Toilet Equity

What Toilet Equity does

Toilet Equity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (Tax ID 88-1445454) founded circa 2021 in Grand Junction, Colorado, that designs, installs, and maintains off-grid composting toilets for communities lacking equitable restroom access. The organization operates a portfolio of three toilet models — a Standard Wooden unit (41"x41"), an ADA Accessible unit with ramp and grab bars (85"x108"), and a Converted Plastic unit (44"x47") — all built around a sawdust-based aerobic composting process ("D.U.M.P.S." method) that achieves 130-140°F (54-60°C) thermophilic conditions, kills pathogens, and yields Class A-quality compost over roughly a one-year cycle. Toilets are placed at host-partner locations (churches, nonprofits, businesses such as the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley, First Christian Church, and Homeward Bound of the Grand Valley) in areas inaccessible to pump trucks, septic, or sewer; end users include unsheltered individuals, gig and delivery workers, Colorado River corridor residents and recreators, and transgender/nonbinary individuals seeking single-stall, gender-neutral, lockable facilities.

The organization's go-to-market is community-led through a three-way partnership: host partners supply placement, volunteers handle daily cleaning and maintenance, and donors plus foundation grants supply capital. Revenue is composed of individual donations (one-time and monthly recurring tiers from $4 to $50+) and foundation grants from organizations including Quimby Family Foundation, Rocky Mountain Health Foundation, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, St. Mary's Hospital Foundation, Western Colorado Community Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, and Wolcott Family Foundation. The program scaled from 2 to 7 toilets, now serves 200+ people daily at approximately 200 uses per day, and has produced compost tested at 89% organic matter.

Operationally, Toilet Equity is currently navigating a wastewater disposal permit appeal with the City of Grand Junction and is working to secure a permanent compost site at Roice Hurst Animal Society while relying on Persigo wastewater treatment as an interim disposal partner (fees waived for a trial year). Leadership comprises Founder and Board Chair Paul Padyk, MD; CEO Kaitlin Louise Pettit, PhD (since 2023); Project Coordinator Kuiper Curtis; and board members including Kari Scholtes and Avery Pope. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed funding rounds, and no patents or trademarks; it is recognized by the Rich Earth Institute as a Partner Spotlight and has generated earned media in The Daily Sentinel and a TEDxGrandJunction talk.

Name

Toilet Equity

Legal name

Toilet Equity

Website

https://toiletequity.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Toilet Equity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Grand Junction, Colorado that designs, installs, and maintains off-grid sawdust composting toilets at host-partner sites, serving unhoused individuals, gig workers, river-corridor users, and trans/nonbinary people with 24/7 restroom access funded by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Sanitation Services

NAICS

Janitorial Services (56172), Compost Manufacturing (325315), Septic Tank and Related Services (562991)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Restroom Hygiene & Consumables Services (Supplies, Dispensers, Matting) (BPABABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Portable Toilet Rental & Servicing (BPALAMAF), Composting Facility Operations (Windrow, ASP, In-Vessel) (BPALAEAB), Composting (Windrow, Aerated Static Pile, In-Vessel) (EUAIAEAC)

Keywords

• Composting toilet installation
• Nonprofit sanitation services
• Off-grid waste management
• Human waste composting
• Dry sanitation systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Junction

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations (One-time and Monthly): Individual donors contribute through one-time gifts or monthly recurring donations via Colorado Gives and the organization's own donation platform. Monthly donors are segmented into tiers (Legacy Luminaries $50+/month, Eco-Equity Enthusiasts up to $50/month, Relief Revolutionaries up to $25/month, Composting Champions up to $10/month). The $4/month campaign supports ongoing operations including supplies, cleaning, and maintenance.
2. Grant Funding: Funding from granting agencies and foundation grants supports capital costs for toilet construction and installation. Mentioned that their granting agencies and private donors provide the funds for building and maintaining toilets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Toilet Equity designs, installs, and maintains off-grid composting toilets for underserved communities in Western Colorado, primarily unsheltered individuals. The organization operates three portable toilet models using a sawdust-based composting system that requires no water, septic, or pump-truck access, and manages the full lifecycle including daily maintenance, cleaning, supply restocking, and off-site composting of waste into Class A-quality compost. All services are provided free of charge to end users.

Product overview

Toilet Equity provides a portfolio of three compost toilet models—Standard Wooden, ADA Accessible, and Converted Plastic—that serve communities lacking equitable toilet access. The toilets operate without water or septic systems, collecting deposits in bins beneath seats where users add sawdust to cover deposits and prevent odors. Toilet Equity manages the full service lifecycle including daily maintenance, cleaning, supply restocking, and waste composting. All three models share a common design philosophy: portable, odor-free operation using sawdust and aerobic composting to transform human waste into safe, usable compost.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard Wooden Compost Toilet

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 people use Toilet Equity toilets every day
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rich Earth InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRich Earth Institute, one of the nation's leading organizations advancing ecological sanitation and nutrient recovery, featured Toilet Equity in their Partner Spotlight. The institute researches how human waste can be transformed from a pollution problem into a valuable resource. Their work has shaped conversations around circular sanitation, clean water, and sustainable agriculture. Toilet Equity is honored to be recognized by leaders in this field and part of the growing movement rethinking sanitation.
• Homeward Bound of the Grand ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor host partner for Toilet Equity's toilet placement program. Homeward Bound requested TE to place 4 toilets at the new Grand Junction Resource Center on Ute Avenue and 1 toilet at their North Avenue facility, scaling operations from 2 to 7 toilets.
• Riverside Educational CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided warm and bright warehouse space for Toilet Equity to lay out and paint building materials for toilet construction, supporting the organization's scaling efforts.
• Roice Hurst Animal SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerToilet Equity is working to secure permits for a new compost site on Roice Hurst Animal Society property. This will enable the organization to build new compost piles and expand composting capacity beyond the current founder's property location.
• Persigo (Local Wastewater Treatment Facility)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPersigo, the local wastewater treatment facility, stepped in as an interim solution when Toilet Equity's compost space was exhausted. They are allowing the organization to empty bins at their facility, even waiving fees for a trial year, while the organization works to secure permits for a permanent compost site.
• Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand ValleycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOne of the first host partner locations for Toilet Equity, providing space for a compost toilet installation. The church considers hosting a Toilet Equity toilet a wise investment for long-term sanitation solution.
• First Christian Church (Grand Junction)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHost partner location for Toilet Equity toilet placement, located next to Sherwood Park. One of the early toilet locations established by the organization.
• The Daily SentinelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal newspaper that has covered Toilet Equity's work, including their waste disposal permit appeal, search for new host locations, and broader coverage of toilet access issues in the Grand Junction community. Coverage helps raise awareness and community support.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Clean Team Ghana: Operates a fee-based container toilet collection service for low-income households in Kumasi, Ghana. Comparable in operating portable sanitation for underserved populations and converting waste to compost, though it monetizes directly while Toilet Equity is donation-funded.
• Sanergy: Builds and operates container-based sanitation infrastructure in informal settlements in Kenya and collects waste for treatment into fertilizer. Highly comparable as a sanitation-for-the-unshelved service that turns human waste into an agricultural product, validating the resource-recovery sanitation model Toilet Equity pursues.
• Lava Mae: US nonprofit that delivers mobile showers, toilets, and hygiene services to people experiencing homelessness in California. Directly comparable mission (dignified sanitation access for unhoused individuals) and US nonprofit funding model, though focuses on mobile rather than fixed composting infrastructure.
• SOIL Haiti: Nonprofit operating ecological sanitation programs that build and service composting toilets in underserved Haitian communities. Closely parallels Toilet Equity's model of deploying and maintaining composting toilets for those without sanitation access, including similar sawdust-based and container-based treatment methods.

Others

• Clivus Multrum: Long-established manufacturer of waterless composting toilet systems for homes, cabins, and commercial sites. Adjacent as a composting toilet technology company operating in the same product category as Toilet Equity's toilet designs.
• Nature's Head: US manufacturer of compact composting toilets commonly used in off-grid and tiny-home applications. Adjacent as a composting toilet technology provider in the same product category, with potential overlap in serving off-grid and remote-use scenarios.
• Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA): International network advancing sustainable sanitation practices including composting toilets. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that amplifies and validates organizations like Toilet Equity, though it is a coordinating body rather than a service operator.
• Sun-Mar: Manufacturer of self-contained composting toilets for residential and commercial use. Relevant as a technology supplier/adjacent in the same product category, though Toilet Equity builds custom toilets rather than purchasing off-the-shelf units.

Emerging players

• DignityMoves: US nonprofit that builds interim supportive housing communities for people experiencing homelessness. Comparable as a nonprofit serving unhoused populations with dignity-centered infrastructure, though focused on shelter rather than sanitation specifically.

Broad incumbents

• PolyPortables: Major US manufacturer and supplier of portable restrooms (port-a-potties) for events and construction. Comparable in deploying temporary/portable restroom infrastructure, though uses plastic tank-based technology rather than composting and operates as a commercial for-profit supplier.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xthreads.com/@toiletequitygj
• Facebookfacebook.com/TEGJ2022
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/toilet-equity
• Instagraminstagram.com/toiletequitygj

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Toilet Equity