Looks like Princeton is really trying to make some great strides towards making the ideas of sustainability hit home with their students.

Residents of Feinberg and Edwards halls were greeted with new, “green” toilets when they returned to their rooms after spring break, when Facilities staff members installed dual-flushing systems designed to save water.

The new toilets allow users to push the flush handle one way to use less water for liquid waste and another way to release more water for solid waste.

To me one of the best things about setting this up in a dorm is that it will help make students aware of what is going on around them. I just hope that the school has made it clear how these flow control toilets work. I have met some freshmen that might have a little trouble grasping the concept.

Vice President for Facilities Michael McKay said that his office has been continuously working on sustainability projects. One of his current tasks involves making the heating systems in older dormitories less wasteful of energy. While replacing entire systems is not feasible over summer break, he said, there may be ways to increase individual control over the dated steam-heat system. Currently, heat for entire buildings is controlled by only one or two thermostats.

McKay explained that he hopes to break heating control for buildings into smaller zones that can be individually adjusted “so students can control their temperature with their thermometers instead of their windows.”The new Butler buildings, slated for completion fall 2009, will be 30 percent more efficient than required by current energy codes, McKay said, adding that in the future, buildings will exceed efficiency requirements by at least 50 percent.

I would add that although all these projects the folks at Princeton are working on are great, the toilet flush is, I believe, the most important. Not because of it’s impact on the environment, although that is great. It is its impact on students thought process.

A new heating and cooling system or new energy efficient windows are not something most people will really think about much. It just becomes part of the building. The flow control is an action that they will all deal with multiple times per day, hopefully reinforcing their thoughts about conservation.

Link to original story
Water-saving toilets added to dorms
By Jack Ackerman
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, April 7th, 2008
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/04/07/20705/