Tag / #sewers

by markhendriksen

London, as so many cities have done for millennia, uses its river for waste. In 1858 disease and ‘The Great Stink’ led to Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s super-sewer for 4 million people.

150 years later the population is now closer to 10 million. This is what’s happening…

Forward Thinking BC. To get a handle on how advanced the thinking was on ‘waste management’ thousands of years ago, the Mesopotamians had already figured clay sewer pipes around c.4000 BC. Utilised to remove wastewater, and capture rainwater in wells. But, let’s fast forward through history… The world continued to progress their early sewer/sanitation systems as other ‘influencer countries’ went on to build their own versions in places such as; Egypt, Greece, Rome, China (first toilet paper), Pakistan, India [Indus Valley & Harappan civilisations] and so on. All of which points to the fact that over the 1000s of years since then, until the mid-1800s, not much progress (in terms of 6000 years of sewage management) had been made. The investment in Tideway is the biggest single sewer investment in Europe since Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s day.

copyright Hendriksen & Hopson ‘It’s All About Poo’ [A History of the Toilet.]

Heading Downstream. Since the dawn of civilisation, human settlements had grown and evolved best around rivers where, within close proximity, fresh water could be sourced – and wastewater crudely diverted downstream to be diluted and supposedly ‘vanish.’ Importantly for this brief article, by comparison to today, the world’s population was smaller, people used less water, planet earth was greener, it was way ahead of any industrial revolution, and there weren’t factors like ‘travel and tourism’ nor other modern-day developments to take into account.

A Changing World. In this regard, the world was relatively well looked after for many millennia i.e. none of the ‘nasties’ pollution, chemicals, plastics, and certain industries destroying our environment and ecology, about who we so often hear about in the news. Wars and weaponry were also far less sophisticated and caused less damage to ‘less’ infrastructure. Back then the earth’s surface had less ‘ground’ taken up by houses and other buildings as well. This led onto natural drainage being a whole lot better and, on which note, brings us onto rainwater, the importance and unpredictability of which we’ll explain about in a short while. What hasn’t changed is that ‘Everybody Poops.’

Better Sanitation for All. Before we move on to Sir Joseph Bazalgette and what he did for London, something that’s worth flagging for the sake of perspective and comparison is global sanitation. Even now in the 21st century 25% of the world still doesn’t have access to basic sanitation and/or water. The impact for all of us, as major contributors to what goes down the loo [toilet] and regarding what needs to be done with our waste, is a priority in keeping all of us healthy. It is an ongoing challenge for us and a far greater one for the less fortunate 25%. Sanitation needs to be on everyone’s radar and in our conversations, ‘Out of Sight should not mean Out of Mind.’ Diseases spread, and diseases travels – as the current pandemic has clearly shown. Let’s look back at London 1858, and then we’ll return to 2020.

Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The name Bazalgette (pronounced Bazal’jet) is synonymous with Sir Joseph Bazalgette. His proposal was an ambitious solution to what the press at the time in 1858 called, ‘The Great Stink.’ His colossal project was accepted and it became a turning point for an ageing and inadequate sewer system that emptied directly into the Thames. This wasn’t ‘just a bad stench’ it was also related to a substantial number of deaths from the water-borne transmission of diseases [typhoid and specifically a cholera epidemic.] A toxic cocktail of human excreta, slaughterhouse waste, and industrial chemicals poured freely into the River Thames, turning it into an open sewer. Between 1831 and 1866, approximately 40,000 people died from cholera in London alone (2% of the population) an equivalent of 200,000 people today.

We should bear in mind that the population of London at the time was c. 2m. Bazalgette had the foresight to construct for a population of 4m, double that number. The cost in today’s terms would be roughly £1bn. Currently, London is heading towards a population of 10m, add to that ‘transient’ tourists/visitors to London, estimated to have been around 20m+ in 2019, and that’s a lot of waste to move out of town (or any majorly populated area in the world for that matter.)

In brief, here’s what happened back then. Bazalgette’s scheme was an extraordinary feat of engineering involving the construction of major new ‘intercepting sewers’ that would gather sewage from the existing collection of sewers at the time, and move it further down the river. On the north bank of The Thames, sewage would be carried eastwards as far as Beckton, eight miles east of St Paul’s Cathedral, to be stored and then discharged on the outgoing tide. On the south bank, the sewage would flow as far out as Crossness, two miles further downstream of Beckton, and discharged there. The project was completed by 1875. However, at the time, although it moved out of the more populated areas of London it ended up ‘downstream’ but still back in The Thames. In other words, the problem hadn’t gone away, it had gone elsewhere.

Sewage Treatment Works. What was missing from the original big idea was that no ‘sewage treatment works‘ were part of the plan at the time, i.e. no separation of effluent and water before to sending it back into the river. It wasn’t until a disastrous accident in 1878 caused the underworld and earth to collide, when a passenger steamboat sank after crashing into a coal-carrying ship downstream from the two pumping stations… just after they’d pumped 75m gallons of raw sewage into the river. The resultant pressure from MPs in the 1880s forced the first ‘treatment works’ for raw sewage, where the solid waste was ‘settled’ and subsequently only the liquid waste was discharged into the Thames at Beckton, and also 2 miles farther along at Crossness. The Bazalgette drainage system was passed to the London County Council and they appointed a Chief Engineer, Sir Alexander Binnie, to be responsible for all of their infrastructure. He designed the first sewage treatment works (originally just lime settlement) at the ends of the sewer outfalls created by Sir Jospeh Bazalgette.

However, that wasn’t quite the end of the problems. By the time Bazalgette died in 1891, 5.5m people were living and defecating in inner London. 1.5m more than anticipated just 30 years earlier. The other key part to operating and improving London’s sewers were called ‘combined sewer overflows.’ In the USA a more descriptive term is used, ‘storm-water regulators.’ All of which brings us back to a typically British subject, ‘the weather.’

What’s Caused the Latest Stink for the UK? Today, we have the benefit of Sir Joseph’s incredible construction and the ever-improving ‘sewer treatment works,’ but new challenges like ‘wet wipes’ and all sorts of other things that shouldn’t get put down the toilet (except the 3Ps.) Apart from the dangers of bacteria to ourselves, bacteria in sewage can also absorb the dissolved oxygen from the water, killing off fish and water-dwelling plants as well. All of which brings us onto one other equally significant call of nature apart from our own, and that’s rainwater. Rain needs to drain for which reason even now, 150 years after the original ‘Bazalgette’ sewers were completed, around 40 million tonnes of raw sewage still spills, untreated, into the River Thames every year. The present-day population, (as mentioned previously) has now more than doubled. Fortunately, a few years ago, the European Commission [EC] and European Court of Justice made a new ‘stink’ about the latest problems, which subsequently resulted in the new £4bn construction project known as ‘Thames Tideway,’ owned by a consortium of investors, and it’s respectfully called ‘Bazalgette Tunnel Limited.’

Professor Chris Binnie (great grandson of Sir Alexander Binnie), chaired the Thames Tideway steering group for 5 years and we got in touch to ask, in relatively simple terms, what’s going on with London’s sewers – now due for completion by 2024 and referred to as the ‘Super-Sewer.’ However, ahead of his reply, let’s try and make all the pieces finally fit neatly together. We’ll begin, as we did, by figuring what ‘combined sewer overflows’ means and why, as the old saying goes, ‘when it rains it pours.’ If the storm is too great for the sewers/drainage pipes to cope with there’s what’s called a, ‘combined sewer overflow‘ [CSOs.] These are a collection/system of pipes and tunnels designed to simultaneously collect surface runoff (the flow of water occurring on the ground surface from excess rainwater) and sewage water – in a shared system. When this relief structure is overloaded valves are opened that still release the combined wastewater, untreated sewage and runoff into the Thames.

Map credit & copyright Tideway

From Bazalgette to Bazalgette + ‘Combined Sewer Flows.’ If the CSOs are only used occasionally, that’s considered an acceptable amount of ‘nearly just stormwater.’ But if the frequency increases greatly, so does the, ‘not so pleasant addition to the stormwater’ that ends up back in the river. As Chris Binnie explained, “The European Commission had given guidance that 20 ‘spills’ per year might be the limit. Without doubt, there were about a dozen CSOs that exceed such a frequency. So, the ECJ found the UK in breach.” To help do the math, there are about 50 combined sewer overflows happening in London each year. Chris added that, “Over the last 10 years all the sewage treatment works have been upgraded and now meet the required standards including spill frequency, so the only issue was with the central London combined sewerage system.” In 2016 Thames Tideway began constructing a giant tunnel, seven metres wide and it will run for 25 kilometres to intercept sewage that would otherwise pollute the river, click the link to Thames Tideway to dig deeper (excuse the pun;)) The aim is to capture, store and move the vast quantities of raw sewage and rainwater across London connecting to 34 of the most polluting CSOs via transfer tunnels, and taking sewage (that would normally be pumped into the Thames) to a treatment facility at Abbey Mills in east London – designed many years ago by a certain Joseph Balzagette.

A Breath of Fresh Air. Work on the ‘super-sewer’ started 4 years ago, we’re halfway there. It’s backed by investors but, in case you weren’t aware, at some point it will appear as a cost on your water bill too. This isn’t only a matter for London and a future post will look at other world cities facing similar challenges. Ultimately, this won’t be the last time London’s sewers need to be better figured out for the future. Global sanitation is probably the world’s biggest and most important issue if humanity is to survive. Ask the WHO, UN, WTO, UNICEF and, and, and – it’s not a sexy subject but unless we overcome this Taboo, we are burying our heads in the sewers – that, as it was back in 1858, will be extremely dangerous. A few subsequent articles on the project, and their links, can be accessed below. Meanwhile do contact us with any comments or questions. We look forward to returning next week with another post on ‘loos and no. 2s.’ Until then have a good week…

  1. The Museum of London, ‘How Bazalgette Built London’s First Super Sewer.‘
  2. BBC 2017 ‘Work begins on London’s super sewer to stop Thames becoming a toilet.’
  3. The TV 3 part Series from 2018 [now available via Daily Motion] The Five Billion Pound Super Sewer.
  4. Wired, ‘London’s Super Sewer Won’t Solve The City’s Epic Poo Problem.‘ Dec 2018
  5. An update from the BBC in Feb 2020 ‘Inside London’s Super Sewer.’
  6. ‘Tunnelling Work Restarts on Super Sewer‘ from PBCToday May 13 2020.
by markhendriksen

Does my Toilet make sense? BBC CrowdScience Podcast

Is it time to reinvent the flush toilet? Take 39 minutes while you’re home to get to know about your toilet. A brilliant podcast from the BBC’s WorldScience on that very topic. First released on May 15th 2020 and featuring Rose George author of the ‘The Big Necessity‘ published in 2009 (available on Amazon) Description: ‘Produced behind closed doors, disposed of discreetly, hidden by euphemism, sh*t is rarely out in the open in ‘civilised’ society, but the world of waste – and the people who deal with it, work with it and in it – is a rich one. This book takes us underground to the sewers of NYC and London and overground, to meet the heroes of India’s sanitation movement, American sewage schoolteachers, the Japanese genius at the cutting edge of toilet technology, and the biosolids lobbying team. With a journalist’s nose for story, and a campaigner’s desire for change, Rose George also addresses the politics of this under-reported social and environmental effluent, and the consequences of our reluctance to talk about it. Witty and original, The Big Necessity proves that sh*t doesn’t have to be a dirty word.‘

by markhendriksen

Planet Poop, ‘We have a problem!’

Castelbosco, in the province of Piacenza, Italy. A farm which makes milk for Grana Padano cheese .

Planet Poop, ‘We have a problem!’ Before we look at alternative uses for human and animal poop as promised last week, there’s the human poop lifecycle, a major global problem that we ought to flag up first. Since the earliest records of sanitation during the Mesopotamian civilisation flourished in the Euphrates River area (modern-day Iraq, Iran, and Syria.) Effectively, from 4000-2500 BCE until today, a) 25% + of the world population still has no access to basic sanitation and/or water, this means open defecation and a lack of hygiene that needs addressing, and b) those of us that have toilets and sewerage systems are using gallons of fresh water to flush and producing a mountain of poop that needs to be properly managed (in unison with continuing research and improvements) at sewage plants.

If we don’t resolve this and better manage all the animal waste (which account for about 80% of the world’s poop) as well as human waste, then the world faces a huge problem. Even if it were possible to have the majority of animal waste reused as fertiliser (which it presently isn’t), scientists say this is a major environment and health problem that urgently needs addressing. Think air pollution, water pollution, climate change, the dumping of excess waste and waste can poison wildlife, aquatic life and then ultimately enter the human food chain.

The Sh*t Hits the Fan. As the impact of bad management, lack of planning, investment and foresight, has little improved since the dawn of civilisation, now, as it was back then, rivers and oceans (today incinerated or in high cost landfill) still seem to be the major disposal options and therefore account for the many of the problems and challenges mentioned above. While urine and faeces do potentially have a wide range of applications they are not being given the attention and funding they deserve. Looking at the primary uses, it can provide nutrients for diverse ecosystems, be used as fertiliser or for soil conditioning in agriculture, burned as fuel, or dried and used in construction. Some medicinal uses have also been found.

A Mountain of Mess. Most importantly the big question of what to do with the growing mountain of waste is still largely ignored and remains unanswered. There’s just so much animal poop (primarily) but also human waste out there, that the shit has already hit the fan and it’s spinning off at an alarming rate. The proper disposal of human and animal waste is a major sanitation problem in the Third World and elsewhere, both in its quantity and as a serious health hazard. We’ll need improved international policies, investment, communication, and state-of-the-art technologies to address the impacts this has on global health. If we want to live sustainably and save the poor the planet and the environment we, as well as the industry, need to keep taking this subject very seriously and driving change.

Poo with a Purpose. When you get to the bottom of it there are some huge benefits in reusing sh*t, or getting creative with it that can greatly contribute to reducing the impact on our ecosystem. One major difference between human and animal faeces is how much of it is produced.  ‘The average human produces around 1/4 – 1lb of poop [up to 1/2kg] per day. That’s in stark contrast to animals such as a cow 65lbs [30kg] per day or an elephant 100lbs [50kg] or even a pig 11lbs [5kg] as other recognisable examples.’ Just to expand on this to give a better overall picture, ruminant animals like cows also produce emissions when they belch or pass gas. In terms of these manure and global warming the chief offenders are beef and dairy cattle which produce about 62% of it. Put simply, livestock manure, which is the organic nitrogen that is excreted from animals is either deposited directly on pastures during grazing, or is collected, stored and processed. That treated manure then becomes available for application to agricultural soils, mostly land for crops. But whatever the stats and processes in all this, it’s collectively an enormous problem, so why aren’t we really ‘Getting our sh*t together?’

How can we #BeMoreDungBeetle and become better at waste recycling? As mentioned above, faeces can be used as fertiliser or soil conditioner in agriculture. It can also be burned as fuel, i.e. used to produce combustible gases such as methane, or dried and used for construction. Flies actually have a positive use in converting human waste into chicken feed (there’s a reassuring explanation;)) We’ve selected a few of the more recent articles that further enlightened us on what’s going on and where. We’ll get back to this subject in more depth again as the lesson we took from all of this is that we must continue redefining ‘waste’ and finding alternative applications.

  1. ‘A Proposal for Recycling the World’s Unused Stockpiles of Treated Wastewater Sludge (Biosolids) in Fired-Clay Bricks‘ from Buildings via MDPI, started appearing in the press in early 2019. While there are still some issues to iron out with the prototypes, it remains a strong possibility that a % mixed with the clay could still work, in other words biosolid-bricks are a topic worth keeping an eye on. We contacted Professor Abbas Mohajerani at RMIT who led on the paper and are just awaiting an update.
  2. There’s a company that’s setting a fine example with Human Waste Briquettes. It’s called Sanivation and they collect human waste from special toilets and turn it into sustainable fuel, which improves sanitation and reduces the environmental impact of burning wood. They partner with local governments to help meet the growing waste processing need from septic tanks and pit latrines. Sanivation design, build, and operate treatment plants so that they can be operationally sustainable. The plants transform faecal sludge into biomass fuels.
  3. Human Poop as fertiliser: [Additional updates to original article June 5. 2020., ‘Human poop as crop fertilizer?’ and from The Sacramento Bee, ‘From rabbit poop to tomatoes, a new vegetable swap has a little of everything.’
  4. Back to construction, on the BBC back in 2019, ‘Would you buy a home made from poo?‘ Where a Thames Water sewage plant in Beckton, East London used the waste to power electricity and they were producing ‘bricks’ in an effort to have a more positive effect on our planet and the environment.
  5. Animal Magic. In 2017 (as data is often not so immediate) The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN reported ‘ The largest share of total livestock manure Nitrogen inputs were in Asia (35%) and Africa (25%), followed by South America (16%), Europe (10%), North America and Oceania (4%).‘ So manure for fertiliser is still a biggie, and set to keep growing.
  6. Sheep, shearing sh*t is big business, literally! Aidan Smith for Farm Weekly explains, ‘Crawling under a shearing shed with a vacuum cleaner hose to suck sheep manure out doesn’t seem appealing to a lot of people.’ Aidan commented to us that, ‘The manure is usually spread out on the farm as fertiliser or for the home gardens etc.‘
This is so much more than a Museum! | ‘Museo della Merda’ Castelbosco Italy

Biodiversity, a Problem with an Opportunity! We’ve only really touched the surface but wanted to put these thoughts in your mind, and as you can imagine there’s a lot of this to wade through. Having mentioned ‘The Biggest Little Farm’ it’s time to look at ‘The Shit Museum‘ officially known as ‘Museo della Merda‘ in Italy [mentioned in a previous post.] If you wanted to wrap up all that we’re trying to put across, in one place that you can go see for yourself, then look no further. Pottery, energy, fertiliser and foresight…

‘In the province of Piacenza, on a farm which makes milk for Grana Padano cheese and includes seven production units. Here every day 3,500 specially selected cows produce around 50,000 litres of milk and 150,000 kilos of dung. Under Locatelli’s management, this quantity of excreta started to be transformed into a futuristic ecological, productive and cultural project. Using highly innovative systems, electrical energy started to be produced from the manure. Today the farm produces up to three megawatts per hour. The buildings and offices of the farm are heated exploiting the warmth given off by the digesters as they turn manure into energy. Not to mention the fertiliser produced. All these activities have drawn attention from various international institutions concerned with ecology and innovation, leading to widespread recognition and prizes, and making Castelbosco a point of reference.‘ Click here to find out more!

The Biggest Little Farm: While we’re on this subject, do watch (if you haven’t already) the recent Amazon release from back in 2018/19, ‘The Biggest Little Farm‘ where on barren land about an hour north of Los Angeles, a couple along with an expert mentor started to create a farm. This enchanting documentary is particularly poignant in these current times, as you witness an earthly paradise and imagine a new ‘Garden of Eden Project.’ This ecological restoration provides an environmental diversity for plants, humans and animals to coexist as nature does its thing. Apricot Lane Farm, is a farm for organic food production it’s a 200 acre biome of balance and sustainability. True to Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ they must ‘meet with both triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.’ It is, as you’ll see, bringing hope for a better future.

Finally, in addition to this weeks main article, let’s quickly look at the work of Jim Bachor, a talented mosaic artist in Chicago, USA who has been getting very creative with potholes. One mosaic particularly caught our attention, it’s a sign of the times and as posts about loos and no. 2s are totally up our street (pothole pun intended) we didn’t want you to miss out on this. Also, mosaics and bathroom history also flow perfectly with the theme of one of our children’s books about the history of the toilet ‘It’s All About Poo!’ and so we loved Jim’s similar arty and humorous approach to an issue that drives most of us mad – potholes. But let’s start with a little more detail about mosaics. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia mosaics first emerged in the Bronze Age and subsequently with patterns resembling mosaics dating back to the 8th century BC in the Middle East and the 5th century BC in Greece. Things got more colourful when the Romans commonly used mosaics to decorate homes and public buildings, often in flooring. 

Photograph courtesy of Jim Bachor

As Jim explains about his work, ‘Trying to leave your mark in this world fascinates me. Ancient history fascinates me. Volunteering to work on an archaeological dig in Pompeii helped merge these two interests into my art. In the ancient world, mosaics were used to capture images of everyday life. Using the same materials, tools and methods of the archaic craftsmen, I create mosaics that speak of modern things in an ancient voice.‘ We have a mosaic timeline along the river Thames by Queenhithe dock, part of which you can see below, and hopefully these images might remind you of how bad waste management has been for thousands of years, but also to maybe inspire you to think about a mosaic in your bathroom designs. With Jim’s toilet roll embedded forever on the bathroom floor or wall, you’ll never be without tp ever again!

Queenhithe Dock Mosaic, London UK

More news next week. Thanks for following us. Do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you, or get any updates, insights or suggestions on this, past or future posts e. chat@thedailypoo.co.uk

by markhendriksen

Comment on our article 24th April 2020, from marine biologist Professor Richard Thompson OBE

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote a post about the 3Ps in ‘Turn your toilet paper into a wet wipe + other news & views on loos & no. 2s‘ and potential ways to help the environment by not putting anything other than Poop, Pee and Paper (toilet paper) in the loo… We asked one of the world’s leading experts, Professor Richard Thompson, for his opinion and he kindly responded having said ‘the article made good sense.’ His comments can be seen below:

“The bottom line is we all need to work toward consuming less stuff. It is especially important to  minimise any single use items where the benefit is very transitory  –  but the persistence as waste is long-lived. That’s the issue with wipes. The move toward a fine to flush logo might make sense. However, its potentially confusing for consumers if some wipes are OK to flush and others not. Perhaps the simplest message is  the 3Ps –  only flush pee, poo and paper. The idea of a spray to modify conventional paper is an interesting one and  may have merit.  I hope the containers are fully compatible with  a circular economy.

To me the key thing in all of this is the need for  product designers to fully consider end of life scenarios for their products right from the design stage; and where necessary have necessary testing done  to evaluate those outcomes before a product goes to market. Many of the current challenges relating to plastics could be avoided with  a little more thought at the design stage.” Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS

Professor Thompson is Director of the Marine Institute School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering) and leads the International Marine Litter Research Unit. Professor Thompson coined the term ‘microplastics‘ in 2004. With thanks for his remarks and advice.

Listen to this fascinating and enlightening podcast with Professor Thompson on BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Life Scientific‘ [listen now or download.] ‘How did you first get interested in the problem of plastic pollution in the sea?’ Richard Thompson tells Jim Al-Khalili how he alerted the world to the micro-plastics in the ocean and the harm they might cause to marine life.

‘When the rest of the world was waking up to the harm caused to marine life by larger plastic items, such as plastic bags, Professor Richard Thompson searched for tiny fragments of plastic, some no bigger than a human hair; and found them in oceans and on beaches all over the world. He has spent decades studying the harm these micro-plastics might cause to marine life and is concerned. His work on plastics in cosmetics led to a UK ban on micro-beads in shower gels and exfoliating scrubs.‘

by markhendriksen

Latest headline ‘Stick to the 3Ps when flushing’…Bidets, and other considerations from ‘The Daily Poo!’ on loos & no. 2s.

The incredible NEOREST® NX2 Dual Flush Toilet from TotoUSA [copyright TotoUSA] see article below

The 3Ps and ‘Proof before Panic!’

If you’ve not read this anywhere or, understandably perhaps not realised… ‘The use of tissues, wipes and kitchen roll is ‘clogging up the sewers!‘ Tissues, wipes and paper towels all contain plastic in their weave making them much stronger than toilet paper and therefore harder to break down in sewerage pipes. It’s only the 3Ps that should be flushed: pee, poop and paper [toilet paper] 4Ps if we include the word, ‘Please!’ We mentioned it last week but want to repeat the message. It’s an issue, even in ‘normal times.’ Plumbers who may be getting lots of work sorting out peoples pipes because of it, are getting fed up too, and so are the oceans and sea-life that suffer! The other please is, ‘Those of you who are still panicking about toilet paper… please stop it at once!’ We mentioned one calculator last week, here’s another that helps you see just how much toilet paper you need and use: https://thepooptool.com

There are more pressing issues to be dealt with, so put down those unnecessary packets of toilet paper…. and step away from the shelves – please! That said, your staying calm would really help the supply chain and logistics companies, and their amazing people, to keep doing their good work during these times, i.e. keep you supplied! Thank you to them and everyone else who is working on our behalf to get us safely through the days ahead, we love all he clapping for them that’s been going on worldwide.

Here’s the tail (tale) that could soon wag the dog, the dog being the toilet paper manufacturers and the tail being bidets.

Some while back we wrote about the option to use a ‘bidet’, bum-gun or an ‘attachable shower wash’ instead of the total wipe option. What started in France was the bidet, [Bidet: Mid 17th century (in the sense of straddling a ‘pony’) from the French bider ‘to trot’, of unknown origin.] A separate low basin for sitting and washing your bum. In fact other regions had been using small vessels of water called lotas or tabo for cleansing centuries before bidets appeared on the scene. Interestingly, (for those reeling in disgust or disbelief) it’s a very popular method across Europe, in the Arab world, and in Japan where their toilet technology is extraordinary. With bidets in approx. 80% of Japan’s homes that’s barely surprising.

Is this just a ‘flush in the pan?’

However, since Covid-19 and the toilet paper purchasing stampede/panic, bidets have begun a resurgence as ‘traditional wipers’ consider all the options and in doing so begin to see the benefits of owning one. Importantly, the design developments have meant you don’t need a separate ‘basin’ either, just an attachment to your current toilet system. Though we should point out that you can get an ‘all singing and dancing toilet’ in the first place, in other words a toilet/bidet and all sorts of other luxuries built in. Think; wash, dry, music, gadgets and even medical body checks all included. To get you started, look at Business Insider‘s ‘Best Bidet Toilet Seats‘ and then look at what’s hot in Japan…

‘The winds of change are blowing!’ [pun intended :)] But, seriously this has become a real disruptor and nothing indicates that more that the uptake by Americans, as the USA is the world’s largest consumer of toilet paper [36 billion rolls a year according to Statista.] Yep, stop and take that in for a moment… think trees, carbon footprint, water usage (it takes a huge amount of water to produce toilet paper btw!) According to The Scientific American, ‘It takes about 473,587,500,000 gallons of water to produce all that toilet for Americans and 253,000 tons of chlorine to bleach it. To break this statistic down further, it takes up to 37 gallons of water to make a single roll of toilet paper!’

Now think about a bidet style wash by comparison. Of course, as with so many cultures that wipe, they grew up with it and changing public perception takes either a long time, or a world-changing moment to break it. We just have one right now!

The companies who produce and sell ‘bidets’ are getting lots of views and whereas a major player like GEBERIT offers some super cool and funky remote control bidets (see the video) the likes of TUSHY make it accessible to (practically) all. That in turn is educating consumers and their previous behaviour. Add to that the realisation that washing yourself with a bidet can help with cleanliness, may lead to fewer instances of rashes, hemorrhoids, urinary infections, can also be a better option for people with IBS and other medical issues. Then allay other fears, i.e. ‘If you’re worried about using toilet water to clean your intimate parts, then you shouldn’t be. It’s tap water, just like the water you’re already using when you take a bath or shower.‘

The question of ‘tail wagging dog‘ as posed above is becoming more probable. To give you an idea of the current movement [it just goes with the subject;)] towards bidets take a look at TUSHY who we mentioned above. An American company founded back in 2014 who offer an affordable, easy fit bidet for your bathroom, and guess what, as the New York Post reported just last week ‘Sales have been up about [tenfold], which is pretty crazy,’ Jason Ojalvo, CEO. TUSHY also claim their device reduces a person’s use of toilet paper by 80%. That’s got to be an affordable alternative to toilet paper, that may be worth a second thought and… will pay for itself in no time at all.

TUSHY bidet on Instagram

If you have any questions about the whole bidet business, ie How to use it, how to dry off afterwards, hygiene, health, how happy your butt’ll be etc. head to the TUSHY ‘All your Questions Answered‘ page – it’s enlightening!

I feel we’ve done a lot to get to the bottom of this in today’s post [sorry!] The main thing and our point is, there’s been a greater awareness of bidets than ever before, the USA was the least likely to adopt them and yet it’s begun to happen. Will this be a flash in the pan? We think not. With the other topics we love to keep discussing, like the companies that are changing the way toilet paper is produced, sold and marketed e.g. Who Gives a Crap, Cheeky Panda and such like as well as other of the ever familiar names popping up in bathrooms everywhere, PooPourri to name but one – yep, times they are a changing!

In fact John Branden writing for Forbes in an article about, ‘What Coronavirus Trending Topics Say About Our Current Predicament‘ commented, ‘According to several apps I’ve been using to track trending topics on social media and online, what we care about is bamboo toilet paper, Instacart, and (very curiously) Drizly. Also — UHT milk. I had to look that one up. (It lasts much longer. Go buy some.)‘

It’s not just the toilet paper manufacturers that are the only ones who are being disrupted, America could also be on the way to losing the toilet race! Bidets are already out there in vast numbers, it’s not like you have to create a product (like the i-phone was for example) it’s just education, desperation or realisation. On a final note, why not look at all that’s included in the $17,000 NEOREST by Toto (Japan) and imagine that in your bathroom. Now that’s a throne fit for a King or Queen!!

Let us know your thoughts… chat@thedailypoo.co.uk We’ll be back next Friday!