Petition Demands Stop To Cinderella Toilets In Sonoma County

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A group local has launched a campaign including a petition to stop the installation of high-temperature waste incinerator toilets on the Sonoma Coast and local state parks.

A Change.org petition has collected 280 signatures, more than half of the 500 goal.

The majority of signatures come from supports with Petaluma, Freestone, and Bodega Bay zip codes.

The call for action singles out high-heat incinerator toilets being permitted in Bodega Bay and nearby. Supporters call on Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Permit Sonoma, and other agencies to immediately halt current and future approvals of the devices until they are tested for safety.

The devices, which burn human waste at 1,600 Fahrenheit, are being rolled out without environmental review, according to the authors of the petition.

The toilets are often called cinderella toilets. The Environmental Protection Agency described the toilets as self-contained units made up of a traditional commode-type seat connected to a holding tank and gas- or electric-fired heating system that incinerates waste products deposited in the holding tank. The incineration products are primarily water and a fine, nonhazardous ash that can be disposed of easily and without infection hazard.

Often touted as a “pollution-free” technology that is useful in cases where a regular toilet is impractical — remote roadside rest areas, boats, and rural areas where no municipal sewage system exists — incinerating toilets have some clear advantages over many traditional methods of sewage disposal, according to the EPA. But there are also disadvantages that should be considered, the agency reported.

Incinerating waste requires energy, resulting in higher average energy costs for users. Units are not entirely pollution-free, according to the EPA. Both portable electric generation (for remote locations) and propane fuel burning produce some air pollutants. Anti-foam agents, catalysts or other additives are typically required for use.

The petition calls the toilets unregulated sources of pollution threatening the region's fishing economy, turning Bodega Bay into a "ghost town."

"Bodega Bay used to be one of California’s most iconic working waterfronts, bustling salmon boats, thriving crab fleets, families who made their living from the ocean," according to the petition.