Photo copyright Cambridge2000
Public toilets can be a surprisingly controversial subject. Where they are, what they look like, what facilites are provided, how safe are they to use, and more recently how sustainable they are all need careful consideration.
The first public toilets as we would recognise them today were built by the Victorians, with individual cubicles built around a central communal room. But in recent times fear for personal safety has put many off using toilets with this layout.
In 2002, the Council began modernising public toilets to make them more accessible, easier to keep clean and safer to use. Creating new buildings brought the opportunity to combine better – indeed unique – design with various sustainable features.
So what have we done to tackle climate change and reduce the carbon footprint of our toilets?
The biggest resource used in public toilets is water. In all new toilets, and existing ones whenever possible, low water use cisterns (6 litre) are fitted and water for hand-washing is controlled with sensors.
At the toilets on Midsummer Common, affectionately known as ‘the Armadilloo’ (pictured), the striking copper roof is used to collect rainwater for toilet flushing instead of using mains water.
The public toilets on Chesterton Road are next in line to be redesigned, and will also use rainwater and grey water (water that has been used once for hand washing) to flush the loos.
To reduce electricity consumption at two of the public toilets; Lammas Land and Cherry Hinton High Street; solar heating panels are used to heat water using renewable energy on-site. And just like all other council buildings, the public loos use recycled paper.
Our mobile toilet attendants even use bicycles to get around the City, reducing congestion and pollution. So now you can spend a penny safe in the knowledge that it won’t cost the Earth.
What to do to make your loo greener
If you have an older toilet cistern, it’s likely to be larger than the 6 litre modern standard flush.
You can reduce the flush volume by using a water-saving device in the cistern, called a Hippo. Hippos are available from Cambridge Water Company – just email quality@cambridge-water.co.uk or call 01223 706050.
If your water is metered, you’ll save money too!
The greenest loo of all
Many people around the world are now building quite sophisticated composting toilets. These use no water for flushing, are odourless, and after a couple of years produce nutrient-rich compost.
Apart from being very eco-friendly, a great advantage of composting loos is that they are ideal for locations that do not have mains sewerage. They are being used in places like Uganda to provide sanitation in areas with no water infrastructure. The compost produced is also used to grow crops locally.
Find out more about composting toilets.
