We talk a lot about how each URIMAT waterless urinal can save up to 100,000 litres of water per year, but it’s sometimes hard to grasp what that means in real terms. What does 100,000 litres of water look like? What does it really represent in terms of practical savings? Here are some facts and figures about water use to give you an idea of how significant a saving 100,000 litres really is. And bear in mind of course that this saving is per urinal so for most organisations we deal with, the savings that they realise are many times those listed here.

• It takes 100,000 litres to produce 10,000 sheets of A4 paper.
• Average national water consumption in the UK is 150 litres per person day (for drinking, washing, flushing the toilet, showering, dishwashers and washing machines) so 100,000 litres represents one person’s water consumption for nearly two years.
• The average American drinks 263 litres of water per year so 100,000 litres represents 380 years’ worth of drinking water.
• An old style single flush toilet uses 13 litres of water per flush, so 100,000 litres represents 769 flushes. The average household flushes 13 times per day so 100,000 litres is 60 days of flushing.
• The average 5 minute shower uses 35 litres of water so 100,000 litres represents 2,857 showers – assuming one shower per day that’s almost 8 years of showers.
• A full bath averages 150 litres of water so 100,000 litres represents 666 baths, almost two years’ worth.
• Washing dishes by hand after one meal typically uses 18 litres of water so, assuming three meals per day, 100,000 litres represents 5 years’ worth of washing up.
• One litre is 1.75 pints so 100,000 litres is the equivalent of 175,000 pints of beer.
• Running a tap uses around 10 litres of water per minute, so you’d have to run the tap continuously for almost a week to use up 100,000 litres.
• Running a modern washing machine uses around 70 litres of water so for 100,000 litres you could run your washing machine 1,428 times.
• A grande Starbucks coffee is 470ml so 100,000 litres represents 212,766 Starbucks’ coffees.
• The average annual rainfall in the UK is 594 litres of rain falling per square metre of ground, so 100,000 litres represents 168 years’ worth of rain falling on one square metre.
• A typical mug of tea is 350ml so 100,000 litres is the equivalent of 285,714 cups of tea.
• It takes 200 litres of water to manufacture one can of cola, so 100,000 litres represents the water needed to produce 500 cans of cola.
• 100,000 litres of water would fill a typical 100 litre garden water butt 100 times.
• A commercial car wash uses about 200 litres of water, so 100,000 litres is the equivalent of 500 car washes.
• The average hosepipe can use 1,000 litres of water per hour, so 100,000 litres represents a hosepipe running for four days continuously.
• 25 URIMAT waterless urinals installed for one year would save the equivalent volumetric content of an Olympic Swimming Pool.

How much this saving represents financially varies from region to region as different water authorities charge different amounts. Typically we find that the average charge per litre is somewhere around £2.75 per cubic metre. 100,000 litres is 100 cubic metres so means a saving of £275 per urinal per year (substantially more in some areas). A customer with 10 URIMAT waterless urinals installed would be looking at a saving of at least £2,750 per year off their water bill. Have a look at some examples of the returns on investment achieved by our customers.

And of course it’s not just about the water saving. There are also substantial savings to be had in terms of CO2 emissions, as the energy needed to process water to make it fit for use is substantial. Saving 100,000 litres of water equates to a carbon reduction of 17.5 kg, so switching to URIMAT waterless urinals will significantly reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint.