The gospel of water and energy conservation gets quite tiresome at times, most particularly because there is so much more than conservation necessary to secure an adequate future supply of each. (I've written a white paper for a think tank on securing future water supply for the Seattle region - link to the paper at this blog post). In the name of good intentions, some dumb stuff makes it into the market. Like low-flush toilets for the home. A total bust where solids, and toilet paper are involved, in my experience.

But no-flush men's urinals are catching on, all over, and I can see why. One manufacturer is L.A.-based Falcon Waterfree Technologies, which has installed them in 22 countries at locations including London's Heathrow Airport, UNC Chapel Hill, the Rose Bowl, and on Japanese bullet trains.

This trade magazine profile of the company says flushless men's urinals result in less bacteria, maintenance and vandalism.

A cartridge with a biodegradeable sealant controls odor and catches sediments, letting urine pass down the drain without the added impetus of flushed water. The water savings are substantial, as a typical men's urinal uses 1.6 gallons per flush.

In some instances, featherbedding plumbers unions are fighting installation of flushless urinals, believing the devices are a threat to their continued employment because they require less labor to install and maintain.

In Philadelphia, the Inquirer reports that plumbers union Local 690 has so far cowed city officials into blocking plans for flushless urinals in the new, 58-story Comcast Tower.

Edward Keenan, the head of Local 690, which represents plumbers in Philadelphia and its suburbs, did not return phone calls for this story. But those involved in the urinal debate say the plumbers object to the waterless devices because they require less labor to install than the traditional kind. The city's building code has no provision for waterless urinals, an innovation that has come into use in the last five years. And because the plumbers are so opposed to the technology, Philadelphia officials are reluctant to introduce its use in the city.

"We're still looking into this. I want to make sure they're safe," said Robert D. Solvibile Sr., who runs Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections, the agency that enforces the city's building code. "We're afraid that if they're not properly maintained, dangerous gases could come into the room and harm people."

"Dangerous?" laughed Douglas Durst, the developer of the Bank of America Tower (in NYC), when told of Solvibile's concerns. "We've had them in our offices for four years. If they're dangerous, we haven't noticed."...the state government is a fervent convert to the waterless bowls. The city's reluctance to approve the technology "really flies in the face of what we're preaching," complained Harry Rummel, a real estate manager for Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection. He has approved the urinals in nearly a dozen state buildings, including the agency's new Norristown offices. "You're not putting plumbers out of work," Rummel insisted. "The urinals still need a drain. You're just using less water. It's a no-brainer."

A West Coast plumbers union is also making a stink over no-flush men's urinals. Fifty were installed at the San Diego Zoo, and the San Diego County Water Authority is promoting more. But when the authority considered pushing for a change in the state plumbing code to officially bless flushless urinals, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 230 fought back with lawyers and publicists, according to this NPR report. The union claims dangerous sewer gases could escape when the filters are changed, and bacteria could proliferate without flushing. But water aids growth of bacteria, and no specific cases of dangerous mishaps are cited by the union, either in the NPR article or on their atrociously designed 1993-style Web site, which proudly boasts it was built and is maintained by union labor.

Chicago City Hall is testing out four new flushless men's urinals; the plumbers union is wishfully predicting possible failure, but DeMare's Guyz wannem, so da local's beef ain't too strong. There are also 22 no-flush urinals in more than a dozen Oregon state parks.

T.G. Smith of The Morris (IL) Daily Herald, believes flushless urinals are "the next greatest invention in the history of mankind." Next greatest to what, he doesn't say. But you get the drift.

What about better water-saving toilets for the home, and for women's rooms? Here's what you need to know: "dual-flush toilets" - more water for solids, less for liquids.

TECHNORATI TAGS: NO-FLUSH TOILETS, FLUSHLESS TOILETS, PLUMBERS UNIONS, PHILADELPHIA, SAN DIEGO, CHICAGO, DUAL-FLUSH TOILETS

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at March 27, 2006 05:27 PM

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