The Sustainable Cities Blog

Posted by Thor Ritz, Contributing Writer

An Envirolet Composting Toilet, not to be confused with a cast iron stove.

A few days ago, Slate ran an amusing piece on the sustainability issues surrounding "toilet behavior in the Western world."  The folks over here at CISC like this article because while it takes full advantage of the comedic value of the subject matter, it also conveys the very real importance of reducing consumption in the bathroom.  For example, our readers probably know that cutting down on time in the shower is one way to live more sustainably, but were you aware that toilet flushes account for even more daily water consumption?

The humble commode is a thirsty appliance. In a 1999 study of 1,188 American homes, toilet flushes accounted for 27 percent of an individual's daily indoor water consumption—more than washing machines (22 percent) or showers (17 percent). Your personal toll will depend on what kind of toilet you have. If it was purchased after January 1994, federal law requires that it use 1.6 gallons or fewer per flush; otherwise, it might drain 3.5 to 7 gallons with every pull of the lever. The average American flushes his home toilet five times a day, sending 8 gallons to 35 gallons of water down the tubes.  Read more...