Where to 'Go' in the Great Outdoors - Human Sanitation

The subject of human sanitation in the outdoors has been neglected over the years by many of the books and manuals that explain other essential outdoor skills. It has in many ways been a taboo subject, which is a pity because if done carelessly, the consequences of 'doing it wrong' can be very damaging. The advice in this leaflet is considered by the MCofS to reflect good practice, and is based on the best information available from the UK and abroad.

The Many Dangers to be aware of are:

• Other people coming into contact with human excrement;
• Human excrement getting into and infecting water courses;
• Animals eating, rolling in, and dispersing human excrement; and
• The visual pollution and the smell.

The best method of disposal of excrement in the outdoors is usually to bury, but this needs to be done sensitively, and there are times when it isn't possible. We therefore recommend the following guidelines.

Protecting and Using Fresh Water

• Remember that a mountain stream may be the water supply for a remote house.
• Make sure you are at least 30 metres away from any running water when you defecate.
• When camping, always take drinking water from above your site, and walk downhill and away from water, to defecate.
• Always check for 30 metres above the point of extraction for contamination.
• Although urine is less harmful than excrement, its smell is unpleasant. Try to follow the same standards as recommended for defecating. It is best to urinate out in the open. Avoid urinating in caves, at the foot of crags or behind bothies.
• Use a biodegradable soap, but don't use it directly in the stream.

Disposing of Human Excrement

• Excrement decomposes faster if covered with soil and leaf mould. This also discourages animals from digging it up. Badgers and dogs love to roll in it, and even eat it!
• Be discreet. Defecate at least 50 metres from paths and 200 metres from huts, bothies and crags.
• Whenever possible, dig a 15 cms (6") hole and bury your excrement. Carry a hand trowel for this purpose.
• When digging a hole is impossible, an alternative (although less desirable) method is to spread your excrement in a very discreet place, using a trowel or small rock, and then cover it with soil, vegetation or rocks, Spreading as thinly as possible helps the natural breakdown of the excrement.
• Squashing excrement with a boulder will slow the decomposition process It is better to cover the excrement with a rock in such a way that the two aren't in contact. This allows air to circulate and thereby enables decomposition.
• Avoid digging or spreading in sensitive vegetation, such as on mountain plateaux. Either pack your excrement out, or at least carry it off the sensitive area.
• In snow, dig down into the soil. Burying your excrement in the snow is only temporary until the snow melts.

Toilet Paper

• Normal toilet paper takes a long time to breakdown, so consider using biodegradable toilet paper.
• While it is best to burn your toilet paper, be extremely careful not to start a fire in dry grass or in a forest. If you have any doubt, carry it out. Burying it should be seen as a last resort.

Female Sanitary Items

Burying tampons and sanitary towels is not effective because they take a long time to decompose. Animals may also dig them up. Use a secure container, such as a self-seal bag, to carry them out.

Toilet Provision

• Never miss an opportunity to use a proper toilet.
• Dry or composting toilets are used in remote locations in many other countries and are now being introduced to some of our huts and bothies. Where these are found it is important to read any instructions and follow them clearly. If they aren't used properly, they don't function.

Carry Out Techniques

Walkers and climbers in certain areas of North America are encouraged, and sometimes required, to carry out all their excrement when they leave a wilderness area. Lack of suitable containers and disposal facilities are, however, possible sources of dangerous contamination. The techniques and facilities still need to be developed in Britain, so we feel unable to make recommendations at the present time.

General Hygiene

It is essential to wash hands after defecating, even in the outdoors, so ensure you make the effort, particularly before handling food. The consequences of becoming ill in remote areas are more serious than at home.

Communicable Diseases

• Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter, Aeromonas, E. coli 0157 and Giardia are all gut pathogens that can be caught from drinking infected water. The numbers of cases are low, but it is wise to remember that carelessness could result in one of these painful conditions.
• Although the incidence of Giardia is rare in the UK, the number of reported cases is rising at the current time (late 1990's).
• Many mountaineers travel to Third World countries each year, and a proportion will be carrying stomach diseases on their return. If you have just returned from the Himalaya or Andes, and still have an upset stomach, for the sake of others you will need to take extreme care if you go into the mountains in this country whilst still infected.

Hot Climates

In overseas countries with hot climates the best advice appears to be to smear excrement as thinly as possible in a discreet place. The action of the strong sunlight works very quickly to break down the bacteria.

Further Reading

• 'How to Shit in the Woods' by Kathleen Meyer, Ten Speed Press.
• 'Camping Healthy - Hygiene for the Outdoors' by Buck Tilton and Rick Bennett, ICS Books.

Talk About It

Discussing outdoor sanitation with other people will increase awareness of the issues, and raise standards.

If you have any comments on this leaflet, or have experience of similar codes or remote toilets from abroad, please let us know. The MCofS would like to encourage debate and further research, and see the subject covered in training courses. The MCofS will continue to collate the results of research projects and, as knowledge of the subject increases will revise its advice.

This page was prepared from the leaflet "Where to 'Go' in the Great Outdoors" which is published by the MCofS and the Scottish Enviroment Protection Agency. Copies of the leaflet are available from the MCofS Office.