by Shane Henson — November 19, 2012—New York’s Bard College recently replaced its flushing urinals with waterless urinals from Falcon Waterfree Technologies. According to the company, the Falcon Waterfree urinals are expected to boost Bard College’s sustainability efforts by saving more than 500,000 gallons of water a year or more. This water savings is also expected to increase Bard’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System score, which measures how environmentally friendly a college or university campus is.
As Bard College had formerly used traditional flush urinals, the idea to change to waterless urinals was met with some hesitation by maintenance staff, said Bard College. However, as Falcon Waterfree explained, because waterless urinals have no flush valves, sensors, or mechanical parts, there is no mechanical breakdown, which can lead to greatly reduced maintenance. After training, the maintenance staff found that waterless urinal maintenance was indeed actually easier than flush urinal maintenance.
Bard College’s facilities maintenance staff may also find that the waterless urinals will lead to cleaner restrooms, thus making their jobs easier. According to Falcon Waterfree, because waterless urinals are impossible to flood and pipe clogs practically disappear, most plumbing and cleanup emergencies are eliminated. In addition, cleaning can also be faster as there is no need to scrub minerals left behind by water.
The waterfree urinals provide other benefits as well. “We are already finding that cartridge changes are not needed as frequently as we first thought. No odor, no slow draining, no complaints. It’s a much better product than the flush urinals we had,” said Bruce Meyers, Bard College’s lead plumber.
In an effort to promote educational institutions’ water conservation, Falcon Waterfree is partnering with colleges across the country to help them implement water-saving solutions. The company says its products are also in use around the world in stadiums and arenas, airports, and every type of commercial and institutional facility.
