Introducing the UTS Funny Dunny TrialCynthia MitchellProfessor of Sustainability

THINK.CHANGE.DO

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Take home messages

1. To meet our basic food needs, we have to begin the shift to phosphorus recovery and reuse

2. Urine diverting toilets (UDTs) are one of several feasible paths

3. To get it right, we have much work to do and UTS is making a pretty bold start.

4. The scope for UDTs is global, so there’s plenty of early mover benefits

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Introducing the Institute for Sustainable Futures

Economy

Ecology

Society

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A better representation of ISF’s values?

Environment

Society

Economy

It’s all about lining up short term actions with preferred long term outcomes in ways that enable

transitions for people and organisations

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+ location of environment

al burden

Relative cost and

impact per household

Unmanaged

Centralised infrastructure

Current approaches

Generations

local

regional

global

Restorativematerial intensity increasing

The water industry is on the verge of a new path

The new path requires new technologies, and it starts with plumbing products

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Peak phosphorus (P): a looming crisis

> Phosphorus is vital for all life on earth – no substitute!

> Growing population, changing diets

> Peak phosphorus production very soon

> Political / ethical concerns may make it even sooner

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Pho

spho

rus

prod

ucti

on M

T P

/yr

2033

year

Cordell, Drangert & White (2009) The story of phosphorus and food for thoughtGlobal Environmental Change, doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.009Guess what is full of P(ee)?

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Cordell, D., White, S., Drangert, J.-O. & Neset, T. S. S. (2009), Preferred future phosphorus scenarios: A framework for meeting long-term phosphorus needs for global food demand, International Conference on Nutrient Recovery from Wastewater Streams Vancouver, 2009., (Ed) D Mavinic, K Ashley and F Koch. ISBN: 9781843392323. IWA Publishing

Supply sources and quantities are strictly limited, so demand measures are critical and large

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3 broad categories for phosphorus recovery from sewage are in development and use now

> Direct reuse [1]– Thermodynamically best– Requires biggest system shifts

> Chemical precipitation– Can be done at treatment plant– Concentrates heavy metals, costly

> Ash thru sludge incineration– Netherlands: 1.4 million people [2]

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1. See www.novaquatis.eawag.ch/ 2. See www.phosphaterecovery.com

Life cycle thinking needs to guide decision making

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Who’s doing UDTs internationally? Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, USA, China, etc

Gothenburg, Sweden

Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences & Technology, Switzerland

Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design& Construction, Seattle CBD, USA

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UDTs in Australia are full of ‘firsts’ and are at the start of a steep learning curve

> 1st high profile installation: Currumbin Ecovillage, Qld– 20 households; – Personal commitment = accept

deficiencies> 1st authority led, residential

installation: Kinglake, Vic– 38 households, post bushfire

reconstruction, peri-urban fringe> 1st public institution installation:

downtown Sydney!!

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This project will touch on elements of all the very real, very tricky issues with UDTs

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Technology: the toilets themselves, pipework, storage, transport, impacts on sewer and treatment, …

Behaviours: men sit down, women’s paper, other things that end up in toilets, cleaners, …

Institutions and regulations: P ownership, operation (water authority or other), public health, …

There is also no end of opportunities for toilet humour:[aka Funny Dunnies, Taking the Piss, etc, etc]

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We put a lot of effort into setting up the collaboration to bring everybody inside the tent

Industry and Government:> Water authority> Toilet manufacturer> Local government> Health department> Nursery and Garden

Industry Association

Specialist Researchers:> University of

Technology Sydney: ISF, Engineering, Design, Visual Communication, Project Management

> University of New South Wales: Law

> University of Western Sydney: Agriculture, Visual Communication

UTS Operations:> Vice President, Resources> Facilities Management Unit> Research Office

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This project will roll out in 3 stages over 2 years

We expect many spin-off projects along the way

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We will install and test the latest Australian and international models of UDTs and waterless urinals

Dubbletten Wostman Roediger

Uridan Keramag Caroma Dorf

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We will also trial and create new resources for stakeholder engagement….

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Level indicator for urine Docking station for urine tankers

We need to investigate storage and transport

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By the end of this project, we hope to have ‘started something’ in many domains

> Improved public awareness about phosphorus recovery> BEGUN ‘YELLOW PLUMBER’ TRAININGBEGUN ‘YELLOW PLUMBER’ TRAINING> ENCOURAGED DESIGNERS TO CREATE SECOND ENCOURAGED DESIGNERS TO CREATE SECOND

GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMPONENTSGENERATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMPONENTS> IDENTIFIED NEW REGULATORY/CODE ETC NEEDSIDENTIFIED NEW REGULATORY/CODE ETC NEEDS> Raised water industry awareness about its

opportunities and responsibilities> Created better stakeholder engagement tools> Allayed concerns about public health issues> Demonstrated to industry the efficacy of urine as a

fertiliser> …

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Take home messages

1. To meet our basic food needs, we have to begin the shift to phosphorus recovery and reuse

2. Urine diverting toilets (UDTs) are one of several feasible paths

3. To get it right, we have much work to do, and UTS is making a bold start

4. The scope for UDTs is global, so there’s plenty of first mover benefits

It ain’t rocket science, but it is different…And, we could be sitting on a gold mine

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Acknowledgements and Contact Details

> ISF colleagues: Dena Fam, Kumi Abeysuriya, Dana Cordell

> UTS, UWS, and UNSW colleagues> Our many project partners

Cynthia Mitchell

Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS

P: 02 9514 4953

E: cynthia.mitchell@uts.edu.au

W: www.isf.uts.edu.au