{"title":"Sanitation Systems Guides","description":"\u003cp\u003eToilets and wastewater for homes off the grid: dry toilets that make soil instead of sewage, and the permitted systems your county will ask about. Each numbered guide takes one off-grid system and shows you how it works, sizes it with real numbers, prices three builds part by part and walks you through building and running it, with every fact sourced and checked. Listed in series order, followed by a few standalone field guides made the same way.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"systems-composting-toilets","title":"Composting toilets: Dry toilets that make soil, not sewage · Alt Ordo Systems Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003eA composting toilet is a toilet with no water and no sewer. You cover what you leave with a dry, carbon-rich material, keep air moving, and move the contents to a compost bay where they become soil over about a year. Done well, there is no sewage smell, no septic tank and no flush water. The toilet is the easy part. The real system is the bay out back, and the habit of tending it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis guide helps you choose, size, install and run a dry toilet for a tiny home, cabin or bathhouse, build the compost bays that finish the job, and know what the finished compost is safe to feed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat's inside.\u003c\/strong\u003e 17 pages in 9 chapters (At a glance, Where it works, How it works, Size it, Parts and cost, Set it up, Run it, Rules and permits, How it connects), then the sources and a notes page. 7 numbered figures drawn for this guide. You also get a worked example with a fill-in worksheet, 8 numbered steps, a year-round calendar, and a troubleshooting table.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThree builds, costed line by line\u003c\/strong\u003e (typical US prices, October 2026):\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBare-bones: $90–$110\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStandard: $1,010–$1,060\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComfortable: $2,800–$5,680\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSourced and fact-checked.\u003c\/strong\u003e Facts and figures are cited to the 20 sources listed at the back, and the whole guide was fact-checked before release. General guidance, not engineering advice: your county and a qualified pro have the last word on your site.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePairs with\u003c\/strong\u003e other Alt Ordo Systems Guides: Composting; Food forests; Portable power stations. For your county's permits and rules, see our county and state guides.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInstant PDF download.\u003c\/strong\u003e After checkout you get a download link by email. Letter-size pages, made to read on screen or print at home.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alt Ordo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48361169027243,"sku":"AO26-SYS-07","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/4718\/4299\/files\/AO26-SYS-07.jpg?v=1792839814"},{"product_id":"systems-septic-alternatives","title":"Septic and its alternatives: Permitted wastewater for off-grid homes · Alt Ordo Systems Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003eA septic system is a small sewage works buried in your yard. A watertight tank holds the house's wastewater long enough for solids to settle and float apart, and the clearer liquid runs out to a drainfield, where the soil does the real cleaning. When the soil is too shallow, too tight or too wet, engineered versions (a mound, an aerobic unit, a drip field) do the same job at a higher price. And on some land, in some counties, a dry toilet plus a greywater system is the permitted alternative. This guide helps you find out which one your land and your county allow, before you spend money.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis guide helps you read your soil before you buy, know which wastewater system your county will permit on it, size a septic tank and drainfield with real numbers, budget honestly, and keep the system working for decades, or choose a permitted dry path instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat's inside.\u003c\/strong\u003e 19 pages in 9 chapters (At a glance, Where it works, How it works, Size it, Parts and cost, Build it, Run it, Rules and permits, How it connects), then the sources and a notes page. 7 numbered figures drawn for this guide. You also get a worked example with a fill-in worksheet, 10 numbered steps, a year-round calendar, and a troubleshooting table.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThree builds, costed line by line\u003c\/strong\u003e (typical US prices, October 2026):\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBare-bones: ≈ $1,300–$2,200\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStandard: ≈ $7,700–$11,600 + install\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComfortable: ≈ $6,300–$13,900 + install\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSourced and fact-checked.\u003c\/strong\u003e Facts and figures are cited to the 31 sources listed at the back, and the whole guide was fact-checked before release. General guidance, not engineering advice: your county and a qualified pro have the last word on your site.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePairs with\u003c\/strong\u003e other Alt Ordo Systems Guides: Finding off-grid land; Composting toilets; Wells and hand pumps; Off-grid solar. For your county's permits and rules, see our county and state guides.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInstant PDF download.\u003c\/strong\u003e After checkout you get a download link by email. Letter-size pages, made to read on screen or print at home.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alt Ordo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48361806037163,"sku":"AO26-SYS-14","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/4718\/4299\/files\/AO26-SYS-14.jpg?v=1792839823"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0615\/4718\/4299\/collections\/AO26-SYS-COL-SANITATION.jpg?v=1792843067","url":"https:\/\/shop.altordo.com\/collections\/systems-guides-sanitation.oembed","provider":"Alt Ordo: Build Freedom","version":"1.0","type":"link"}