Government all tanked up but flush not so flash - 15 January 2008

The Greens today congratulated the Government as new water tanks were installed on the roof of Macquarie Street’s Parliament House.

“Building Services here at Parliament House are to be congratulated for their water saving initiatives – it’s great to see the iconic Australian water tanks being hoisted onto the roof,” said Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.

“Credit where credit is due”, said Mr Cohen, “but how long do I have to wait until I can save more water by using waterless urinals?”

“The acting Climate Change Minister Nathan Rees’ describes this initiative as a ‘showpiece of water efficiency’, but if this Parliament were a showpiece then the urinals would not still be consuming water - even recycled water from the new tanks.

“With waterless urinals, water from the building’s 100 odd urinals could be diverted from a redundant flush to other uses.

“The average flushing urinal consumes 151 000 litres of water per year according to a supplier of waterless toilets. If you multiply this figure by the 100 or so urinals in this building, then up to 84% of the projected 18 million litre water savings will be used for a technologically redundant flush and is therefore not available to offset other use.

“Local governments - including my local council, Byron Shire - have been using waterless urinals for years. Council staff say they prefer the waterless urinal systems as in addition to saving water, they’re easier to clean and subject to less vandalism.

“If the NSW Parliament wants to be described as a water efficiency showpiece, then it will have to embrace the waterless urinal revolution”, said Mr Cohen.

Further Information: Ian Cohen on 0409 989 466 or Nic Clyde on 0417 742 754