SA: Waterless urinal in line for award

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2004
SA: Waterless urinal in line for award

ADELAIDE, April 28 AAP - A waterless urinal, which can save thousands of litres per
day, has been nominated for a water conservation award.

The new urinal requires the use of one bucket of water a day for cleaning, compared
to an average of 1,500 to 2,000 litres for flushable urinals, the company which designed
it, Desert Ecosystems, said.

It also was more effective than flushing at stopping the build-up of uric scale - the
part of urine which sticks to urinal flushpipes and creates unpleasant odours - the Adelaide
company's managing director Richard Boyce said.

Under the system, microbial cubes were placed in the urinal, which converted the uric
scale into a soluble substance.

"Uric scale is a compound in urine that is insoluble and that's what will give most
of of the smell in the male toilet," Mr Boyce said.

"Water has little effect, the scale will build up regardless, more water will slow
the effect but it won't solve it.

"Our system prevents that building up and existing scale breaks down at the same time.

"You get a urinal that won't block, is free from odour and that won't require water."

It was also no more harmful to the user than a flushing urinal and the lack of a flush
button meant there was less chance of cross-contamination from another user, he said.

The system has been nominated for the annual Water Industry Alliance awards, to be
presented next week, which are aimed at showcasing efforts by South Australian companies
to achieve more efficient water usage.

AAP scl/maur/bwl

KEYWORD: URINAL

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.