While most are only focused on the ‘personal flow’ while using a urinal, there is another flow uses a surprising amount of liquid.

Standard urinals use a lot of water. Let’s say the average urinal is flushed between 40 and 120 times per day. Did you know this uses between 55,000 and 170,000 liters of water per urinal per year (assuming a 6 L flush).

This doesn’t even take into account the hand washing that occurs after. Washing hands takes on average between 1 and 3 litres of water on top of the urinal use. So when men use urinals and wash their hands between 7 and 9 litres of water is used.

This is more than the personal recommended daily intake of water!!!

Consider this:

This is a concept where hand washing and urinal use is combined. After using the urinal, hand washing washes the urine down. Collaboration saves resources!! While this is a cool idea it would only work in a low traffic location, just think of the bottleneck that could be created as this concept would double the time of use. Also washing your hands right above where you urinate might not be the most pleasant option.

Maybe that’s why this product is not widely seen on the market. What’s starting the be widely seen are waterless urinals. They work by containing a liquid that is less dense than urine. This liquid will float on top of the urine, reduce odours, as gravity forces the urine down the drain.

This is what we see in the market and it makes sense, I personally do not want to be washing my hands overtop of urine. Waterless urinal technology and separate sinks is so far the most hygienic and eco-friendly option.

Have you ever thought about the total environmental impact of the energy usage of a Hybrid? When the average person thinks about cars environmental impact, usually only oil consumption and tailpipe pollutants are taken into consideration.

What about other costs like batteries, tires, replacement and repair parts, and most importantly: disposal. The overall cost of energy is not just paid for by the product’s end user.

While a hybrid may not be a bad choice for an individual it may not be a better choice for the earth. When buying a car you must decide what price fits your needs which often includes fuel economy expenses. Will a hybrid really give enough savings on gas to make it worth the premium over an internal combustion engine? What about the creation and disposal of the batteries in hybrids?

Let’s take the process of making a hybrid from the beginning. Below is a satellite image of one of the largest nickel mines in the world in Sudbury, Ontario. The surrounding area is a dead zone, nothing will grow for hundreds of years. Nasa even uses this area to test space rovers as it terrain is similar to that on the moon. This mine and it’s refinery has irreversibly damaged the surrounding environment. Toyota sources over 1000 tons of nickel from it every year.

An ironic development in engine technology is that the most advanced diesel engines get better fuel mileage on average than a hybrid. They do not have to carry the large weight of the batteries; the low curb weight helps with fuel economy too. Diesel has also steered away from its former image of being a dirty burning fuel for industrial trucks. New ultra low sulfur diesel engines release only marginally more emissions than their gasoline burning counterparts.

There’s no question that a Hybrid is better for the environment while operating on it’s electric engine. However this is mainly at cruising speeds between 40 and 60 kilometers per hour. Acceleration and highway driving requires the gas engine to pair with the electric one.

While hybrids are a step in the right direction for the environment, it is not the ultimate solution. When purchasing a hybrid or even a diesel it will cost more than the regular gasoline powered equivalent. The consumer needs to be aware of the projected break even point if the choose to spend more money on both a diesel or a hybrid. However, purely based on fuel economy and the fact that it’s cheaper than a hybrid, a ultra low sulfur emitting diesel engine is a clear winner in my books. The best diesels can achieve a combined 88 miles per gallon, the best hybrids hover around 70 miles per gallon.

The internet and social media has changed the marketing game completely. It’s becoming less common to use the push strategy of sending out endless flyers to households advertising. Now the most effective way to market is to use a pull strategy through E-Marketing, let consumers be brand advocates. Use different mediums to reach consumers that let them interact and talk about your brand. One of the most effective ways to do this is through social media.

So why are flyers not good for the environment? Well besides the fact that many end up in the landfill, we can also recycle them. Recycling is good right? …

Well recycling is better than creating more garbage but many people don’t realize that their paper recycling is shipped overseas to places like China or Indonesia. The carbon footprint from shipping mass amounts of paper from North America and Western Europe is obviously not a positive thing and this is not what you think of when you’re doing your part throwing your paper into the recycling.

I can honestly say that there are far less flyers coming in the mail than when I was growing up. This has a lot to do with the explosion of internet advertising and use of social media. The coupon business is growing online through email subscription sites such as Groupon. Groupon is using a pull strategy letting it’s users do the talking for it. This allows them to reach a far wider audience than traditional door flyers could ever hope to.

A further trend that’s happening is the use of smart phone technology to target consumers. Certain applications can message consumers when they’re in a certain area to alert them of a promotion at a close by store. This is eliminating the need to hire someone to pass out flyers that end up in the garbage anyways. Technology is quickly replacing the need for paper advertising. Now the only thing we need to worry about is recycling the computers and cell phones once they’re at the end of their life span.