Review of the Wrappon Green Tear and Seal Toilet

Having a way to “do” your business conveniently is a must for anyone who enjoys truck camping. Indeed, truck camper manufacturers have gone out of their way to design campers with adequate bathroom facilities without encroaching too much on interior living space. While truck camper manufacturers have been more mindful of this need, space is still the limiting factor when designing a bathroom. As such, bathrooms run from the luxurious, like the large dry-baths found in multiple slide-out campers, to a more spartan and minimalist approach, like the “bathrooms” found in some small pop-ups that consist only of a small storage cubby to store a porta pottie. This is a Review of the Wrappon Green Tear and Seal Toilet.

Many who own pop-up truck campers without a standard RV toilet use the popular Thetford Porta Potti 260 to do their business. At $129 it’s cheap, compact, and easy to use. Unfortunately, with this toilet you still have to deal with the mess and the smell, not to mention the weight and unsanitary conditions, associated with hauling around 2.6 gallons (21.58 pounds) of sewage. There’s no doubt about it. Disposing of sewage is probably the worst thing about truck camping. Some would rather change a tire than do it. Fortunately, there are several portable toilets that can be used in truck campers and camper vans that greatly reduce the smell and mess associated with using a portable toilet. One of the best and most innovative toilets we’ve come across is the Wrappon Green tear and seal toilet. We first learned of this portable toilet through AT Overland, which offers it as a standalone option in all of its campers.

How the Wrappon Green portable toilet works is pretty neat. Instead of using water for flushing, the Wrappon Green is electro-mechanical and controlled with an electronic remote. The toilet uses thermo compression bonding to hermetically seal waste in a five-layer, white polyethylene film, which resembles the thin plastic used in garbage bags. After the sealing process, the toilet cuts the film automatically for disposal. The Wrappon Green also requires use of a polymer coagulating powder that deodorizes and turns liquid waste into a gel like substance. When the film is about to run out, the word “STOP” appears on the film, alerting the owner that new film needs to be installed. The Wrappon Green tear and seal toilet is made in Japan by Nihon Safety Ltd. Distribution in the United States is handled by S.E. Technologies out of Denver, Colorado.

Constructed primarily of an aluminum alloy, the Wrappon Green is portable and operates on AC or DC power. It weighs 26.4 pounds, measures 17.3 inches wide, and 18.1 inches deep. When stored, the Wrappon Green is 10.6 inches high and 15.7 inches high fully assembled. The unit works on either 110 volts AC or 12 volts DC (a special 12 volt adapter is needed for this option). For those who prefer an outdoor off-grid setup, a 12 volt lithium-ion battery pack can also be purchased that lasts between 50 and 60 uses. Power consumption during operation is a little high at 120 watts (about 9.4 amps), but isn’t too bad when you consider how little the toilet is used during the day. Only one color is offered here in the United States—green. The Wrappon Green sells for $989 on Amazon.com and includes everything you need to get started including the special film and coagulating powder.

Pros and Cons of the Wrappon Green

The benefits of the Wrappon Green are obvious. First, the unit uses no water. For those who like to explore far off the beaten path and camp off-grid, this is a HUGE benefit. As you know, potable water is a truck camper owner’s most precious resource. Sizable amounts are needed for standard toilet flushing. With the Wrappon toilet, water usage is no longer a concern. Furthermore, the Wrappon toilet doesn’t emit nasty fumes and smells like a standard RV toilet/black water holding tank set-up. Not only are these fumes unpleasant, but they can also be hazardous to your health. The Wrappon Green is also hygienic since the handling of sewage has been eliminated. This means you no longer need to wear gloves and dump your black water waste at an RV dumpsite. With the Wrappon toilet you can simply dispose of the waste bags in a trashcan or dumpster like a baby diaper.

Another big plus about this “cutting edge” toilet is its versatility. The Wrappon Green can be used at home, in your camper, in an outdoor RV privacy enclosure or outhouse, in a tiny house, or in your boat. Practically anywhere. What makes it so versatile is its compact size and that it can be operated on either AC or DC power. With an adequate solar power system this means the toilet can be operated an unlimited number of times if you have the Wrappon toilet supplies that you need. This makes it great for pop-up campers, tent camping, boating, and emergencies when potable water is limited or unavailable. In fact, thousands of these toilets were used in the aftermath of some of the worst natural disasters in Japan, including Fukushima, Kumamoto, Hiesei, and Hokkaido.

Are there any negatives associated with the Wrappon Green Tear and Seal Toilet? Just a couple. First, the unit is expensive to own and operate. A standard porta pottie will set you back around $100; the Wrappon Green costs nearly 10 times that amount at $989. Compounding the upfront cost, is the price to use the toilet on a daily basis. A roll of film costs $46; the box of coagulating powder about $19. This equates to around $1.30 per per use. Second, the film used to seal the waste isn’t biodegradable. Having the option of burying these waste bags in the ground would be nice, but with this plastic film you can’t. We realize that the Wrappon toilet was designed originally for use in high-rise cranes and in natural disasters, but a biodegradable option for outdoor use would be popular with environmentally conscious campers. John Fangman, Wrappon’s Business Development Manager here in the U.S., tells us that the company is presently working on something more eco-friendly, but it won’t be available to the public for another year or two.

The Verdict

How well does the Wrappon Green work in real life? About as perfect as you can get. The quick reference guide/set-up instructions are comprehensive, well-illustrated, and easy to understand. Set-up takes about 10 minutes, with most of that time devoted to installing the film, which requires the use of a special installation tool to get the film properly set. Operation of the Wrappon Green is easy. The toilet is controlled using a remote control with the number of “flushes” counted and displayed on the remote. To flush the toilet, all you need to do is push the “FLUSH” button on the remote. The sealing process after each “flush” takes about 90 seconds, when two “beeps” are heard and the counter display on the remote advances by one. In fact, set-up and use of the Wrappon Green is so easy, a caveman could do it.

In conclusion, we’re big fans of the Wrappon Green tear and seal toilet. It’s compact, well-made, and easy to operate. More importantly, the toilet saves on water, eliminates black water handling, and greatly reduces unpleasant black tank odors in your camper. In fact, it’s about as close as you can get to a luxury toilet experience off-grid. Sure, the high cost will turn-off some looking for a low-cost alternative, but when you compare it to a good composting toilet, the cost is about the same. I suppose the decision to buy the Wrappon Green really comes down to how often you’ll use it. If you camp only a couple of weekends a year, then I probably wouldn’t recommend this toilet. On the other hand, if you camp several months or several weeks a year, or plan on using it as part of your emergency preparedness plan, then having this toilet is definitely worth the extra cost. So what’s our rating of the Wrappon Green Tear and Seal Toilet? On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, we enthusiastically give it a rating of 5 stars. It’s a great product.