First, what's a recirculating toilet, and how does it work?
A recirculating toilet looks a lot like a common RV toilet, only it's not "moored" to the floor of the RV, being completely portable. Rather than dumping waste into a mounted holding tank, the system uses stored water and chemicals that dissolve the solid waste and then recirculate the wastes and water for multiple flushes. The wastes are contained in the toilet system, and when full, the unit is taken out of the RV and the contents dumped at an appropriate location.
You may have already experienced a recirculating toilet if you've taken a trip on a Greyhound bus or a flight on nearly any airline. Recirculating toilets are common on those conveyances.
So how about eliminating the worry about emptying holding tanks with the use of one of these "recirc" biffies? Several RVers who've used them report that while they do work, depending on your use level, these toilets have to be dumped every few days. So how often do you have to dump your RV black water holding tank? Will you be out in the boonies longer than your black water tank can wait for a dumping? True, it's easier to carry a recirc toilet out to the car or truck and drive it to a dump station than it is to hitch up a trailer, or maybe even break camp with a motorhome to head out to dump tanks.
But there are other considerations. First, the cost of a recirc toilet isn't something to take lightly. A popular recirculating toilet is manufactured by Thetford, the Electra Magic Model 80. Look to pay somewhere over $400 for the unit. The money layout doesn't stop there – you'll need to keep the thing "charged" with holding tank chemicals to kill the bacteria.
We've heard from RVers who've used recirc toilets, and the most common expression we hear are things like, "Yuck!" and "Stink." While the holding tank chemistry does supposedly kill the odor of the wastes, it tends to replace it with a lingering sort of fragrance that most people would prefer not to have hanging around their RV. Would you like to have your in-flight drinks served to you in the airplane bathroom?
If moving your RV away from your boondocking spot every couple of weeks to dump the holding tank isn't workable, consider a couple of alternatives: A "blue boy" portable waste tank to haul away the wastes, or a "porta potti" style portable toilet which uses fresh water and doesn't recirculate your waste products. The latter are a whole lot less expensive than recirc toilets, don't use near as much chemical, and from our own experience, smell a whole lot less offensive than visiting an airliner bathroom.
The "porti potti" style of portable toilet does not need the chems added to it. We bought one in 1979 to use in our tent and also used it in the popup until we sold the popup in 2005. We rarely used a tank chemical unless the ambient temperatures were very high (over 100F). I kept the dry powder chem on hand. A packet would last a long time if kept dry. (I stored the open packets in a ziplock plastic baggies). We also do not use chems in our vintage Traveler 910 toilet either.
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