Taking the Scenic Route to Composting

For the full version of this article, written by TE CEO Kaitlin Louise Pettit, PhD, check out our free Substack post or subscribe to our Patreon.

I came to Toilet Equity because of the compost, and I’ve stayed because of everything else. Composting is still close to my heart, though, which is why I want to be honest with you about a big change.

The Problem

We’ve run out of compost space. Our toilets aren’t going anywhere — we remain committed to providing safe, sustainable bathrooms — but until we secure the permits for our new site with Roice Hurst Animal Society, we can’t build new compost piles. Red tape doesn’t compost nearly as fast as sawdust and solids, and it’ll be at least a year before we can build piles on that land.

The Immediate Solution

In the meantime, Persigo, our local wastewater treatment facility, has stepped in. They’re letting us empty our bins there, even waiving fees for a trial year. This wasn’t an easy pivot for me — I had planned to show off in this newsletter how little water our system uses, and suddenly we were adding more water back in. But I’ve come to see the benefits: centralized wastewater treatment works well at a community scale, while our composting toilets shine in places no other system can reach — along riverbanks, in parking lots, and even in tents and RVs.

Read more about the benefits of centralized wastewater vs compost toilets

The Long Game

We’re not giving up on compost. Far from it. We’re working to make our new site a pilot project that proves human “waste” composting can be done safely and effectively. That will take engineers, lawyers, health experts, donors, and cheerleaders — all helping us show Colorado that composting deserves to be a recognized option.

Read about the hard *push* that is our new compost site

I sometimes think of this work like hiking. My partner once pointed out that I always take the steep deer trail straight up the ridge instead of the easier path that winds around the canyon. Right now, Persigo is the winding trail — the smarter, sanctioned path that keeps us moving forward. But we’re also forging that newer, steeper trail: pioneering new regulations, changing minds, and proving waste doesn’t have to be wasted.

Thanks for hiking the hard trail with us. The view from the top — a future with safe, dignified compost toilets — will be worth it.

Want to dive into the nitty gritty of our temporary pivot to Persigo and the hard push for a larger compost site? Read Kaitlin’s full blog post to find out or subscribe to our Patreon for early access each month!

Read the full blog

This article originally appeared in our September 2025 email newsletter. You can subscribe to receive future updates here.