Green Week, Day 2: Waterless Urinals

I'll be honest: The first time I heard someone talk about waterless urinals my mind instantly went back to the "out-houses" in India and I recoiled. You can't put a waterless urinal in an American church building! Eww.

Then I did the research and I have to say, I'm about as big a fan of waterless urinals as a woman could be.

The picture (left, from Falcon) does a pretty concise job of describing the process. The blue sealant liquid is less dense, so it stays on top. It traps bacteria and odor beneath it. The small compartment beneath the sealant liquid quickly overflows into the drain line.

In some models, what you see pictured is a cartridge that needs to be changed every so often. In other models (like the Kohler at the top), maintenance only requires pouring a little more of the sealant liquid in and Tada!; you're done. I worked on our church's volunteer cleaning crew for about a year, and I must say: If you have church members volunteering to clean your building you owe them this.

And, while this initially seems completely counter-intuitive, they actually make restrooms more sanitary. Think about it: no standing water in the bottom of the urinal, and they're touch-free!

AND they're usually less expensive than traditional urinals. I know, everyone likes to argue that they can't build green 'cause it costs more but it's not true in the men's restroom (actually, it's generally not true overall). The models are less expensive because there's no flushing mechanism, and installation is easier because all it needs is a drain line.

In a nutshell:

• Zero water consumption
• Low maintenance and operating costs
• Easier and more sanitary maintenance prodecure
  
• Lower sewage costs
• Less expensive installation
• More hygienic restrooms

I'm sold.