Eco toilets not flushed with success

The eco-toilets installed in the King George V Park (KGV) have come under fire from councillors who are concerned the toilets are not what the council paid for and they are questioning the sustainability of the system. Residents have also complained about the smell and lack of hand washing facilities.

When the eco-toilets were ordered, they were described as ground-breaking, using new technology that requires no electricity or water, instead breaking down waste in a vault using worms, making them environmentally friendly and sustainable. The eco-toilets are manufactured and installed by Calne-based company Healthmatic.

However, instead of worms, a conveyor belt toilet with a low power electric flush is used. Waste then goes into a brown paper bag situated behind the toilet pods, which is collected by a Healthmatic employee. To save water, a hand sanitizer dispenser is attached to the wall for people to clean their hands.

At the town council’s asset management and amenities meeting on Monday 5th June, the council’s operations manager, Hugh Davis, gave an update on the eco-toilets, saying, “They haven’t been without incident and I think I can only say I will report back further. Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite gone as planned. The usage has been phenomenal, there have been over 1,000 flushes last week. If we look at a standard six litre system, that would save us over 6,000 litres of water.

“There has been some down-sides. These have been that it was underestimated the amount of people that would deposit something. We were told initially that 90% of people would use them for wet experience.

“But from what we have seen, a lot of people are using them. They have been well received we’ve just had a few issues.”

Concerns

Raising concern and questioning whether the council have got what they asked for and how sustainable this is, cllr Colin Goodhind said, “I’d like to see details of what we were told we were going to be getting, to compare with what we have got. There are no worms, there is no compositing going on in the unit and I was under the impression that was a feature we were going to pay for.

“There have been complaints about the smell because it’s all dry, it’s all just falling into a bag and it’s left in an open bag in a section at the back, that isn’t sealed from the compartment. I don’t know how often it’s being emptied, but we are talking about quite a lot of regular emptying over a long period. How can a company keep that up forever at no cost, it doesn’t seem a situation to me that could be sustainable.”

Echoing this concern Hugh Davis said, “We had a site visit from Healthmatic today and they —–are now thinking along those lines. I have heard that second hand and I will report back further as things progress. I am concerned we haven’t got what we initially thought we were going to get.”

Mixed views

Residents have mixed views about the toilets and one resident said, “The new toilets when they are not closed, absolutely stink. I dread to imagine what they will be like after being used all summer. I can’t believe there is no sink, children are always getting dirty and hand gel isn’t enough if they fall over in mud. Don’t get me wrong, toilets in the park are a good idea, but I feel they haven’t been thought out enough.”

Another resident said, “Myself and many other people are delighted and grateful that facilities have finally been installed after so long. Perhaps some information on the wall about how these “eco” toilets work (I was expecting to be chucking sawdust down a long drop like other composting toilets I’ve used, but this clearly isn’t the case) and the best way for the public to maintain them. Supply some bio wipes and a bin would help, as well as some clear signage about people cleaning up after themselves.

“Obviously now the toilets are open, regular checking and cleaning of the facilities is going to be essential.”

Water and energy saving

Healthmatic said, “The toilets are water and energy saving, and constructed from materials that are as low carbon and environmentally friendly as we could find, while still being suitable for a public convenience.”

Melksham was due to be the first town in the country to have eco-toilets installed in June last year. However, due to various delays from Healthmatic, the toilets were installed in May this year. Calne became the first town to have the toilets, which were installed at the recreational ground.