An allotment plot with no mains water and no sewer connection soon raises the toilet question: a bucket smells, and a chemical toilet is heavy to empty. Here is how to fit a waterless urinal in the garden shed of a French allotment – known there as jardins familiaux – and what to check before you drill a single hole.
The framework: the 1976 law and the site rules
French allotments are governed by law no. 76-1022 of 10 November 1976 on the creation and protection of family gardens (loi relative à la création et à la protection des jardins familiaux), whose provisions were later incorporated into the Rural Code. The principle: plots cultivated by individuals for their own and their family’s needs, with no commercial use.
The practical details – shed size, toilets, rainwater collection – are set by the site rules of the association or local council that runs the allotments, and by the local zoning plan. Those site rules are the first thing to read.
Many allotment associations belong to the FNJFC (Fédération nationale des jardins familiaux et collectifs – the national federation of allotment gardens), successor to the league founded in 1896 by Abbé Lemire.
What the regulations say about dry toilets
For buildings not connected to the public sewer, the reference text is the decree (arrêté) of 7 September 2009 on the technical requirements for off-mains sanitation. Its article 17 allows dry toilets provided they cause no nuisance to neighbours, no liquid discharge beyond the plot and no pollution of surface water or groundwater. Where urine is collected separately, the same article requires it to be sent to a domestic wastewater treatment system, and the by-products to be used on the plot after composting. The French Ministry for Ecological Transition restated these conditions in an answer published in the Journal officiel on 4 March 2025.
Whether this decree applies to a garden shed with no sanitary installation is something the local off-mains sanitation service (SPANC) can tell you; the association’s site rules apply on top of it. Ask the committee what is allowed and, if in doubt, check with the SPANC.
Why a urinal next to the dry toilet
Urine-diverting dry toilets, such as those from Separett or Trelino, send urine and solids to two separate containers – keeping urine apart helps limit odour. The wall-mounted Standard and Standard Plus urinals complement them for men standing up: urine goes straight into a separate canister without passing through the toilet.
Installation
You need the Pi-Pi urinal, fixings suited to the shed wall, a 10–20 litre canister and a hose that fits the stepped Ø24/32/40 mm outlet. No plumber, no water supply: the urinal itself is usually fixed to the wall in 5–7 minutes. The Standard Plus also has a 70 mm port on top for ventilation.
What to do with the collected urine
The canister is kept closed and emptied as the site rules and the SPANC allow; the association committee will tell you where and how. Article 17 sets the general frame: no liquid discharge beyond the plot, no water pollution, no nuisance to neighbours. So do not pour the contents into a ditch, stream or pond.
Winter in an unheated shed
A garden shed is usually unheated, and frost reaches much of France. Pi-Pi’s LLDPE stays flexible down to −40 °C, whereas polypropylene homopolymer becomes brittle around 0 °C. Before the first frosts, empty the hose and the canister: liquid that freezes can split the container. The urinal itself can stay on the wall.
Conclusion
On a plot without a sewer, a waterless urinal solves the standing-up question with no plumbing at all, as long as you follow the site rules and discharge nothing beyond the plot. The Standard and Standard Plus urinals are delivered to France in 7–9 days.
