Paris is known for having public peeing issues, or “les pipis sauvages” as they would say it in French. So, to be able to keep their city clean sustainably, Faltazi, a French company has designed eco-friendly street urinals that are called Uritrottoir.
Source: The local
Uritrottoir are new generation urinals that introduce a sustainable way to solve the public urination problem. The device stores the urine in a block of wood chips, straw or sawdust, and will then be collected and turned into compost, which will then be used to give life to flowers which are combined with the device.
Source: The local
According to the company, “Uritrottoir offers an ecological, economical and efficient solution for small commissions. Maintained by the technical services or a delegated company, the Uritrottoir stores urine, in a bed of dry matter, which will later be composted on a dedicated platform. For a better integration with the landscape, the Uritrottoir is equipped with a flower planter that will embellish your public spaces. He settles on the premises at risk of urinary effusion, out of sight.”
Currently, Uritrottoir has already been installed in the Gare de Lyon train yard, one of the wet spots of the city by the SNCF public railways.
Uritrottoir is made of strong material that has been coated with anti-graffiti paint and has a small parterre on the top.
The flowers stays in a pot that contains dry straw that has been collected and transformed into compost that will be used in gardens and parts. This organic compost includes high carbon content which reduces the smell.
Source: RT
Lautent Lebot, one of the two designers said, “We’re making compost, a fertilizer, so it’s a circular economy. We’re re-using two waste products, straw, and urine, to make something that makes plants grow.”
Uritrottoir is available in two sizes, one that can absorb the urine of around 600 users and a smaller one that can hold half of the amount. The urinals are integrated with an electronic monitoring system that sends a signal when the straw is already full.
Hopefully, this new innovation will solve the public urination problem in Paris–and if it’s successful–all around the world.
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