Date:         Mon, 3 Oct 2011 11:37:28 -0500
Reply-To:     mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: poo powder and related
Comments: To: Shawn Luft <shawnluft@HOTMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <BAY161-W39342E8A4E47A4C9F41F67A7080@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

A while back Iasked if anyone had used "Poo Powder" or any related products for waste disposal while camping.

I have now tried the products.  They work as claimed by the manufacturer.  I found the waste bags with powder prefilled varied in quantity of powder, so might not reliably work for several uses per bag as described.  Since the first bag had very little powder, and I had not purchased a can of the stuff, I opened a second bag, and found that it had more than four times as much powder.  I added that to the first bag.  The stuff reliably gelled the waste, and made it sufficiently solid that the bag could be handled for disposal easily.  I sealed the bag, and placed it in the provided zipper type bag, and sealed that.  One bag, used for a weekend by two adults, for both urine and feces, was more than adequate for needs.  No liquid leaked into the plastic can I used, but rather all was confined to the bag in densely gelled form.

The company claims EPA approval for disposal in regular solid waste (trash) stream.

I also looked for how back country travelers are recommended to dispose of waste by other countries (various entities in the U.S. are still recommending the "cat hole" with packing out of any paper used).  New Zealand seems most progressive in this regard.  Their parks recommend carrying a "poop tube" into the back country.  The tube is a length of PVC pipe with one end sealed, the other capped with a screw cap.  The user uses news or kraft paper for his business, and rolls the result up into a sealed packet and places it into the tube.  Upon return to a trail head, he places the tube contents into the available pit toilet.  Alternatively, he can use compostible plastic bags (available in this country also, from a different waste disposal material vendor than the poo powder, check at outdoor stores), which can be placed into the pit toilet as well.  However, in this country, most trail heads do not have pit toilets, but rather vault toilets, and the compostible plastic bags would present a problem there.

For use while camping, I will buy a can of the "Poo Powder," and a supply of compostible plastic bags, and will use my 5-gallon plastic can toilet.  If it is good enough for the U.S. military, which uses this system for field operations, I guess it is good enough for me.  For any actual backpacking, I will use the cat hole method if I am in lightly traveled country.  Where people are more prevalent, I will compromise with the New Zealand approach but with poo powder and bags for trash disposal as approved by EPA, since pit toilets are rare here.

Amazon sells both the "Poo Powder" and the compostible bags.

mcneely