On Urinals That Don't Need Flushing

Thank you for your comparison article on non-water using urinals (“Falcon Waterfree Urinals Compete with Waterless,”

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 2). It is great to see you bringing this very viable technology to your readers. I would like to respond with some additional facts your readers may be interested in.

First of all, we really are happy that there is a second provider of a non-water using technology, as it makes sales easier and brings the technology into the market faster. I appreciate your truly trying to be evenhanded in your assessments, and I believe you have done a wonderful job.

For your readers’ benefit, it may be good to know that, in order to avoid confusion between the two manufacturers and their respective systems, they should ask which non-water using urinal they are looking at: Waterless Co. LLC of San Diego, CA, or Falcon Waterfree of Los Angeles. It is easy to confuse the two as Falcon uses the term “waterless urinals” very loosely. You so kindly pointed out that the Waterless No-Flush™ system has significant long-term cost advantages, and we would not like to be confused with the more costly Falcon system.

Waterless No-Flush urinals and their materials are all U.S.-made products. Falcon ceramic urinals are made by an American Standard plant in Mexico. Having contacted the American Standard headquarters in N.J. and various representatives in four states, we found that American Standard does not recognize the Falcon product, nor will they take any responsibility for the product. Falcon apparently tries to confuse the potential customer by using the American Standard name. This is important as many facilities, cities, and states still work under the Buy America Act when procuring product.

The most important fact, however, is that there is currently no valid ANSI standard for non-flushed ceramic urinals in the U.S. According to members of ANSI A112.19, it will be years before non-flushing urinals are part of that standard. Unfortunately, Falcon is not quite forthright with the public, and even some inspectors, in the way they use the standard listings in their brochures. I personally have a problem with this issue, as inspectors get ticked off, inhibit the approval or acceptance of new technologies, and no one is helped in the future. The whole acceptance of green and/or sustainable materials into the codes gets a bad name through actions like this. Waterless Co. has always tried to play by and accept the rules. We received our approvals for Waterless No-Flush urinals in due time and on the merit of facts. However, shortcutting the system and possibly deceiving officials does not work or help, and unfortunately, our product and company name are thrown into the same pot. That is how water conservation, which is still vying for credibility, gets hurt.

Keep up the good work.

Klaus Reichardt

Waterless Co. LLC

San Diego, California