Urine can be diverted and collected separately from feces. It is easy to collect urine without having a composting toilet for feces. Sometimes it’s also beneficial to include a urine diverter with a full composting toilet.

Pros of urine diversion

• Reduces the volume of feces to be composted.
• Reduces the amount of sawdust needed.
• Enables the collection of urine fertilizer, a nitrogen rich, easily usable product.
• Can “fix” a poorly functioning composting toilet by removing the liquid portion. Some toilets don’t manage liquids well.

Cons of urine diversion

• Requires two collection chambers to manage (one for urine and one for feces), or a place to soak away the urine.
• Using a urine diverting toilet takes practice. New users are likely to clog the urine diverter which makes the toilet unusable until it is cleaned.
• The compost from the feces is less nutrient-rich than in a toilet without urine diversion.