WAG bags eco alternative to chemical loos ideal for wild camping

[WandrinStar]

Hi there!
I'm a brand new member - just joined yesterday - still waiting for my Honda Stepwagon MPV conversion which should be ready anytime now - can't wait! I was recommended this site by Goaskalys a friend of mine.

I'm not a sales person, have been camping (years ago in a high top left hand drive VW, since then in tents and yurts and now back to the camper scenario - hooray!) for nearly 20 years at festivals and sites and relatively new to the Wild Camping idea which is right up my street (or field ...)

I thought I would just let you and other members know about an amazing ecological Dry Waste system you can use as an alternative to Thetford and other chemical waste systems with the portapotti etc.

its a waste acceleration system using a gel which is similar to that used in disposable nappies. They are landfill-approved and in the 7 years I've been using them while camping have never had a problem with them smelling whatsoever...

I first came across them at the Big Green Gathering in 2003 and the first batch I bought were from the USA on eBay but since then I've found an outlet in the UK ...

they're called Wagbags (nothing to do with footballers' wives though perhaps they should be!) and WAG stands for Waste Activated Gel. they are part of a system called the PETT. The Pett Toilet System

I buy my WAG bags from a company called EPS goggles: EPS Goggles UK

- don't ask, it's complicated! - based in the UK. They really are worth a try and particularly suited to wild campers who may want to even take one or two out and about for when and if they get caught short out on a walk/hike etc.!

Best wishes, this looks like a great site, I like the sound of France Passion though to start with this summer when I get my camper from W Yorsk I'm looking forward to Wales and the Scottish Highlands!

Christina

 

[mildred]

Blockage a-head

Just had a look on the EPS site:

It turns liquid waste to a solid [...] they may be used by themselves, in a [...] RV or camping toilet. Simply remove all liquids and chemicals from the toilet prior to use.

I'm sure people are going to tip this stuff into the cassette having got rid of the blue/green chemical and then it's all going to get problematic, very, very quickly.

I'm sure that's not how they intend it to be used, but that's what it says ... Wonder if DynaRod do campervans ...

Mild Red

 

[maingate]

I would use this product in a bucket instead of the cassette.

When the bucket is full and has solidified, tip it out, Hey Presto, you have a step for your habitation door.

Simples!

 

[alanval]

Yuk Why not just empty the cassette.
We were next to people in Portugal who never emptied their cassette we found out they used some sort of bags and threw them in the dust bins .The bins were absolutely putrid you needed an oxygen cylinder to go near them..The thing was there was a place to empty no need to use bags.

Val

 

[WandrinStar]

Yep Mild Red, you are right, you are NOT supposed to put the Poo Powder or anything else direct into the portapotti/cassette. You are supposed to put the huge plastic Wag Bag which contains the powder (which turns into gel when Waste Activated) into the hole of the loo. you remove the whole WagBag when it's finished and dispose of it as directed. It's just more comfortable putting one into a portapotti/loo than trying to sit on a bucket or deposit straight into the bag!

 

[WandrinStar]

Hi Val, perhaps these people were over-using their WagBags? (if that's what they were ...) obviously there's a limit to the number of times you can use one without the powder becoming over-saturated and hence not able to function correctly in terms of accelerated waste breakdown and deodorising (which it does very effectively when used properly) ... the bags are double sealed when correctly disposed of and shouldn't smell any worse (and probably much better) than a wrapped and correctly disposed of non-reusable nappy. As an eco-friendly type, I don't think using anything which doesn't biodegrade rapidly in landfill or the sewage system or wherever chemical loo waste gets deposited is particularly responsible - but when you gotta go you gotta go as they say and some things are less harmful (and smelly) than others. During the widespread floods in 2006 many Fire & Rescue Services supplied Wag Bags on a wide scale to entire areas when many places' sanitation systems had totally broken down - to the extent that EPS had none to sell to the public for quite some time (that's what EPS told me when I tried to order some for my own use at that time) ... I don't think they would have resorted to this had the bags not been a sanitary solution to the temporary problem of overwhelmed sewage systems.