Is Your Toilet Green?

My friend has the coolest toilet. It looks like any completely normal toilet, except there are two buttons on the top. One side uses less water than the other, depending on how much stuff you have to flush, if you get my drift. Each time I press the lighter flush option, I congratulate myself on my eco-friendly ways. Dramatic? Probably. But, this is a trend just taking off.

This month, New York City Public Schools rolled out a water-saving program piloting in two schools. Dubbed “low-flushers”, the new toilets use just 1.2 gallons of water per flush, compared to up to 4.5 gallons in the old ones.

“Within five years, 500 city schools are to have 40,000 toilets with new technology that should cut water consumption 70 percent and save 4 million gallons of water each day, or more than 700 million gallons a year.” – New York Times

In the U.S., the national conversation on water conversation is just beginning. The Environmental Protection Agency cites that by the end of this year, at least 36 states will have suffered water shortages, not including during drought conditions. A family of four uses, on average, 400 gallons of water each day.

Older residential toilets can use up to seven gallons per flush. So, how can you do your part? If you?re wary of converting to an entirely low flush toilet or concerned about sanitation, try out the variety of dual-flush options available on the market today.

A light flush will use about .9 gallons, while the heavy flush button engages 1.6 gallons per use. That means you could save up to 15,000 gallons of water per year.

Think of the change we could make if everyone did their part. In the near future, government and county regulations are bound to increase in the water conservation arena, so get a head start by making your bathroom a little greener today.

Would you consider converting to a dual-flush toilet, or do you already have one? I?d love to hear your favorite models and brands!

(Photo courtesy of Help Me Start Something)