


Enjoy your trip.



Cheers




Stephen

"But should I bury biodegradable bags? They mention it will degrade in a 'compost'"

I have just been watching "War On Waste" on the ABC TV. Craig Reucassel did a section on biodegradable bags. They were saying that the plastic did not compost, it simply broke down into very small pieces. The claim was that this was worse than the large pieces as it is more easily ingested by wildlife. In other words if you use those then you will get more of your own back when you eat fish and other animal flesh.

This will be repeated Next on:Wednesday 24 May 2017, 9:59pm (Repeat)abc2
Saturday 27 May 2017, 3:02pm (Repeat)abc1

Or you can watch war on waste on iview anytime.

I gave the bowl a good coating of silicone spray, no skiddies here!

Another one is putting minimum water in the top tank. Mine has a nasty habit of venting water into the bowl when traveling, from there it spill into the back of the car, which is a bit annoying.

I reckon mine doesn't stink either but I still reckon I would leave the fire to burn for a while before I threw a bbq plate on it and cooked the snags !!

Kenell

Danna,

You & hubby must have good appetites?

No way could we eat anything cooked on a fire that someone had done the Sam McGee on their newspaper wrapped turds. I'll pass, and just have a Ryvita biscuit thanks.

Bob

I'd want to check to make sure the snags were real snags tho'.

Me being a smart fellow, would cook and have tea before using the kitchen as a out house.

No wonder people are loathe to re-use existing fire pits etc.

Regards

Reckon the mosses will stay away from your BBQ!

And I bet I'm not the only one who has sat around a campfire where there was a fair bit of bullsh*t being spread. LOL

I bury my waste and if I haven't got a campfire, I put the offending paper in a paper bag and then inside large zip lock bag and put on top of the rubbish in my wheelie bin. If I don't have a fire before I empty it it goes in the rubbish when I get home. Doesn't smell, save the ziplock for the rest of the trip.

Cheers

Anthony

Brilliant blog Baz.

I have no idea where I got this photo or what even possessed me to copy it to my iPad... But whoever took it was probably as equally disgusted.



Cheers

Anthony

G'day Allan,

No, I've never seen them in the act, but have seen deposits that have been dug up. No, I don't go back to check mine for canine carnage either! :-). Maybe there's some other little critters that like to dig stuff up?

I'd suggest that 90% of the tissue daisys are there because they were never buried.

Bob

Hi Allan

As we all know, dingos will come right through your camp when we all sleep, and most people will never know they have had a visit.

One Simpson trip a number of years ago, we were camped with a small group of friends, and as I always do before any trip, try to drum into any new bush travellers the importance of burning toilet paper before filling in the hole.

As it was a double crossing, we returned to the very same place that we camped on the first crossing. Low and behold one of the group did not do as I had asked and their hole, along with most of ours had been dug up by dingos, and it showed the point that they do this and just how important it is to burn all paper to stop the unsightly bush confetti from ruining a great camping site.

As for actually seeing them do it, then the answer is no, the the proof was seeing it happen first hand. Also before rolling out our swags, we would rake the area where our swags would be placed. One time our kids swags had sandy footprints across the bottom of their swags where a din do had walked during the night, as well as the footprints on the raked sand.


Cheers



Stephen

When camped at Boggy Hole in Palm Valley 1993, my travel companions who were 1 yank and a German, had their leather hiking boots stolen from beside their swags.
Mine thongs were untouched. We found one boot about 50 mtrs away with the tongue chewed out of it. The other three boots were gone.
The question was, how many dingoes walked past our heads that night to steal the boots?

Hi David

That is the million dollar question that we will never know.

I know one friend of mine who went through out outback desert while on patrol for SAPOL.

He woke one morning from a deep sleep in his cosy swag, opening his eyes only to see a dingo so close, he could feel it's breath. On seeing him open his eyes, he did not know who got the biggest scare, him or the dingo.

The dingo then bolted and it left him wondering how long the dingo had been there.

One thing that we learnt years ago, was to never leave anything out when camping, even during the day. My wife lost her boots at Dalhousie at 2 pm in the afternoon while we were swimming. Like you we found them over 100 metres away from our camp, with the only damage was one of the pull on tabs chewed off.



Cheers



Stephen

David
Well and truly off topic, but I hadn't gone pulled my beanie over my head for 10 minutes in my sleeping bag when a "Dingo" approached to within 400mm of my head without me realising when I was bushwalking 100km west of Alice Springs several years ago (so a fellow bushwalker told me who watched it). Darn dog later that night stole my cooking equipment that I never found, at least he left my boots alone.
Mark

.
So, some of us (including me) have had close encounters with dingos in camp and had stuff stolen, but no-one has actually witnessed a dingo digging up 'human toilet deposits'?
Could the Dingo possibly be getting a 'bad rap' here?

"But if there is a long drop we can throw the bag in there as well."

DO NOT drop the bag in the long drop. Long drops work by composting, plastic bags (and even the so called biodegradable ones) do not compost. If the composting action is broken down they smell too much. If the dunny does smell too much you can be assured that some Ahole(s) have mistreated it.

The other thing not to put down them is the contents of cassettes. The composting process only works when the contents are relatively dry. The water from the cassettes floods the wort and kills the composting action - the result is a big stink.

I think your getting the idea. This is nature, we all do it, just spare me the most personal details.
Keep plastic out of the bush. Just think of the millions of animals all over Oz, including the birds, that just do it . . . right there, where ever. Except for we humans and cats who like a little privacy, we do like to find our "spot".
Our only extra in the process is the paper. Also we (and cats) do not like to step in anyone else's doings. So . . .
a) You will find your plot of privacy with shovel and paper in hand. The middle of a track is not acceptable.
b) Make sure there are no "joe blakes" behind your tree or shed. Making noise helps.
c) If you are a bit weak in the thighs you might have to also find a straining tree. If the ground is hard and rocky and a hole can't be dug, you might also investigate what earth, stones or branches are around to use as a cover.
d) The straining tree is something you can hold with one hand, in front of you and must be of sound stature. You don't want a tree that may break away at an inappropriate time.
e) Make sure the paper is within reach.
f) Make sure no one is looking and partially disrobe as required.
g) Try not to laugh
h) Enjoy the scenery
i) Stack used paper to one side. If wind (weather) is blowing secure with a rock.
j) Ignore the flies that gather (where do they come from) and try not to think of the exposed sandwiches and cake back at the vehicle.
k) Stand up and walk forward readjusting clothing.
l) Use the shovel to cover your doings, not your foot.
m) If terrain is dry, leafy, scrub 'n grass, any chance of igniting, DO NOT burn paper. Either put a big rock(s) over it OR take it back to safe place or bag it in vehicle.
n) Pick up paper with a clean piece. Tuck roll under your arm. Don't forget the shovel.
o) And back to the first step, as you walk away from the vehicle, remember where it is. In the emergency of the moment its easy to forget where the 4x is parked.
p) Don't forget to tell everyone "Ahhh! That's better"

A good post Salt Grinder - useful advice with a touch of humour. Except snakes are deaf. They only hear through vibrations in the ground. If there is a snake curled up at your selected tree, withdraw quietly and find another tree.

If lost in the bush in WA taking a dump will most times ensure someone will walk around the bush and find you.
Dave.

I think this seems to be the best option.

I have to move on from the whole bio-bag idea. But will keep them just in case

Also planning on getting one of those toilet tents. Think it'll come in handy

If you do get a toilet tent just make sure that you practice folding it at home first. There are some good utube videos showing how to do it - better than trying to follow the printed instructions that come with the tent. There is nothing quite like trying to fold a stubborn tent with the whole campground watching!