Waterless toilets? hmmm.

I just heard of waterless toilets myself.  It turns out my area has a low-flow toilet rebate, and I discovered that our current toilet was made in 1951, so we're going to replace it with an (ultra) low flow version (1.28 gal per flush).  The idea of the waterless toilet pretty well grossed me out too.

A waterless urinal sounds like a good idea.  My only problem is that I wouldn't have room for one in my bathroom in addition to the toilet, but it sounds like a really good way to save water (and I don't think the grossness factor would be a problem).

Haha, regardless of whether or not they make a good product, they certainly nailed it with their tagline:

"Pee Green."

I did a post on my blog a couple weeks ago about the waterless urinals.  I've seen them now at a couple public bathrooms in Boston.  Like most people, I hate the smell of urine and I did not notice any smell around them.  I forget the exact number, but something like 20,000-30,000 gallons of water saved a year for each unit when they ae used in public restrooms!

I want one for my bathroom but a dual flush toilet is our next investment. 

We actually had/have waterless urinals in my dorm building bathrooms at the University of Washington.

Originally we had the Kohler ones, but they frequently got clogged (I don't see how there's that much to clog them, but anyway...). That might have been simply because of the severe use they get in a dorm building, or perhaps the janitors weren't maintaining them properly (Kohler specifies a bimonthly cleanout procedure). They actually ended up getting rid of the Kohler ones because of the clogging issues. Again though, I'll stress that it may not have really been a flaw with the urinal.

Elsewhere on campus we have the Falcon brand ones, and I am not aware of any problems with them whatsoever. They're completely odor-free and drain quickly in my experience. Their main fault lies in that they have a replaceable cartridge unit. This is probably why they're so odor-free, but it also probably negates the environmental benefits of having a water free urinal (imagine all the petroleum in the plastic casing, the energy expended on transport and manufacturing, etc.).

You could also go with a dual-flush toilet or retrofit.

Waterless toilets in my neck of the woods are called outhouses!  Outhouses compost all of your waste and costs about one quarter of a so called composting toilet.  Who thought of this thing, dosn't it stink like high heaven?  Better yet who in their right mind would pay $1500 for something you are going crap on and your male children will pee all over?  God help the poor man who leaves the seat up and his wife falls in.. 

I have just recently ran into BioLet waterless toilets in the last couple of months. From what I have experienced so far with them, they work wonderfully if they are installed properly. They are self contained, so there isnt any large holding tanks that need to go into the basement unlike other models I have seen on the net. We have no odors (or bugs) from the toilet either, which was a worry that had kept me away from composting toilets in the past.

What is cool about the Biolet toilets is you dont even have to see the inside of the toilet. there is a pair of doors that remain closed until you sit down, pressing a button to open them.

If you want more information:  http://www.biolet.com

Here is another waterless Urinal to consider: Caroma's H2Zero www.caromausa.com/H2Zero-waterless-urinal.

• Technologically advanced bathroom products
• Set the standard in high efficiency dual flush toilets
• More WaterSense-approved toilets than any manufacturer

The Swedish company Separett make excellent waterless toilets use in cabins or cottages. At least a couple hundred thousand people use them in Scandinavia. The good thing is that the design is really great. Your wife will like it too.

www.separett.us

Hi,

Maybe you want to look at this product at www.beingwater.com   There is a new undersink water recycling unit there that uses graywater to flush your existing toilet It's called the H2O-Mizer

Outhouses do not compost the waste. There is a stinking mass of fermenting raw sewage down there. Waterless and composting toilets, properly installed and used, do not stink whatsoever. I've been using one for years.

The latest technology seperates the urine from the solids. Solid human wast is about 85% water by volume. It shrinks and dries out quickly. Pardon me being direct, but the dry material has no smell. This is the key to a successful waterless or composting toilet.

The earlier models of composting toilets mixed the urine with solids. There are potential problems here. They need powerful heaters to evaporate the urine. Sometimes they leak. The significant amount of liquid sometimes means fermentation and odor. They can work, but you need to be very careful not to introduce too much liquid.

I like the Separett, from Sweden. Here is where I got mine, and they were great to deal with: http://www.sustainable-solutions.info/Separett%202.htm