Introducing the UTS Funny Dunny Trial Cynthia Mitchell Professor of Sustainability

1. THINK. CHANGE. DO Introducing the UTS Funny Dunny Trial Cynthia Mitchell Professor of Sustainability

2. Take home messages • To meet our basic food needs, we have to begin the shift to phosphorus recovery and reuse • Urine diverting toilets (UDTs) are one of several feasible paths • To get it right, we have much work to do and UTS is making a pretty bold start. • The scope for UDTs is global, so there’s plenty of early mover benefits

3. Economy Ecology Society Introducing the Institute for Sustainable Futures

4. A better representation of ISF’s values? It’s all about lining up short term actions with preferred long term outcomes in ways that enable transitions for people and organisations

5. The water industry is on the verge of a new path Current approaches global Relative cost and impact per household Restorative Centralised infrastructure material intensity increasing + location of environmental burden regional Unmanaged local Generations The new path requires new technologies, and it starts with plumbing products

6. Peak phosphorus (P): a looming crisis 2033 Phosphorus production MT P/yr year Cordell, Drangert & White (2009) The story of phosphorus and food for thought Global Environmental Change, doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.009 Guess what is full of P(ee)? Phosphorus is vital for all life on earth – no substitute! Growing population, changing diets Peak phosphorus production very soon Political / ethical concerns may make it even sooner 6

7. Supply sources and quantities are strictly limited, so demand measures are critical and large Cordell, D., White, S., Drangert, J.-O. & Neset, T. S. S. (2009), Preferred future phosphorus scenarios: A framework for meeting long-term phosphorus needs for global food demand, International Conference on Nutrient Recovery from Wastewater Streams Vancouver, 2009., (Ed) D Mavinic, K Ashley and F Koch. ISBN: 9781843392323. IWA Publishing

8. 3 broad categories for phosphorus recovery from sewage are in development and use now • Direct reuse [1] • Thermodynamically best • Requires biggest system shifts • Chemical precipitation • Can be done at treatment plant • Concentrates heavy metals, costly • Ash thru sludge incineration • Netherlands: 1.4 million people [2] Life cycle thinking needs to guide decision making • See www.novaquatis.eawag.ch/ • See www.phosphaterecovery.com

9. Who’s doing UDTs internationally? Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, USA, China, etc Gothenburg, Sweden Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences & Technology, Switzerland Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design & Construction, Seattle CBD, USA

10. UDTs in Australia are full of ‘firsts’ and are at the start of a steep learning curve • 1st high profile installation: Currumbin Ecovillage, Qld • 20 households; • Personal commitment = accept deficiencies • 1st authority led, residential installation: Kinglake, Vic • 38 households, post bushfire reconstruction, peri-urban fringe • 1st public institution installation: downtown Sydney!!

11. This project will touch on elements of all the very real, very tricky issues with UDTs • Technology: the toilets themselves, pipework, storage, transport, impacts on sewer and treatment, … • Behaviours: men sit down, women’s paper, other things that end up in toilets, cleaners, … • Institutions and regulations: P ownership, operation (water authority or other), public health, … There is also no end of opportunities for toilet humour:[aka Funny Dunnies, Taking the Piss, etc, etc] 11

12. We put a lot of effort into setting up the collaboration to bring everybody inside the tent • Industry and Government: • Water authority • Toilet manufacturer • Local government • Health department • Nursery and Garden Industry Association • Specialist Researchers: • University of Technology Sydney: ISF, Engineering, Design, Visual Communication, Project Management • University of New South Wales: Law • University of Western Sydney: Agriculture, Visual Communication • UTS Operations: • Vice President, Resources • Facilities Management Unit • Research Office 12

13. This project will roll out in 3 stages over 2 years We expect many spin-off projects along the way 13

14. We will install and test the latest Australian and international models of UDTs and waterless urinals Wostman Dubbletten Roediger Caroma Dorf Uridan Keramag

15. We will also trial and create new resources for stakeholder engagement….

16. We need to investigate storage and transport Docking station for urine tankers Level indicator for urine

17. By the end of this project, we hope to have ‘started something’ in many domains • Improved public awareness about phosphorus recovery • BEGUN ‘YELLOW PLUMBER’ TRAINING • ENCOURAGED DESIGNERS TO CREATE SECOND GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMPONENTS • IDENTIFIED NEW REGULATORY/CODE ETC NEEDS • Raised water industry awareness about its opportunities and responsibilities • Created better stakeholder engagement tools • Allayed concerns about public health issues • Demonstrated to industry the efficacy of urine as a fertiliser • …

18. Take home messages • To meet our basic food needs, we have to begin the shift to phosphorus recovery and reuse • Urine diverting toilets (UDTs) are one of several feasible paths • To get it right, we have much work to do, and UTS is making a bold start • The scope for UDTs is global, so there’s plenty of first mover benefits It ain’t rocket science, but it is different… And, we could be sitting on a gold mine

19. Acknowledgements and Contact Details • ISF colleagues: Dena Fam, Kumi Abeysuriya, Dana Cordell • UTS, UWS, and UNSW colleagues • Our many project partners Cynthia Mitchell Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS P: 02 9514 4953 E: cynthia.mitchell@uts.edu.au W: www.isf.uts.edu.au