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dreadin knowingwhatawaits,quickly
compounded by the smell – at times
so powerful it doubles as a ‘1km to hut’
sign.
The sound hits next, and it’s not the
friendly buzz of bees, but the hum of
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planes in warning.
Last but never least, you feel it. The
cold, sometimes wet seat, complete
with a frigid draft to weather your
nether regions.
At this point, all senses go into over-
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of the tank below like a vaccine jab,
hear every drip, drop and thud, and
smell last night’s dehy meals.
There are three main toilet systems
used in the backcountry; the classic
long drop, the composting system, and
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debuted on Great Walks.
DOC head of sustainability Gavin
Walker says investing in toilet infra-
structure is needed to support increas-
ing use.
“This isn’t as easy as just providing
a few more toilets so that people don’t
have to wait long to poo in a loo,” he
says. “As use increases, we also need
to be focussed on ensuring that we
have the right toilet systems in the right
locations so that sewage is treated and
disposed of with the least environmen-
tal impact.”
The majority of DOC toilets aren’t
connected to council sewage treatment
systems, which means the waste must
be treated onsite or transported by
helicopter, boat or truck to a disposal
location. But as usage increases,
so too does the amount of sewage
that needs to be disposed of and the
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sustainable.
That’s why DOC plans to make greater
use of composting toilets. Ranger Anthony
Duncan says the modern compostable
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expensive, option.
“They take a lot of the moisture out of
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and the solids compost. They work pretty
damn well.
“We’ve had compostable toilets running
for 10 years, and never had to empty
them out.”
No matter the toilet system, many of
the upkeep problems are universal.
Duncan says the biggest annoyance is
trampers disposing of rubbish in the toilet
facilities – the worst culprits dropping full
bags of food rubbish, tin cans and even
gas canisters into the toilet.
“It’s just unnecessary – especially when
your waste will be lighter to carry out than
it was when you carried it in,” he says.
Solid waste – particularly plastic- causes havoc during the cleaning
process, and can turn a routine operation
into a code brown nightmare.
“When you’ve got the big tube in there
sucking it all out, the piping gets blocked,
and you have to disassemble the whole
thing,” Duncan says.
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nately, it’s not a job you can really give to
volunteers.”
As for toilet maintenance, Duncan says
DOC tries not to leave too much up to
the user, but “if you want to be awesome,
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bit of a clean – it makes all the difference
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to go manky and mouldy. Other than that,
they’re pretty bombproof”.
And regarding the age-old toilet lid de-
bate, Duncan says down is always best.
The spinning chimney tops – known
as cowls – create vacuum suction to
remove the ammonia smell, but keeping
the lid down helps to reduce odour – and
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breed.
Managing waste is one of DOC’s
biggest operational expenses, but just
how much does it cost to dispose of our
waste? DOC senior ranger Phil Craw-
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illustrate the importance of buying hut
tickets.
In January, 18.5 cubic metres of sew-
age was extracted by helicopter from
four huts in Nelson Lakes National Park,
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“Research into the typical amount of
waste an adult human produces each
day led me to learn that a typical poo
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around 1-1.2-litres,” Crawford says.
“I estimated that around half of this
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the rest would be deposited elsewhere
as trampers walk along the track.”
For ease of calculation, Crawford
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a day, which amounts to 18,500 human
waste days, or 18.5 cubic metres of
waste. Dividing the waste days from the
total cost of removal, shows a cost of
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huts.
If you’re unable to hold out for a long
drop, DOC suggests walking 70 paces –
or around 50m – from the track, and dig-
ging a 20cm deep hole, ensuring you’re
away from water sources and campsites.
Some freedom poopers carry clothes
pegs to mark their route, so they don’t
get lost returning to the track.
The hole should be completely cov-
ered with soil and leaves.WHEN EFFLUENT IS SPRAYING
IN THE AIR LIKE A GEYSER,
IT’S PRETTY UNCOOL.
UNFORTUNATELY,
IT’S NOT A JOB YOU CAN
GIVE TO VOLUNTEERS.
EVERY TRAMPER HAS
A HORROR STORY OF
A BACKCOUNTRY LOO
SO OVERWHELMING
IT HOLDS ALL OF YOUR
SENSES TO RANSOM.