The Journey of Our Waterless Urinal
The topic of sanitation in India has in recent years been in the spotlight, and for good reason. In many ways, India’s dismal sanitation situation is a stark reminder of the lopsided nature of India’s growth story complete with its flashy facades and broken bowels. And while conversations are endless on how we can and should improve the existing conditions, very little is actually being done. It is a multifaceted social problem, and seeking solutions for it is certainly not easy but that’s where we fit in. At Reap Benefit we use an action-oriented approach to address complex social problems. We trust our prototypes and users and dive right into the deep end with our solutions.
A public space which dissuades the entry of people rather than inviting them defeats its purpose. The state of public toilets in our country is pitiable and most of us would rather not use them, preferring instead to hold it in. One of the major issues that seem to guide this behavior is the smell of urine which persists in most public toilets. Over the years we’ve had the precious opportunity of working in several government schools and the recurring instance of missing urinals in toilets had our attention.
The journey of the Waterless Urinal began how almost everything in Reap Benefit does with a ‘Why?’. Why were students urinating outside the toilet rather than inside it? Why do toilets smell so much? Our quest led us to understand that there are two components to toilet odor: one is the presence of remnants of urine in the absence of adequate water for flushing and two, odor emanating from the underground sewage system. Since our urine contains ammonia, lack of adequate water to flush down all traces of urine, leads to the presence of odor. The underground sewage system is another major source of toilet odor and the unobstructed path between the urine bowl and the sewage below leads the air to rise up and adds to the discomfort of the user. Conventional toilets in well-equipped facilities use water, lots of it, to ensure an odorless experience. Most flushing systems use 6 liters of water to flush down 200 ml of urine. This is a startling fact in a country which is partially crippled by drought every year. The solution thus had to be more sustainable and appropriate to water availability in public places and government schools.
At Reap Benefit, we aspire to be part of an India where citizens are motivated and equipped to solve their own problems. Accordingly, we seek to build solutions which are low cost and simple to build, breaking down barriers to entry. So we started with plants. These were introduced in the urine bowl and were experimented with to see if their scent could overpower the stench of urine. This, unfortunately, proved unsuccessful. It was around this time we had begun to notice that since most male toilets in Government schools had no urinals or pans, to begin with, students were unable to understand the difference between peeing on the roadside or in a toilet since both were essentially plain flat ground. We understood then, that urinals would also have to be designed to trigger behavioral change.
Armed with this understanding we set out to design our first urinal. We used a 20litre Bisleri can and engine oil, materials that were cheap and easily accessible. The water can was inverted and the top half cut off, pipes were affixed to the mouth of the can and connected to the conventional sewage system.
Engine oil was then poured down the mouth of the urine bowl. Oil acted as a sealant and blocked the passage of air from the underground sewage system. It was thus successful in combating the problem of odor. Even though this was a major victory for the concept, they were major downsides to the solution. Firstly, it required a lot of maintenance with oil having to be poured every other day, this did not seem very feasible. Given the lack of manpower in a government school, the solution had to be low maintenance. Secondly, remnants of the oil in the sewage could cause clogging. With potential setbacks, such as these, a better model had to be developed.
It was back to the drawing board for team Reap Benefit. The passageway between the urine bowl and the sewage system had to be blocked while ensuring that the urine could pass through. After experimenting with a few systems, it was a table tennis ball which revealed itself to be the best option. The TT ball had to be placed at the mouth of the drain pipe. When urinated upon the ball would lift up, spin and allow the urine to pass through. It would then settle down at the mouth of the pipe thereby blocking all unwanted odor from the sewage system.
The prototype was almost complete. It was now time to test it in the field. Over time with user data the mouth of the urinal was changed to hexagonal to deter students from spitting into the urinal as this leads to clogging. The hydrophobic nature of the bottle ensures that no traces of urine remained on the body. Since this was a low-cost model and was basically a plastic can — it also contributed to countering vandalism — a huge issue in several govt. schools. This urinal used 70% less water as it had to be flushed only once a day.
It has been four years since the first implementation of our version of a waterless urinal, and while it has been challenging in many ways, it has also been a huge success. The urinals have been installed in several schools all around Karnataka, including Bengaluru and Hubli. The foul smell of urine has recorded to have been reduced, and even more importantly, it has been able to change the behavior of school students in favour of using toilets. While this version had a fair share of successes, in some places students were able to remove the TT ball, some were getting clogged, and some users especially teachers had refused to urinate into a plastic can. This type of user feedback was incredibly valuable in the next iteration where our focus was building a robust system which would enhance the sanitation experience of users. We also decided to be slightly disruptive — the focus of the design team this time was to be disruptive- focussing on leap-frogging rather than incremental change. A new urinal was thus developed using tin. It turned out to be, easier to make and better to look at. Even though the prototype is only a few months old, it’s already found its place in more than four government schools in Bangalore and one school in Mandya.
The journey of the waterless urinal has been that of constant prototyping and iteration. What started out as a means of improving sanitation facilities, has translated into a tool for saving water as well. The design has undergone several transformations over the years, and several success stories have emerged, nevertheless, our quest for the most user-friendly, waterless urinal continues.
Want to build your own Reap Benefit Waterless Urinal? The folks at The Logical Indian recently covered the making of one here.
Join us in our mission to solve tough civic and environmental issues using innovation and data. Check out www.reapbenefit.org.
