Because of the sensitive location of the campsite next to the River Wye, it is not possible to have a ‘normal’ toilet system with underground septic tanks and soakaways. All waste must be captured and taken off-site. We have therefore replaced our longstanding portaloos with a environmentally friendly vacuum toilet system.
The system uses vacuum pressure, much like on a plane, train or boat, to suck the waste from the toilets to above-ground tanks in the carpark. The system uses just ½ lt of water per flush, (vs. 5-10 lts for an ordinary toilet), and unlike portaloos, does not use any chemicals, therefore removing the need to ‘strip out’ the chemicals from the toilet waste by the waste contractor.
In addition we have installed two new handwash and washing-up pods, and a disabled toilet and shower. The ‘grey water’ from these, along with the grey water from the existing office and catering trailer, will be collected in a separate tank and disposed of accordingly.
With the obvious fragility of our river, the clever use of this new technology to manage the toilet waste enables visitors to enjoy our beautiful countryside with the minimum environmental footprint.
Funding Received
This project has been part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Rural Enterprise Fund is a capital grant scheme that has been funded by the UK Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). Their aim is to support new and existing businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify outside of agriculture.
