Green toilets contribute to sustainability efforts

The toilets, which use 1.6 gallons of water when their handles are pushed down but only 1.1 gallons when pushed up, were first installed in Feinberg and Edwards halls in 2008.

Dual-flush and low-flush toilets are part of broader water-conservation efforts — including the installation of low-flow aerators and shower heads in residence halls, athletic facilities and academic and administrative buildings — that have combined to reduce water usage on campus by 27 percent since 2001, Director of Engineering Tom Nyquist said. The University now uses 63 million fewer gallons of water each year, he added.

The reduction “is significant when you consider that [the University has] added students and buildings to the University community,” Nyquist explained. In 2008, the University announced a goal of reducing water use by 25 percent per student by 2020 from 2007 levels.

Nyquist added that the University will continue to install dual-flush toilets in the rest of the buildings on campus, including academic and administrative facilities. Over the summer, the Department of Facilities plans to replace Brown Hall’s toilets, which use 3.5 gallons per flush, with 1.28-gallon units, Nyquist said. If the installation proceeds smoothly, “We will continue to replace them across campus,” he noted.

Carol Dreibelbis ’11, former president of Greening Princeton, praised the University’s efforts at water conservation, but said that more could be done to raise awareness on campus.

“I wish that the University and student groups like Greening Princeton were better able to communicate to the student body about the initiatives that are currently under way aimed at saving water,” Dreibelbis explained. “If there were a central way to distribute information to students about what is being done on the University’s part to work towards sustainability, I believe that students would be more likely to be conscious about saving water.”

Future buildings will also adhere to the University’s sustainability goals. The new chemistry building, which is expected to be completed this fall, will collect rainwater from its roof for use in flushing the building’s toilets, Nyquist explained.

Shana Weber, sustainability manager, did not respond to requests for comment.

Like the University, several eating clubs have installed low-flush toilets or plan to do so.

Terrace Club installed five low-flush toilets in January, Patricia Valderrama ’11, Terrace’s sustainability chair, said in an e-mail.

Colonial Club has installed low-flush toilets in its ground-floor and basement restrooms, but has not replaced all of its toilets, said Juan Farfan ’11, the club’s sustainability chair. Though installing additional low-flow models “is beyond our current house budget ... this is something we are planning to do in the near future, and will likely come about within the next couple of years,” he added.

Though Tiger Inn does not have low-flush toilets, the club hopes to incorporate sustainability initiatives into its renovations next year, TI sustainability chair Brooks Barron ’11 said in an e-mail.

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“The issue will be finding the funds for the installment,” Barron explained.

Ivy Club has waterless urinals, Alicia Zeng ’12, chair of Greening the Street, said in an e-mail. Zeng is also a member of The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board. Ivy’s sustainability chair could not be reached for comment.

The sustainability chairs of Cap & Gown and Cottage clubs did not comment on installing low-flow toilets, but noted other sustainability efforts. The sustainability chairs of Cloister Inn, Quadrangle Club, Charter Club and Tower Club could not be reached for comment.

Barron, a former president of Greening Princeton, said he supports the University’s efforts and hopes that students will continue to pursue conservation efforts on their own.

“Students are generally becoming more aware and supportive of conservation efforts than they have been in the past,” Barron said, “and I think students support that as long as it doesn’t cause a major inconvenience.”