Male University students now have a unique opportunity to help conserve water on campus. A waterless urinal was installed in an EMU men’s restroom near the ASUO office during spring break.
The idea came from Brandon Rhodes, vice chair of the EMU Board of Directors and chair of the building’s long-range planning committee.
Rhodes, a senior majoring in political science and environmental studies, said he first heard of waterless urinals in Environmental Studies 411: Campus Environmental Sustainability.
“Someone just mentioned it offhand in class,” Rhodes said. He said he made a note of the idea because he thought that, as a member of the EMU Board, he could do something with it.
“This is the students’ building, and part of what students believe in, broadly, seems to be sustainability,” Rhodes said.
EMU Facilities Director Dana Winitzky said the urinal was donated by Edgewater NW, a local representative of the urinal’s manufacturer,
Waterless Co.
Robert vanCreveld of Edgewater NW said the urinal was donated so people could find out for themselves how well the product works and to encourage them to buy more.
“Peeing is believing,” he said.
VanCreveld said waterless urinals are also in place at Oregon State University, Crater Lake National Park, Lane Community College and the Eugene Water and Electric Board building, as well as numerous national parks, military bases and other institutions around the country.
According to the Waterless Co. Web site, the Waterless No-Flush urinal uses a patented filter design called an EcoTrap. Urine flows through a layer of BlueSeal liquid, which prevents odors from spreading, and down the drain line. No water is needed to transport the urine, because urine is 96 percent water. The maintenance cost for a
No-Flush urinal is $1 per 1,000 uses.
By contrast, Winitzky said the EMU’s existing urinals use 1.5 gallons of water per flush. EWEB charges between $0.87 and $1.99 per 1000 gallons of water. As a general service customer, the University pays $0.96 per 1000 gallons.
Rhodes said the EMU budget allows for the renovation of one set of restrooms per year. If the waterless urinal is well-received by EMU staff and students, Rhodes said more may be
included in future renovations of EMU men’s restrooms.
“Right now, we’re just looking at it, and we want to see what happens,” Rhodes said.
Winitzky said replacing all the EMU’s urinals at once would be
expensive.
“I don’t think it’s cost-effective to replace perfectly good urinals,” Winitzky said.
One possible problem, Rhodes said, is that the filters in waterless urinals contain harsh chemicals.
“Do we want to taint the ecosystem, or do we want to save on water conservation?” he asked.
Winitzky said the chemicals in the waterless urinals are similar to the sanitizer chemicals in portable toilets. The chemicals are supposed to be changed two to three times per month, but Winitzky said the urinal in the EMU has not been there long enough for the chemicals to need changing.
Winitzky said he’s only received one comment about the urinal, from an EMU staff member.
“They weren’t wild about the smell,” Winitzky said.
Winitzky said the waterless urinal will be in place until the end of the school year. At that point, it will be removed, and the conventional urinal originally there will be put back; the EMU Board will then decide whether to include waterless urinals in future EMU renovations.

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