ACT hut toilets
A few of the huts along the original route for the Arctic Circle Trail have a dry toilet available. If you plan to use them, please help us manage the waste as it is only collected once per year (in winter).
The following huts currently have an indoor dry toilet:
- Canoe Centre
- Eqalugaarniarfik
- Innajuatooq II
though we are in the process of establishing outdoor toilet facilities for the other huts. We hope to have this work completed by 2024.
Toilet procedure – indoor dry toilets
Please pee outside so that the indoor dry toilets don’t fill so quickly.
Each toilet is lined with a very thick, heavy-duty plastic bag that must be replaced before it is 1/3-full.
DO NOT use the toilet if there are no bags.
If you go to use the toilet and find the bag needs to be replaced, please do not ignore this responsibility or assume the next person will do it. Once the bag is more than 1/3-full, it is almost impossible to replace it without incident.
To avoid the need to replace the bag frequently, only use the inside toilet for human faeces. If you wish to urinate, do it outside (but please don’t leave toilet paper out there).
Note: the toilet is only for human waste. Please do not put garbage in it.
Steps to replace the bag
- While the bag is still less than 1/3 full, remove it from the toilet and tie the top of the bag so the waste is contained. There should be metal ties near the extra bags
- Take the bag outside and place it in the large box near the hut. DO NOT place it in the blue garbage bin
- Line the toilet with a fresh heavy-duty bag. These should be found close to the toilet room
What if there is no toilet?
If you are staying at a hut without a dry toilet, you will have to go in nature – just like you do along other parts of the trail.
Watch the video if you are not sure about the correct procedure for going to the toilet in nature.
While 70m off a trail is fine advice, we prefer you to go 100m from the trail and at least 200m away from the huts.
The amount of poop and toilet paper near the huts and along the trail is by far the biggest disappointment and concern for ACT hikers. It is the #1 issue raised in all our feedback surveys.
Please, do the right thing and bury your waste carefully.
Ladies – please invest in a pee cloth to reduce the amount of toilet paper you use.
We ask that to pack your toilet paper out with you rather than burying it in the cathole, as it does not biodegrade well in Arctic environments. DO NOT under any circumstances bury wet wipes.
It takes toilet paper up to 3 years to biodegrade under normal circumstances (longer in the Arctic), but wet wipes last more than 100 YEARS.