Emergency Toilet: How to Make a 2-Bucket Disaster Toilet

3 hours ago

9 min read

After a big earthquake, a hurricane or a water main break, the toilet is the problem nobody plans for. Water may stop flowing, or the sewer pipes under the street may crack. Then every flush can back up into someone's home or spill raw sewage into the street. Oregon State University Extension calls this "toilet blindness": people stock food, water and flashlights, but nothing for the bathroom. The fix is cheap, and the whole kit fits inside two buckets in your garage.

Quick answer: the simplest emergency toilet is the twin-bucket system. One 5-gallon bucket is for pee and one, lined with a heavy-duty trash bag, is for poo. After each use, cover the poo with about half a cup of dry "carbon" material like sawdust, wood shavings or shredded paper, and keep pee and poo apart. Emergency managers in Washington state say one person fills a 5-gallon poo bucket in about 2 weeks, and two people in about 1 week (Kitsap County DEM). OSU Extension says the buckets and supplies often cost under $20.

Below: when to stop flushing, a printable supply checklist, a 7-step setup, safe waste storage, handwashing without running water, and a short FAQ.

When You Need an Emergency Toilet

You need one any time the toilet can't safely carry waste away. Common causes:

Earthquakes. Pipes under the street can break even when your house looks fine.
Floods and hurricanes. Sewers back up, and water treatment plants can go offline.
Water outages or boil-water notices. Tank toilets stop refilling, and you shouldn't waste stored drinking water on flushing.
Septic problems. Flooded or damaged septic systems can back up into the house.

Don't flush until officials say it's safe. OSU Extension advises avoiding your toilet after a major disaster "even if your home sewer lines are not damaged," because the pipes in the street may be broken. Listen to local radio or official alerts for the all-clear. If you're on septic and see no leaks or backups, OSU says it may be safe to keep using it.

Why the Twin-Bucket Method Works

The twin-bucket toilet was developed in Christchurch, New Zealand, after the February 2011 earthquake. Portland's Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization (RDPO) adapted it for U.S. homes in its Emergency Toilet Guidebook. The key idea is no-mix:

Pee has volume but almost no germs. OSU describes urine as "generally sterile," so it can be diluted and poured outside.
Poo has the germs but little volume. Covered with dry material, it dries out and shrinks.
Mixing them causes the smell. RDPO and Kitsap County both note that pee mixed with poo is what makes a bucket toilet stink.

Keeping them apart means less weight to haul, less odor, and fewer germs spread around your home. Poor waste handling after disasters can spread diseases like cholera and salmonella, and flies carry germs from waste to food, OSU warns.

Emergency Toilet Checklist (Printable)

Print this, tape it to the lid of your bucket, and store everything inside the buckets so it's ready.

The toilet

Two 5-gallon buckets with lids. Label them PEE and POO (or #1 and #2)
One extra bucket for each person beyond two (Kitsap County's suggestion)
A toilet seat that fits a bucket, or a framed camp toilet
Heavy-duty trash bags: 13-gallon contractor bags, 3–5 mil thick (OSU), several boxes
Zip ties or twist ties to close bags

Cover material (pick one or more)

Sawdust or wood shavings (pet-bedding shavings work)
Shredded paper or torn newspaper
Peat moss, coir (coconut fiber) or bark chips, but not cedar (RDPO)
A plastic scoop or old measuring cup
Optional for a single lined bucket: cat litter (King County lists it as an absorbent)

Hygiene and cleanup

Toilet paper (OSU says RV toilet paper breaks down best)
Small closable bags for used toilet paper
Disposable nitrile or latex gloves
Bar or liquid soap, plus hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
Moist towelettes (on Ready.gov's basic kit list)
Paper towels or clean cloth towels (change cloth towels daily)
A water jug with a spigot and a catch bucket for handwashing
Household disinfectant or wipes for the seat and handles
Extra diapers or menstrual products if your household uses them

Comfort and safety

A hands-free light for night trips
A shower curtain, tarp or screen for privacy if you set up outside the bathroom
A printed copy of these steps
A spare trash can or bin just for sealed waste bags

How to Make an Emergency Toilet: 7 Steps

Step 1: Pick a private, safe spot

If your home is safe to stay in, set up in your bathroom. It's private and feels normal. If the house isn't safe, use a shed, garage or a corner of the yard behind a tarp. Keep the toilet away from where you cook and eat (King County Public Health).

Step 2: Label the buckets

Write PEE and POO on the buckets in big letters, or use the free printable labels in the RDPO guidebook. Clear labels help when it's dark and a child or guest is using it.

Step 3: Line the poo bucket

Put a heavy-duty bag in the poo bucket and fold it over the rim. The pee bucket stays unlined. If you only have one bucket, King County suggests lining it with two heavy-duty bags and putting cat litter, sawdust or fireplace ash in the bottom.

Step 4: Add a seat

A bucket seat with a lid from the camping section is the easiest option. The RDPO guidebook says any surface that might touch poo should be non-porous and easy to disinfect, so it warns against pool-noodle padding, which soaks things up. If anyone in your home has trouble squatting or balancing, a framed camp toilet with a solid seat is steadier than a bare bucket. Elevating the buckets on bricks or scrap wood, near a sturdy chair or rail, also helps older adults (OSU).

Step 5: Use it the no-mix way

Pee in the PEE bucket. Put the toilet paper in the poo bag or in a separate small bag, not in the pee bucket.
Poo in the POO bucket.
Cover the poo completely with about half a cup of carbon material (OSU). Kitsap County suggests 1–2 scoops.
Put the lid or seat back down. RDPO says not to seal the poo bucket airtight between uses, because a little airflow helps it dry out. Keep a cover on it to keep flies and pets out.
Wash or sanitize your hands every time.

Kids will make mistakes. RDPO's advice: do your best, and if pee gets in the poo bucket, add a little extra cover material.

Step 6: Empty the pee bucket often

When the pee bucket is about one-quarter full, or before it gets too heavy to carry safely, add a little water if you can and pour it on the lawn or ground. Pick a different spot each time, OSU says. Used handwashing water works for diluting. Some areas may set up urine collection instead, so follow local instructions.

Step 7: Bag and store the poo safely

Fill the poo bag no more than half full (OSU, RDPO).
Put on gloves, tie the bag, then double-bag it and close it tightly.
Store bags in a dedicated bin or a spot in the garage or shed, away from food, water, kids, pets, flies and rats.
Put a fresh bag in the bucket.
Wash your hands.

Don't put waste bags in your regular trash, yard waste or recycling unless officials announce that it's allowed. RDPO explains that garbage trucks compact loads, so bags tear and spread waste on workers and streets. King County notes that during a declared emergency, bags may go out with regular garbage *only* after a public announcement says so. Also don't bury plastic bags of waste, since the plastic keeps it from breaking down (RDPO).

Handwashing Without Running Water

A toilet is only half the system. CDC says washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations, and that you should scrub for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water aren't available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol (CDC). OSU notes that sanitizer works poorly on dirty hands and doesn't remove chemicals, so it's a backup, not a replacement.

Set up a simple handwashing station:

Fill a jug that has an on/off spigot with clean water.
Set it on a sink or table with a basin or bucket underneath to catch the used water.
Add soap, plus paper towels or a clean towel. A bar of soap tied inside a sock or nylon stocking to the jug handle won't get lost.
Put one station by the toilet and, if you can, one by the kitchen (OSU).
Wipe down the spigot handle often.

Don't try to treat and reuse the gray water from the catch bucket. Use it to dilute the pee bucket instead. Ready.gov's kit list counts one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation, and OSU calls that a minimum. Our water storage guide has a quick chart by household size.

How Many Supplies Do You Need?

These are rough planning numbers from county emergency managers, not hard rules. Plan for at least 2 weeks. RDPO's guidance covers the first 2–4 weeks after a major earthquake, and it expects local governments to give waste instructions within about 30 days.

Household	Poo buckets filled (approx.)	Bags for 2 weeks (approx.)
1 person	1 bucket every 2 weeks	2–3 heavy-duty bags
2 people	1 bucket every week	4–6 heavy-duty bags
4 people	2 buckets every week	8–12 heavy-duty bags

The bucket rates come from Kitsap County, which counts a bucket full at 2 scoops of cover per use. Since OSU and RDPO say to bag and swap at half full, buy more bags than the bucket count suggests. They're cheap and light. Island County, Washington, adds that each person produces only about 4–10 ounces of poo a day (Island County DEM). Storage space is rarely the problem. Bags and cover material run out first.

If You Have a Yard: Latrine Basics

In rural areas with space, a pit latrine is another option, but King County says latrines aren't appropriate in urban areas. If you dig one:

Make the hole at least 3 feet deep, with the bottom at least 1 foot above the water table or hard ground.
Keep it at least 100 feet from lakes, streams, wells and springs, and from your home or campsite.
After each use, throw in dirt, lime, mulch or ash, and cover the hole between uses.

Special Cases

Babies and kids. Bag soiled diapers in heavy-duty bags and store them with the poo bags (OSU). Always supervise small children on an emergency toilet (King County). Our baby emergency kit checklist covers the rest.
Older adults. Put the toilet near something sturdy to hold, and raise it if that helps. See our emergency kit for seniors.
Periods. Keep extra supplies, and put used products in the poo bucket (RDPO). OSU suggests trying a menstrual cup before an emergency if you want to rely on one.
Pets. RDPO says to keep animal waste with the human waste bags, separate from regular trash.

Gear That Makes It Easier

You can build all of this from hardware-store buckets. A few pieces of gear make it more comfortable:

A steadier seat: the Rothco Portable Camp Toilet has a heavy-duty steel support frame and a molded plastic seat that wipes clean, which fits RDPO's advice to use a non-porous, easy-to-disinfect seat. Line whatever sits under the seat with a heavy-duty bag and follow the same poo-bucket rules.
A spare bucket for washing: the Rothco Canvas Water Bucket comes in medium and large sizes, in olive drab or natural. Use it as the catch basin under your handwashing jug or to carry gray water out to dilute the pee bucket. Keep it for washing, not drinking water.
Hands-free light: a headlamp like the Rothco Cree LED Headlamp keeps both hands free at 3 a.m. when the power is out too. For more on choosing a light, see our best flashlight for emergencies guide.

Add the toilet kit to your earthquake kit, since that's when sewers are most likely to fail. And if you want to know how many days to plan for, see how different countries tell citizens to prepare.

Red Flags: Get Medical Help

This guide isn't medical advice. Call 911 or seek care right away for signs of severe dehydration (very little or no urine, dizziness, confusion), bloody diarrhea, a high fever, or diarrhea in a baby or an older adult that won't stop. Keep the sick person's waste bagged separately, and wash your hands well after caring for them.

FAQ

Can I just pour water in the toilet to flush it?

Only if officials say the sewer is working. If the sewer lines are broken, flushing can send waste back into your home or the street. OSU advises not using the toilet after a major disaster until local authorities give the all-clear.

Can I use one bucket instead of two?

Yes. King County's method uses one bucket lined with two heavy-duty bags and cat litter, sawdust or ash in the bottom. Tie the bag off daily and move it to a protected spot. Two buckets cut down on smell and weight, so set up two if you can.

What can I use instead of sawdust?

Shredded paper, torn newspaper, wood shavings, bark chips (not cedar), dry leaves, peat moss or coir fiber all work (RDPO, Island County). Cat litter and fireplace ash work as absorbents in a single lined bucket (King County).

How do I keep it from smelling?

Keep pee out of the poo bucket, cover every deposit completely, swap bags at half full, double-bag before storing, and keep a cover on the bucket. Most of the smell comes from pee and poo mixing.

Where do the waste bags go in the end?

Store them safely until local officials say how they'll be collected. Don't put them in your regular trash, yard waste or recycling unless an official announcement says it's allowed.

Sources

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