Normally I wouldn't post something about urinals to HN just because it's in Wired, but this is actually a fascinating article about a new technology's introduction being delayed by resistance from trade unions (in this case, plumbers).
"Hansen heard a flood of complaints early on: The urinals stank. They were dirty. Where was the flush handle? In one building, the complaints were so vociferous that Hansen started an investigation. He found that the bathrooms did indeed stink, but the urinals appeared clean ....
... The urinals, however, emitted nothing. The cartridges were doing their job. Hansen moved the sewer vent and replaced the cracked toilet. The complaints stopped. Hansen concluded that the smell had always been there, but people didn’t have anything to blame it on until the new urinals arrived."
I've experienced this many times. I create/modify/install PROGRAM_X and immediately receive complaints that it's causing problems on the server where it's running. Investigation eventually reveals that these problems have been going on for some time, but now there's something to blame. I'm sure I'm not alone.
(edit: on second thought, it was a university. Knowing what university students tend to put in urinals, I'm not surprised they clogged even with proper maintenance)
But after reading about how they work, I have reservations on the design. Depending on maintenance for keeping sewer gases from escaping seems failure prone. Humans err (and get lazy). I'd much rather depend on plumbing codes that have been tested over decades and work "automatically" than depending on changing a cartridge.
What happens if a bathroom with a waterless toilet is abandoned or isn't maintained regularly?
It will float on top and prevent the water from evaporating.
"Users complain that high-efficiency toilets, which use less water than traditional models, require two flushes to do the job. Behind such objections stands this truth: America remains a flush-oriented society, and the more powerful the flush, the better. "It was a morale issue," Anja S. Caldwell, green building chief for the Montgomery County public school system, said of initial resistance to the 50 waterless urinals introduced over the past year. "People thought that by taking the flush away, you're taking an entitlement."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06...
I would readily give the gallon of water from my urinal to my "standard" toilet flush for when I need it.
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-The anti-nuclear/anti-weaponization movement didn't help either.
Great article. Just goes to show that there's still so much more to innovate out there.