A CONSERVATION group in Teesdale has a new eco-friendly piece of equipment that ensures it is not flushing money down the toilet.

Teesdale Conservation Volunteers (TCV) used to use a portable cabin toilet at its base in Startforth, near Barnard Castle, which is a former sewerage treatment works.

The toilet was costing the group about £100 a month, so they replaced it with three biological composting toilets.

Bought over the internet for £130 and powered by a small wind turbine, the toilets mix human waste with compost, then aerate and heat the waste to produce odourless compost when the loos are emptied every three months.

Martin Bacon, of TCV, said: "Because we got the toilets so cheap, we will make our money back in less than two months.

"Not only are they better for the environment than other cabin toilets, they also don't smell because they are ventilated.

"These types of toilets could be used in the home, or anywhere that needs a temporary toilet."

TCV also runs Rotters, which collects garden waste throughout the dale and turns it into compost, which is sold on. No waste from the new toilets will be sold with the Rotters compost.