MetaEfficient Reviews » Toilets

Office Building Is 100% Sewer-Free

Justin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:32:04 +0000

The sewer systems we use today are entirely ineffectual and unnecessary. The primary flaw in our design is that we use fresh water to dispose of feces. This is perhaps the most ineffectual thing to do with human manure — it pollutes fresh water, and it requires municipalities to maintain extremely costly sewage treatment infrastructures. Even after treatment, sewage can still wreck havoc on rivers and groundwater. (more…)

Now Available: Very Efficient: Toilet Lid Sinks

Justin — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:07:09 +0000

These sinks are finally available in the U.S. They sit atop your toilet and replace the lid. When you flush the toilet, the clean water that would go straight down the toilet is first routed up through a spigot to dispense pure water for hand washing. The sink shut off automatically when the toilet has been filled. It saves on water and space too.

It’s available from Real Goods for $89.

Found via: Cool Tools

Bidet Seats: More Efficient Than Toilet Paper

Justin — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 02:29:18 +0000

Bidets are those devices that spray water (and sometimes air) on your posterior. They are more hygienic than toilet paper, and save you money in the long run.

Bidets are very popular in Japan and parts of Europe. You can actually install a “bidet seat” quite easily, in place of your existing toilet seat. Bidet seats attach to the existing water supply through a double adapter and a hose. Some seats are quite elaborate, featuring jets of heated air, remote controls and various water massage settings.

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The Best Low-Flow Toilets

Justin — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 23:32:58 +0000

Early on, low-flow toilets got a bad rap — and justifiably so — their flushing ability left a lot to be desired. But today there are many low-flow toilets on the market that work well. Terry Love is a plumber who reviews low-flow toilets. He takes his job seriously, installing some of the toilets his own home were he can test them in “real world” situations. He lists toilets that work just fine in spite of the current standards which allow for a maximum water usage of 1.6 gallons per flush (GPF). He says his favorite toilet is the UltraMax by Toto. Toto calls this a “G-Max” toilet (model number is MS854114S). Overall, Toto seems to be the low-flush brand of choice. You can see all the reviews on this page: Terry Love’s Consumer Toilet Reports

Foam-Flush Toilets: Efficient

Justin — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:00:04 +0000

"Foam-Flush" toilets look and function much like conventional toilets. Using a mixture of biocompatible soap and water, the foam-flush toilet moves waste through a conventional 4″ pipe to the composting tank below. The foam mixture cleans the toilet bowl with every flush but uses only about 3 oz. of water, making it fully compatible with the composting process. Since the foam flush is using water to carry the waste, it is possible to have it offset from the compost system at up to 45 degrees, making the design much like it would be for a conventional toilet system. Clivus Multrum makes foam-flush toilets.

Composting Toilets: Large Scale Systems

Justin — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 06:01:37 +0000

Composting toilets can be a practical solution even for large businesses. We recently visited the Philip Merrill Environment Center, which is the headquarters for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. It has a Platinum rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council.

After taking a tour of their offices (about a hundred people work there), we tried out their bathrooms, which looked like typical office facilities. The toilets however, are composting ones, so there is no water involved. If you look down the toilet, you see nothing but a pipe leading down into darkness. Designed by Clivus, the toilets emitted no odors — this was probably due to slight draft which was pulling air down into the pipe that lead to the compositing chamber twenty feet below. All odor was drawn away by this ventilation.

The composting toilets we featured previously on MetaEfficient were “cottage style”, meaning they were designed to be self-contained and built to serve a single bathroom. Also available are composting toilet systems which connect multiple bathroom areas into a single composting tank. For example, the Phoenix Composting System can handle daily usage by up to eight people in a household or business. The tanks are insulated, and have an efficient ventilation system with automatic controls over the downward movement of the composting pile.

EcoTech USA offers a “Carousel Composting Toilet System” which features four rotatable compost chambers. The compost container consists of an outer and an inner rotatable container. Excrement, paper and, if desired, organic kitchen wastes are disposed of into one chamber at a time. Liquid drains into the bottom of the outer container, where warmed air drawn into the container evaporates it. The resulting vacuum assures that no odor escapes into the room. When one chamber is full, the next one is turned into position, assuring that fresh waste does not disrupt the more advanced composting material.

Another option is to build your own composting toilet, more information about this can be found at the EcoWaters web site.

Sun-Mar Toilets

Justin — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 01:47:13 +0000

Notes from Manufacturer:
The Sun-Mar’s unique patented Bio-Drum™ tumbler optimizes mixing, oxygenation
and moisture distribution. No other composting toilet includes a rotating drum.
Evaporation is optimized via large surface areas, heating evaporated surfaces,
and well-designed air flow. The finishing drawer collects compost from the Bio-Drum,
isolating it from new compost and allowing it to dry before removal.

Home Page: Sun-Mar
Price: $899-$1639 (Alternative
Energy Store)

Biolet Toilets

Justin — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 01:46:30 +0000

Notes from Manufacturer:
BioLet composting toilets are efficient, compact
and reliable appliances which can be easily installed in any location.
All models are manufactured from durable, easy to clean ABS plastic and
non-corroding stainless steel and are backed by over 25 years of experience,
a three year limited warranty and toll free customer support.

Home Page: Biolet
Price: $1065-2000