The new toilets in the UMC are saving a lot of water since the their installation this spring, according to Jimmie Baker, assistant director of Operations and Services at the UMC.
Baker said that from the spring through the end of October, there were 1.1 million visitors in the UMC. Assuming approximately half of the visitors were women who may have used the women’s restroom, the half-gallon water difference really adds up, Baker said
Pushing the flusher in one direction for solid waste will use 1.6 gallons of water, while flushing in the other direction for liquid waste will only use 1.1 gallons of water.
“It seemed like the right thing to do if we could save some natural resources,” Baker said.
At only $60 each, Baker said the flushers were a reasonable addition to the women’s restrooms.
Baker also said that the flushers were not installed in men’s bathrooms because most men use urinals, which already use a small amount of water for flushing.
Pearce Pavle, a sophomore psychology major, said that she was confused by the new flushers at first.
“When I first saw them I was like, ‘Woah! What is that?’” Pavle said. “But then I found out how they work and I thought it was really cool.”
Baker said that part of the reason they decided to go with the new toilets was because of the large population of environmentally conscious students at CU.
Gabrielle Zunde, a 21-year-old communication major, said she thinks the new flushers are a great addition to CU’s already green campus.
“These simple, fairly inexpensive flushers can really help the environment,” Zunde said. “I think it’s really awesome.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lindsay Gulisano at Lindsay.gulisano@colorado.edu.
