Pee Green: Waterless Urinals Saving 22,000 Tons of Water a Year at Nankai Electric Railway
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 08.11.08
Nankai Electric Railway has introduced 73 waterless urinals at 18 stations on the Nankai and Koya train lines in Osaka, Japan. The urinals are the first of their kind in Japan and provide savings of around 22,000 metric tons of water and 12.7 metric tons of CO2 a year.
There has been some controversy over waterless urinals, notable opponents including the plumber’s union of Philadelphia. However, joint research by Falcon Waterfree Technologies and UCLA, as well as research by other independent bodies, suggests environmental, economical and health benefits beyond saving water include improved hygiene compared to manual flush urinals (although these are uncommon in Japan as most flush urinals use automatic sensors), lower maintenance costs and energy savings leading to reductions in CO2 output.
Waterless urinals generally look and function much like a regular flush urinal and connect to the standard plumbing system. The notable difference is in the use of specially-designed cartridges containing oil-based liquids designed to filter urine and trap odors. As urine is composed of around 96% water and is free of bacteria and viruses, the urine simply passes through the filter and joins the normal waste stream. The filters are recyclable and the liquids are not considered to be harmful to the environment.
In water-strapped countries like Australia, most people are familiar with the water-saving mantra “if it’s brown, flush it down, if it’s yellow, let it mellow” but waterless urinals have only recently started to become widely accepted. With the introduction of environmentally friendly building standards such as the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™) standard by the US Green Building Council, waterless urinals are also becoming an important criteria for developers wishing to get green ratings for new buildings.
Unfortunately, the ladies out there won’t get to experience the new system, but relieved men will be happy to know that the environmental impact of the number one has been significantly reduced.
Brought to you by Midority of greenz.jp
More waterless urinals here on TreeHugger
Waterless Urinal System
No Splash, No Flush Urinals from Kohler
Pee in Style and Save Water
Case Study for Flushless Urinals
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Two Old Nuclear Reactors To Be Closed At Hamaoka, Japan
- Five Green Nightclubs Where You Can Party the Night Away
- Green Gizmos Meet Refabs at School of Sustainability
- Schools In Japan To Ban Cell Phones
"Heaven of Birds and Animals Zoo" in Gaza Looks Like Hell for New Lion Cubs
|
Book Review: Traffic By Tom Vanderbilt
|
I've been using these at Alta ski resort in Utah for years. They don't smell, they appear cleaner, and they are just downright cool. I'm sure the plumbers union hates them, less maintenance equals less plumbing work
Well, if you look beyond the US or Australia, you'll realize that waterless urinals already are a common sight in Europe.
When it comes to acceptance, it imho all depends on how well they are maintained / cleaned.
The new "Green" (actually an energy wasting disaster with 5 story cathedral ceilings) building at the University of Vermont claims to have "waterless urinals". They are right, their urinals don't have water, but they aren't designed as waterless urinals, so they stink and they stain. I have sen true waterless urinals to compare them to and they are amazingly clean and efficient. I hope more people do this the right way.
There are problems, though, that still have to be dealt with.
Maintenance personnel have to be retrained on cleaning procedures - flushing the usual cleaning chemicals in these things will wreck them. There are problems with concentrated urine dissolving pipes. And many plumbing codes still require that you be able to see water in the bottom of a fixture (that prevents sewer gases from coming back up through the fixture).
Its a technology that I believe will hit its stride, but its not there, yet.
Who measures water in tons? It comes out to roughly 705,128 gallons or 2,669,199 liters.
The average US family of four uses 400 gallons/day of water, so it saves almost 5 years of water use by a US family.
We've had those in Israel for years... They're far from standard, but not rare either.