Okay so the last post got me thinking about dual-flush toilets. I’ve never seen one, though it was readily apparent to me that they would be toilets that flush different amounts of water for liquid or solid waste (“number one” or “number two” as they say, right?).
A couple clicks later on the InterWebs and I landed at the EcoTransitions site. They sell Caroma dual-flush toilets that use 0.8 gallons for liquid waste and the standard “low flush” 1.6 gallons for solid waste.
A really great — and really obvious — idea! I’m going to look into purchasing one to replace the hideous blue toilet my my bathroom (seriously, a blue toilet… what were they thinking?) at some point. Right now we tend to leave the liquid waste (I love that that’s the term they use) sitting through the night to save water anyway, but there’s just no way around the idea that doing so seems kind of gross.
I always wonder how far good ideas can be pushed. Do we really need to flush 0.8 gallons for pee? I bet that number could be tuned way down. I mean, a gallon or gallon and a half is a lot of water to toss out any time nature calls.
I’ve noticed a urinal at UCSF that is made by “Falcon Waterfree Technologies” — it doesn’t have any incoming water and instead uses a drain at the bottom (very clever!) combined with some kind of deodorizing bar. Now we’re talking. I’m amused to report that their website has a program called “Pee Green” promoting retrofitting existing urinal installations with their models.
From LEED to pee… yes I said pee again… how fun is this?
