As an eco-friendly venue, we are committed to operating in a sustainable manner.
When our new Head of Facilities, Hugh Allcock-Green, recently joined Church House Westminster, he immediately recognised that going waterless would provide us with substantial benefits in terms of water efficiency, maintenance, and costs, and ultimately the environment. So, one of his first projects was tackling the traditional water-based urinals in the building.
The challenge we faced is that we have 72 urinals which all flush several times a day, consuming an estimated 7½ million litres of water every year. In terms of cost, this equates roughly to £1 a day per urinal in water. Moreover, that is not the only cost once ongoing maintenance and cleaning are added on. Subsequent hygiene issues tend to block pipes which in turn cause flooding. Then there is the environmental cost. Flushing the urinals waste thousands of litres of water and produce carbon dioxide in the process.
So in February 2021 all our urinals were changed so now they do not use water. This will not only save enough water to fill 3 Olympic-sized swimming pools every year! Other benefits include:
- Reduced water bills – we’re estimating a saving of £14K per year.
- Improved bathroom hygiene – no need to touch a handle to flush, and, the lack of flushing ensures that no particles enter the air.
- Eliminating urinal odours. Big thumbs up from us.
- Reduced maintenance – due to its simple design, floods are a thing of the past and reduced blockages in turn.
- No more harmful cleaning chemicals.
- A reduction in energy consumption.
We continue to do our bit to protect the environment. By installing water-efficient facilities, we are helping to reverse the scarcity of water as a resource in London, which is an increasing threat to the region. This is in part due to relatively low rainfall, aging water pipes, and the capital’s increasingly extreme climate, which is exacerbated by its large population using a staggering 143 litres per person per day.
