ALTERNATIVES TO THE FIVE-GALLON FLUSH

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AUGMENTED FLUSHERS

Water use in liquid-driven disposal systems can be reduced to less than a gallon per cycle if some other force in addition to gravity is employed to help drive the water down. The two most common approach are positive and negative pressure... wherein the system is either placed in a partial vacuum or is pushed by compressed a Since such setups require an auxilia power source (either a vacuum pump or compressor) to get the job done, thoug they're comparatively expensive and do require some source of (usually electric energy. At present, they're most commonly used in large, multiresidence buildin where the hardware can be centralized.

NONRECYCLING WATERLESS TOILETS

In areas that have no central sewage trea ment and severe soil and ground-water lim tations on septic tanks and drainage field ... chemical, incineration, oil, and on-site treatment facilities are the options most often selected.

Many people have probably encountere the basic chemical toilet in the form of po table outhouses ... the units that usually give off a sweet "chemical" odor. Whateve form they take, though, such toilets are really nothing more than sanitary holding tanks, and no processing of the content takes place within the device.

Incineration toilets, on the other had use either gas or electric heat to turn wast to ash. They yield a sterilized effluent that's considerably reduced in volume, but do require a lot of energy.

Oil systems carry waste to a central holding tank ... using a medium that won't mix with the products being disposed off. The mineral-based oil then floats to the top of the contents of the holding tank and is picked up and pumped back to the fixture for reuse. Residential models will hold year's worth of waste for a family of four. .. after which the holding tank must pumped out and the waste trucked off for proper disposal.

On-site processing systems (of which the septic tank with drainage field is one example) don't necessarily save water, but neither do they burden community sewage treatment plants. One version relies on aerobic processing, and resembles a wella-erated septic tank but employs a different biological process. A system is also available, on a limited basis, that recycles all of the water used in a household ... and though it's rather expensive at this time and requires semiannual maintenance by skilled technicians, it may become more practical and affordable in years to come.

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