page_title: Chemical toilet
section_title: Variations
hierarchical_section_title: Chemical toilet / Designs / Variations
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Dixi-Klos beim Schloss Karlsruhe English: Portable toilets in front of Karlsruhe Palace during a youth convention
context_page_description: A chemical toilet collects human excreta in a holding tank and uses chemicals to minimize odors. These toilets are usually, but not always, self-contained and movable. A chemical toilet is structured around a relatively small tank, which needs to be emptied frequently. It is not connected to a hole in the ground, nor to a septic tank, nor is it plumbed into a municipal system leading to a sewage treatment plant. When the tank is emptied, the contents are usually pumped into a sanitary sewer or directly to a treatment plant.
  The portable toilets used on construction sites and at large gatherings such as music festivals are well-known types of chemical toilet. As they are usually used for short periods and because of their high prices, they are mostly rented rather than bought, often including servicing and cleaning.
  Aircraft lavatories and passenger train toilets were in the past often designed as chemical toilets but are nowadays more likely to be vacuum toilets.
  A simpler type of chemical toilet may be used in travel trailers and on small boats.
  Many chemical toilets use a blue dye in the bowl water.
context_section_description: Newer models include toilet paper and, occasionally, antibacterial hand sanitizer dispensers. It has become common for portable toilets to be paired with an internal hand washing station. These sink stations provide a foot pump to dispense non-potable water to wash one's hands with provided soap dispensers or hand sanitizer stations after using the toilet, along with paper toweling.
  Another common pairing are portable toilets on trailers known commonly as a "toilet trailer". These trailers are typically found in 1–2 toilet configurations with a hand wash ability using either a hand washing station or a plastic barrel full of water. These trailers are often seen on agricultural fields or at road construction sites. These restrooms are ideal for situations where the workers (users) are very mobile. However, this configuration has proven problematic; most modern portable toilet waste tank designs have proven inadequate to deal with the common problem of splash-outs from the waste holding tank while being towed down bumpy roads. Also, when being towed, the high winds blow in from the vents, creating a hurricane effect inside and ejecting any toilet paper rolls from the portable toilet if not secured.
  'Luxury' portable toilets also exist. They are typically mounted on large "office-like" trailers or made from converted shipping containers. They contain every amenity that a public toilet would have such as running water, flushing toilet, stalls, urinals, mirrors, lighting, and even air conditioning and hot water in some cases. However, these luxuries come at a price as these trailers typically cost multiple times more than a typical portable toilet to buy or rent. They are commonly found at weddings, high end events/charities, and movie shoots.
  The chemical toilets used on film shoots are known as honeywagons.
caption: A long row of chemical toilets at Karlsruhe Palace, Germany
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