Knowledge Base
When starting (or expanding) your glamping business, there are some key questions
you will need to ask yourself.
you will need to ask yourself.
“a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping”.
"glamping is likely to satisfy any city slicker seeking a little refuge in nature without foregoing any of life's luxuries".
You’ll need to offer a solution that your customers want to use and for which they are willing to pay good money. The path is harder if you put in a solution, which you “think” sounds great but which does not tick the customers’ boxes… To use a sales analogy, you should offer what you can sell NOT try to sell what you can offer.
You will certainly need to apply for (or revisit) planning permission for “Change of Use” of the land. In the UK it is a legal obligation to obtain land use consent. This is carried out via the planning department of your local council, also drawing on regulations set by The Environment Agency and your regional water authority.
Planning can be a complex affair where it might be wise to enlist the help of your own solicitor. Their advice will be to make sure you have planning permission in place before you go ahead: don’t commit precious funds to a venture for which you cannot subsequently gain planning permission.
Depending on your choice of glamping product, on the premise that where people are staying in accommodation they will generate grey and black waste, you will need to handle and control that waste in some manner.
As a general guideline, if you are going to create any hole in the ground for a new building or to accept a waste tank (for example) you will always need planning permission. But don’t just take our word for it: always consult with your local planning office as interpretations and permissions may vary regionally.
Some glamping products may be interpreted by planning officers as fixed buildings; some may be seen as temporary structures:
e.g. A £15,000 glamping hut installed over a septic tank will be treated differently - from a planning perspective - from a £5,000 movable shepherd’s hut using a movable waste tank.
There is a vast range of glamping products you might offer your future customers: from teepee to shepherd’s hut, from wooden log cabin to tree house etc. Whichever of these products you choose, they all come at varying prices to buy and install, with a resultant effect on revenue, running costs, cash flow and return on investment.
Some products will require a relatively modest investment; some may be eye-wateringly expensive. Even modestly-priced products will not yield a decent return if you can’t attract (enough) customers or - for example - your nearest neighbour offers the same product. It’s vital to make sure you have a product offering that customers will use. Offer what you can sell and carry out good marketing all the way through.
Keep in the back of your mind that the location you would like to use may not ultimately be the location for which you are granted planning permission. You may need to change your plans if, for example, your fishing holiday-themed glamping idea does not get planning permission to be located on your river bank…will it ultimately attract the customers you want?
The location you have outlined may not be suitable for every glamping product in terms of delivery, installation, connection of water and waste supplies and accessibility for ongoing maintenance.
e.g. a large septic tank is a bulky item to deliver, may require specialist equipment to offload, requires a large hole to be dug for installation, requires sufficient drainage capacity within the ground for grey water to run away (subject to the necessary planning permission, of course) and will require yearly access (typically) for the septic tank emptying vehicle when the solid matter needs to be removed.
So, on this matter alone (and other challenges may arise):
Via your planning office, you may need to consult The Environment Agency to determine how waste is handled and what measures / solutions / controls you must
put in place.
If you’re not an expert, it may be advisable and necessary to consult builders and/or structural engineers on groundworks and drainage.
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.
You should recognise that there will be differing motivations from customers wanting to go glamping and you will not be able to satisfy every need.
…some customers may want a totally “off grid” experience in a shepherd’s hut or teepee with no Wi-Fi, no disturbance, simple composting toilets…
and, at the other end of the spectrum…
…some customers may be prepared to spend £1,000 a week for your amazing view, the luxury log cabin with wood burner, Wi-Fi, hot and cold running water with toilets “just like home”, farm activities for the kids etc.
So, as you won’t be able to offer a solution for every potential customer, and as there will be other external factors to consider, such as planning permission, it will be a question of deciding your offering based on your research. You can only make money by having the products people want to use, at the right price…a glamping hut isn’t going to work in a city centre, and a 5-star hotel isn’t going to work in the middle of your wood.
To recap, in no particular order, whether new to the business or experienced, your preparation should include:
Building regulations require foul drainage to be connected to a public sewer or where this is not practicable to one of the following;
1. Cesspool
2. Septic Tank
3. Package Sewage Treatment Plant
The above options all have advantages and disadvantages. In order to decide which option is most appropriate to meet your requirements please study the following information.
Please note that some older septic tanks still discharge directly to watercourses. However this practice is becoming less common due to more stringent consent standards. See below regarding Consent to Discharge.
Please note that completion of an application form and payment of fee does constitute permission to discharge.
A numeric consent limit is where the EA or SEPA will specify figures in milligrams per litres for the following parameters:
All installation procedures should be carried out observing the requirements of the relevant legislation. The two bodies who must be contacted are:
These regulatory institutions will give guidance as to where a treatment plant and discharge point or soakaway can be situated.
Created 42,000 litres per day of Elsan® / chemical toilet waste with no mains water flushing involved. At 7 litres per person this was highly concentrated waste, heavily perfumed with Elsan® Blue toilet chemical. Peak emptying of chemical toilets was after breakfast. Shower, washing and kitchen “grey” water was handled separately.
Ilexlignum Herd is a farming business owned by Anthony and Ruth Key in Eccleshall, Staffordshire. They breed and rear Ilexlignum Boer Goat and grow cereals such as wheat and oats. They have been successfully farming for several years and felt the time had come to diversify for a more secure future. They are located in a beautiful part of Staffordshire, where people like to visit, so they decided to use a pretty and secluded field for staycationers.
The field is off-grid and they would need to supply facilities for their camping and caravanner visitors staying with them. They would need safe disposal facilities for the chemical toilets, running water and running water to clean the disposal facilities in order to gain certification by the Caravan and Camping Club. They have also provided recycling bins, general waste bins and a secure gated site with good access.
Their research started at the Glamping Show where they met the Glampsan team who were exhibiting, and were not only impressed by the range of products but also the knowledge and expertise of the friendly Glampsan staff, who were able to recommend a solution for their situation.
They soon settled for the combination of the Elsan Tipping Point and 750-gallon Flat Tank, which was easy to use, simple to fit and to keep clean. With the choice made, ordered and delivered, they set about creating a setting that was aesthetically pleasing and easy to access. They decided to build a picket fence around it and have since added a chain and a stand for the lid whilst the Elsan Tipping point is in use.
If you would like information about our products, please visit our website https://bit.ly/2UpmfFU or contact our team 0800 999 6010
When Anthony and Ruth Key researched waste solutions for their up and coming camping and Caravan site in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, they visited Glampsan’s stand at the Farm Business Innovation Show. They were really impressed by the range of products and the knowledge and expertise of the friendly Glampsan team, who were able to recommend a solution.
They soon settled for the combination of the Elsan Tipping Point and 750-gallon Flat Tank, which was easy to use, simple to fit and to keep clean. With the choice made, ordered and delivered, they set about creating a setting that was aesthetically pleasing, complete with easy access.
“The team at Glampsan were friendly, knowledgeable and extremely helpful,” says Anthony. “Their plastic waste tank and Elsan Tipping Point are the perfect solution for our camp site.”
“It was a pleasure to provide Anthony and Ruth with the ideal solution,” says Glampsan’s Jon Trelfa. “Whether it’s composting loos, waste tanks, sewage lifting stations or treatment plants, Glampsan has it all.”
If you would like information about our products, please visit our website https://bit.ly/2UpmfFU or contact our team 0800 999 6010
When Christine and Charles Rowley researched shepherd’s huts for their thriving staycation business, they wanted to offer tranquillity, seclusion and luxury: a home from home even in the heart of an apparent wilderness. With luxury bathrooms and flushing toilets in an off-grid situation, she also needed a sympathetic way to control collecting grey and black waste. Cue Glampsan.
Nestled inconspicuously underneath each shepherd’s hut, Glampsan’s 750 gallon above ground waste tanks are each coupled with a level alarm to alert the owners before they need emptying. Guests use the toilet and washing facilities blissfully unaware of the controlled technology going on just beneath them. And that’s just how it should be.
“The staff at Glampsan were friendly, knowledgeable and extremely helpful,” says Christine. “Their plastic waste tanks were the ideal solution and they pulled out all the stops to deliver them within a week, despite the Covid challenges we all faced.”
“It was a pleasure to provide Christine and Charles with an appropriate solution,” says Glampsan’s Jon Trelfa. “Whether it’s composting loos, waste tank, sewage lifting stations or treatment plants, Glampsan has the solution.”
Also known as “dry” or “waterless” toilets, composting toilets are standalone toilet units, which work in a different way from the flushing loo to which we’re generally accustomed in our home or office environment.
How are they different?
They work by collecting and separating urine (wee) and solids (poo) into different compartments or places, allowing you to deal with each independently. In a composting toilet unit there is no connection to mains water (for flushing) or a mains waste pipe (to take the waste away).
So they're ideal in many applications where you don't have (or want) mains connection. They are particularly applicable to off-grid applications like camping and glamping sites.
Because there’s no flushing water involved, the volume of waste with which you have to deal is dramatically reduced. See our section 9 "Eco Credentials" for more details.
Key fact # 1:
There’s no hiding from the fact that you’ll need to become accustomed to a different mindset when using and/or operating a composting toilet – but the environmental benefits and potential cost savings are huge.
Key fact # 2:
Composting toilets are the first part of a two-part system: the vital, additional ingredient is a separate composting bin.
Step 1: the toilet collects the waste.
Step 2: the composting bin converts that waste into compost...and this takes a bit of time.
You’ll need a certain amount of involvement to make the two parts work together. But it’s simple! Read section 6 on “The composting process” for more details.
We offer two versions of composting toilets:
(1) The Eco and the Populett work as true collection tanks and composters where you will add "bulking material" into the toilet to cover the solids after every "poo" event. These toilets are heavily insulated so that heat builds and the composting process begins in the toilet unit itself.
(2) The Villa 9000, Villa 9010 and Villa 9020 are waste collecting toilets, which in outward appearance are similar to what we use at home. The subtle difference is there is no composting activity within these units and bulking material is not required. You will need to transfer the solids from the small 23 litre waste collection tank in the body of the unit (Villa 900 & Villa 9010) or a larger 50 litre collection tank below (Villa 9020). Transfer the collected "poo" as and when required to a separate composter (using the lidded waste tank). In these two units, . In design these look very much like the white porcelain toilet to which we're all accustomed, but they are still a compost toilet where no water is required and urine and faecal matter are separated. In the Villa range of products, the contents of the tank are always kept hidden by a special flap, which only opens when you sit down. A fan (mains or battery-powered) will operate to evacuate any smell.
Whichever of our toilet versions you choose, the toilet is essentially the collection and separation system for the raw ingredients. And just to be clear, by “ingredients” we do of course mean urine (wee) and solids (poo).
It really is all about the separation with composting toilets.
Once the wee and solids have been separated and collected, the solids will be transferred to a composting bin. In this composting bin, over time, the solids will be completely broken down and made safe by the composting process. (This is described in the section on “The Composting Process").
By keeping the collection and composting separate, the “collecting”toilet itself can be simplified: and whether the toilet is for your own use or for glamping guests, keeping it simple is REALLY good!
Composting toilets need to be robust, stylish and functional whilst offering the benefits of reduced water consumption, no sewage disposal costs and negligible energy bills. It’s a compact toilet that ticks all the environmental boxes and doesn't take up much space!
Key fact # 2: It really is all about the separation!The key to a low-maintenance, simple compost toilet is to keep liquids away from the solids.The separation of the two keeps maintenance at a minimum, makes it easy to deal with any odours and requires less frequent emptying.
For composting toilets, it really is all about the separation!
When you mix urine and solids together the result is termed “black water.” Left alone, this “brew” will start to break down and it will quickly become smelly. We really don’t want that.
So, we have to make sure that wee and solids do not mix. Enter, stage right, the composting toilet…backed up by a urine collection tank or a urine soakaway pit…and a composting bin to compost solids.
This is where users have to get used to using a composting toilet in a different way from the loo at home because the answer is to separate the wee from the poo as you're using the toilet.
Key fact # 2: ALL users need to SIT DOWN to use a composting toilet. As you sit, you'll notice that it's laid out in a slightly different way from at home. It's not whacky, it's just a bit different. Inside the "drop zone" you'll spot a urine diverter or urine separating bowl...it will become clear as you use the toilet. It's very simple.
Whether male or female, when you sit down on a composting toilet toilet, urine will be directed to the front and down the urine diverter and solids will drop down towards the rear into the main chamber of the “collecting” composting toilet. It doesn't matter whether you're male or female, it works the same way: but you do need to be seated. We don't want urine in the main chamber: that's just for poo.
Remember what we said about “black water,” if you mix urine and solids in the composting toilet, you’re creating challenging conditions.
The urine and solids separator:
The separator in the bowl of composting toilets is specially designed for this purpose. It has a front part to capture and direct the urine away, whilst a chute towards the rear ensures solids go straight down into the container below.
Once the wee and solids have been separated and collected, the solids will be transferred to a composting bin. In this composting bin, over time, the solids will be completely broken down and made safe by the composting process. (This is described in the section on “The Composting Process").
For composting toilets, it really is all about the separation!
When you mix urine and solids together the result is termed “black water.” Left alone, this “brew” will start to break down and it will quickly become smelly. We really don’t want that.
So, we have to make sure that wee and solids do not mix. Enter, stage right, the composting toilet…backed up by a urine collection tank or a urine soakaway pit…and a composting bin to compost solids.
This is where users have to get used to using a composting toilet in a different way from the loo at home because the answer is to separate the wee from the poo as you're using the toilet.
Key fact # 2: ALL users need to SIT DOWN to use a composting toilet. As you sit, you'll notice that it's laid out in a slightly different way from at home. It's not whacky, it's just a bit different. Inside the "drop zone" you'll spot a urine diverter or urine separating bowl...it will become clear as you use the toilet. It's very simple.
Whether male or female, when you sit down on a composting toilet toilet, urine will be directed to the front and down the urine diverter and solids will drop down towards the rear into the main chamber of the “collecting” composting toilet. It doesn't matter whether you're male or female, it works the same way: but you do need to be seated. We don't want urine in the main chamber: that's just for poo.
Remember what we said about “black water,” if you mix urine and solids in the composting toilet, you’re creating challenging conditions.
The urine and solids separator:
The separator in the bowl of composting toilets is specially designed for this purpose. It has a front part to capture and direct the urine away, whilst a chute towards the rear ensures solids go straight down into the container below.
Once the wee and solids have been separated and collected, the solids will be transferred to a composting bin. In this composting bin, over time, the solids will be completely broken down and made safe by the composting process. (This is described in the section on “The Composting Process").
For composting toilets, it really is all about the separation!
When you mix urine and solids together the result is termed “black water.” Left alone, this “brew” will start to break down and it will quickly become smelly. We really don’t want that.
So, we have to make sure that wee and solids do not mix. Enter, stage right, the composting toilet…backed up by a urine collection tank or a urine soakaway pit…and a composting bin to compost solids.
This is where users have to get used to using a composting toilet in a different way from the loo at home because the answer is to separate the wee from the poo as you're using the toilet.
Key fact # 2: ALL users need to SIT DOWN to use a composting toilet. As you sit, you'll notice that it's laid out in a slightly different way from at home. It's not whacky, it's just a bit different. Inside the "drop zone" you'll spot a urine diverter or urine separating bowl...it will become clear as you use the toilet. It's very simple.
Whether male or female, when you sit down on a composting toilet toilet, urine will be directed to the front and down the urine diverter and solids will drop down towards the rear into the main chamber of the “collecting” composting toilet. It doesn't matter whether you're male or female, it works the same way: but you do need to be seated. We don't want urine in the main chamber: that's just for poo.
Remember what we said about “black water,” if you mix urine and solids in the composting toilet, you’re creating challenging conditions.
The urine and solids separator:
The separator in the bowl of composting toilets is specially designed for this purpose. It has a front part to capture and direct the urine away, whilst a chute towards the rear ensures solids go straight down into the container below.
Once the wee and solids have been separated and collected, the solids will be transferred to a composting bin. In this composting bin, over time, the solids will be completely broken down and made safe by the composting process. (This is described in the section on “The Composting Process").
Consider our Quick Composter eco 220 to finish off the composting process
For the composting toilet to be truly successful, a bit of re-education in toilet habits is required. Using a composting toilet requires a slightly different method from how everyone uses a toilet at home or in the office. And as usingthem is a little different from a standard toilet, your guests / users will need to get their heads around this fact:
(1) you (women, men, girls and boys) always need to sit down to use it
(2) the absence of water generally means that you will need to add some "bulking material" once you've completed your "business". This will mean adding a peat/bark type compost down the loo after each visit. Our eco 200 and Populett 220 work in this way.
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND SENSITIVELY WORDED SIGNS AND INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ROOM WHERE YOUR COMPOSTING TOILET IS LOCATED.
It is estimated that in a domestic environment we each consume about 150 litres of water per day across a range of "activities."
To break this down a little, whilst showering and bathing, clothing and dishwashing consume large amounts of water as single activities, these may only take place once a day or a few times per week. e.g. a 5 minute electric-powered shower might consume 8 litres per minute, 40 litres per shower. Power showers consume much, much more.
Toilet habits:
However, the average healthy human being will visit the toilet 8-10 times per day. Even though modern toilet cisterns are generally restricted to a 4-6 litre flush, by adding on hand-washing as well, some sources indicate we use up to 10 litres of fresh water per toilet visit! So, that's a potential 60-100 litres of fresh water flushed away by every one of us, every day. That's a lot for a scarce resource.
A composting toilet requires absolutely no water. It simply separates urine and faecal matter in different directions.
Instead of a "standard" toilet cistern, which requires mains water and "consumes" 4-6 litres of water and waste with every flush, a composting toilet requires absolutely no water: it simply separates urine and faecal matter in different directions. By separating the two, waste volume is probably reduced by 75-80%.
Although personal habits and health vary from person to person, if we were all to drink the recommended 2 litres of liquid a day then we can generally assume about 1½ litres of that will come back out as urine. If you remove the flushing water from the toilet process, you're "potentially" reducing water waste to 1½ rather than 60-100 litres per person, per day. And as a composting toilet also separates urine and faecal matter in different directions, the resultant waste volume is furthered reduced by 75-80%. You simply have a certain volume of faecal matter.
To summarise their eco credentials, as composting toilets do not need water, they conserve our precious water resources. They massively reduce the use of fresh flushing water and therefore prevent the production of large volumes of (unnecessary) waste water which can harm watercourses and or need treatment at a sewage plant of sewage treatment works. Where you might otherwise collect waste in a cesspool, holding tank or septic tank, the use of composting toilets will mean that you will cut out the carbon footprint created by truck journeys to clean these tanks.
In general, a sewage system is comprised of a network of pipes that carry sewage and grey water from a home or business to the mains sewer.
Typically, this network of pipes relies on gravity for the waste to flow into the mains sewer. It may also be directed into a septic tank, sewage treatment plant or above ground waste capture tank, such as our Flat Tank. In the home and work environments, most of us are accustomed to flushing the toilet and the waste "magically" disappears. It's not quite that simple, of course, it's a sign that the underground infrastructure is already in place to deal with it: from house, to mains sewer to sewage treatment works or septic tank.
However, for every "standard" situation where the waste is directed straight into the mains sewer, there are many applications where a mains sewer is not available and you will need to find an alternative solution. On a glamping site, for example, where the glamping pod is situated a long way from a mains sewer, the sewage needs to be transported to the main sewer or collection tank in a different way.
And that is where sewage and waste pumping stations come in.
Typical pumping performance - depending on site conditions
Max pumping height 14m at 0 flow rate
A waste pumping station is made up of a two main components: (1) a large plastic tank (known as an accumulation tank or chamber) into which (2) a submersible pump (or pumps) is fitted.
Available in a range of volumes and sizes, the plastic tank acts as the receiver for sewage and/or grey water* from a glamping pod, several glamping pods, a building or even a group of buildings.
The waste pumping station is "sized" according to the projected waste volume your glamping pod or application will create within a certain timescale (usually a 24 hour period), and the distance and height the waste is to be pumped. For the pumping aspect to work, you will need mains electricity and, depending on your application, waste pumping stations are available in single or three phase electrical supply versions.
Waste from the individual sources (toilet, shower, sink etc.) flows under gravity into the accumulation tank where it will "sit" until it [the waste] reaches a predetermined level. The inbuilt pump incorporates a float switch, the latter rising on the waste as the chamber fills. Once the float switch reaches a certain level, the pump will kick in to "churn" and pressurise the sewage so that it will be pumped out of the chamber. Waste "leaves" the waste pumping station through appropriate hose or pipework, uphill and/or over distance to a point where it enters the mains sewer or is directed into a separate waste holding tank such as our flat tank.
The waste pumping station (depending on the model) has one or several 4" waste inlets (the same size as standard waste pipe from a domestic toilet) into which you direct the waste from your toilet(s). The outlet for the "churned" and pumped waste is via a 32-50mm fitting to which suitable pipe / hose is connected so that the waste is pumped away over distance. Finally, for the pumping station to work properly whilst this liquid is flowing in and being pumped out, a breather valve is also included.
Depending on your application, we may advise a macerating pump or a vortex pump.
*Please note: when collecting the waste from kitchen sinks where fats and cooking oils may be "introduced" into the waste water, we strongly recommend the installation of a grease trap underneath the sink / between sink and waste pumping station. Whereas fats and greases will readily flow into the tank in their warm or hot liquid states, once these liquids cool when they come into contact with the toilet waste inside the tank they will congeal as fat "bergs." This is certainly to be avoided as the operation of the pump(s) will be adversely affected.
Waste pumped from a waste pumping station can be directed into several "receivers"