Clivus multrum

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Clivus multrum is a type of composting toilet and the name of a company(s) that markets this brandname of composting toilets. Clivus is latin for incline or slope. Multrum is a Swedish composite word meaning compost room, thus a Clivus Multrum is an inclining compost room^[1].

1 History
2 Branding
3 Function
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The first prototype was first built in 1939 in Tyresö, Sweden by art teacher Rikard Lindström, who owned a property on the Baltic Sea in Stockholm, Sweden. Lindström built a single chamber concrete tank, with sloped bottom and chimney, for disposal of kitchen and toilet waste. It functioned for several decades and was eventually patented in 1962. In 1964, the first commercial model was constructed out of fiberglass. It was largely without commercial success due to difficulties with aligning kitchen, toilet and the relatively large composting tank.

In the 1970s, Abby Rockefeller, in the United States, read about the idea and wanted to buy a system, but was told they were not for sale due to lack of technical support. In 1973, Rockefeller founded Clivus Multrum, Inc. in Massachusetts under license from Lindström to market its composting toilet and greywater irrigation systems^[2].

[edit] Branding

The brand of Clivus Multrum composting toilets is marketed globally ^[3]. Also, a company exists in Sweden which is linked to the Lindström family and continues to market these systems in Europe but not under the Clivus Multrum name^[4].

[edit] Function

A handful of prototypes were constructed and are still in operation as of 2005. The process has been referred to as enclosed, long-term composting and is characterized as being odor-free, low maintenance, and able to yield a clean, pathogen-free fertilizer that can be used in agriculture.