Living Green
Presenting The Case for Peeing Outside
by Jathynia Garcia
As I was trying to think of what article to write about in this month’s Living Green issue, I bumped into this & had to share it. Boy did it make me laugh. I can totally appreciate conserving water & especially since it’s such a precious resource but maybe not to this extent.
I would love to hear your thoughts so read below & email me at [email protected]
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The case for peeing outside
Courtesy of Michael Bloch from greenlivingtips.com
Our peeing habits have quite an impact on water consumption. The water we flush it away with is often water fit for drinking; a resource we’re in short supply of.
Even a dual flush toilet will use a minimum of around 3 litres (.8 of a gallon) of water each flush, so we tend to use far more water each day just flushing away pee than we need to stay alive. In the case of old style toilets with only a single flush setting, the amount of water used is incredible – up to 13 litres (3 gallons).
So based on a low flush toilet, used 4 times a day:
4 x 3 x 365 = 4380 litres (around a thousand gallons) a year
With an older style toilet:
4 x 13 x 365 = 18980 litres (over 5,000 gallons) a year
Those are big numbers, but now multiply that by the population of your country and it becomes truly astronomical.
The old saying goes “if it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown flush it down”. I’m all for conserving water, but I think the time I spent as a contract cleaner, cleaning dozens of toilets a day, has well and truly turned me off that idea. I have some awful flashbacks when contemplating that strategy. Still, it works for some folks and good luck to them.
Unless you’re an apartment dweller or have no privacy from your neighbors, considering taking a whizz outside instead when you can, particularly on your garden. This will not only save a stack of water, buturine is a great fertilizer as it contains nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. In fact, the world is running out of easily sourced phosphorous so you’ll not only save some cash on store bought fertilizers, but you’ll be doing your bit to conserve phosphorous supplies.
I do acknowledge that peeing outside is far easier for guys than for gals – I’m sorry ladies; I have no practical advice to offer.
Peeing outside is not “dirty” as urine (unless you have a urinary tract infection) is sterile. Still, it’s not really a socially acceptable practice, particularly if you attempt to do it in public or in your neighbor’s yard. Discretion and common sense is advised of course :).
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So to add to the interesting article I prefer recommending a more conservative & cost-effective option that has hit the market. Using the HydroRight Drop-In Dual Flush Converter ($18.80 at Amazon) you can convert just about any toilet to dual flush in about five minutes using no tools. So if peeing outside is not your thing, definitely consider a dual flush kit to save water. It’s effective, simple & much more within our modern day culture then tinkling your neighbors yard. LOL
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