Efficient Toilets and Autonomous Vehicles

Men may be familiar with waterless urinals, especially in places that have trouble getting rid of the waste products, but women may be unaware of these, because as far as I know there aren’t urinals for women. There is often a sign above the urinal stating that it saves up to 40,000 gallons of water per year.

One place with waterless urinals is the summit of Stowe ski slopes, which certainly has the dual challenge of dealing with wastes and providing a supply of water because the mountaintop is solid rock and frozen all winter.

You may not be aware how critical the shortage of water is around the world. Water is a major source of contention in Southern California, much of the southwestern US, and certainly the Middle East and Africa, even places you don’t think of as being deserts. Water is vital not only for drinking, cooking, and washing, but also for irrigation and sanitation, so it affects everyone vitally. There is even a Water War in Atlanta, Georgia.

When we were hiking up above Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies, heading up toward the Tea House, we saw a helicopter fly over – we thought someone really important, or at least really rich, was getting an unfair lift to the Tea House. (Helicopters are very inefficient with fuel, and even worse at high altitudes due to the thin air.) A while later we saw the helicopter coming back from the direction of the Tea House with something suspended from a cable below. When we reached the Tea House we discovered that the suspended object was a container of wastes from the privy. Now there is a waste disposal problem.

Waterless urinals save clean water and also allow efficient treatment of the wastes, since they aren’t mixed with water and other wastes.

So how can Autonomous Vehicles improve this situation?

Waterless urinals are most efficient and cost-effective if they are shared among many people. You don’t usually see urinals in homes because the savings of a urinal over a toilet are not sufficient to warrant the extra cost, space, and maintenance, and besides many houses have more toilets than people – wasteful, and who wants to clean all those toilets anyway.

Autonomous Vehicles provide rapid and efficient movement of people, so your Personal Mobility Vehicle can whisk you to a nearby toilet whenever you need one. The 4-Dimensional Global Map we have been discussing is also good at keeping track of which facilities are available, so you are assured the toilet will be ready for you when you arrive. Note if you prefer to walk, or run, the 4-D Map can guide you there as well. Later I will talk about the Optimal Adaptive Routing System to help you get there quickly and efficiently.

Another tool for reducing the volume of clean water used, and the volume of wastes, is composting toilets. Note they are usually designed to separate the liquid from solid wastes. After processing, the wastes may be used as fertilizer. Again composting toilets are more efficient if shared among many people.

A concern I found in researching toilets for this Post, is “the mechanical action of flushing creates an aerosol containing fecal and/or urinary organisms and distributes them to every surface in a restroom” and “the number of organisms in the bowl reached a plateau below which their number could not be reduced, even after repeated flushing.” An advantage of waterless urinals: “the cell count per area of measure was lower for the ... water-free urinal than for the flush urinal.” Here is an analysis of composting toilets, including health issues.

It’s clear more work needs to be done on health issues. What other improvements can Autonomous Vehicles effect?

The Autonomous Transportation System can manage the monitoring, servicing and maintenance of the toilets, and Autonomous Vehicles can bring in the appropriate people and systems to maintain the toilets as needed.

If we are using toilets more efficiently then we can focus on quality instead of quantity. Improving toilet design not just for efficiency but better function: so they don’t splash, so they are easier to clean, smell better, and perhaps most importantly are more healthy. Shared facilities make it economical to use sensors to detect heath and other issues – we will talk much more later about the impacts of improved sensors.

This introduces a theme for all my designs and ideas: there is enormous potential for innovation in even the basic areas to improve our lives, and this can provide a continuing opportunity for everyone to be happier and more “productive,” and I believe these are inextricably linked.

Lifelong learning is a key to this. For example, currently I’m watching a fascinating and informative Teaching Company video course on Chaos – the mathematical variety. J I watch a half hour session each day while doing my stretching and strength exercises – building mind and body at the same time.

We’ve considered how Autonomous Vehicles can help getting you to the toilet, maintaining the toilets, and about efficiencies of sharing. Next let’s consider what to do with the wastes.