The greener bathroom of the future

Expect a sensory pod instead of a deep bubble bath and a smart loo that could mean no more toilet roll

Bathrooms, one of the newest spaces in the home, have come a long way in a relatively short time. In 1971, one in 10 UK households still used an outdoor toilet. And go back less than 30 years before that, to 1947, and fewer than half of all homes in Britain had a bathroom – 46%, to be precise.        

One in three had a portable bath – often made of tin – and one in 10 had no bath at all. Households with no appliance for heating water for washing made up 15% of the population – who relied instead on boiling water in kettles or pans – and 7% had no piped water at all.        

Contrast that with 2024, when the bathroom is a ubiquitous feature of the home and sits on the edge of a revolution that promises to make it one of the most radically changing domestic spaces over the next few decades.

Water Conservation

While we may hardly recognise the bathroom of 2074 or 2124, it could be a case of back to the future – because the bath in its current form may disappear as a feature in many homes. That’s because using less water, already a worldwide concern, will become much more of an urgent requirement in the decades to come. It’s not that we have less water – rain still falls, and will continue to do so – but the planet now has many more people to support, and vastly more water is needed for growing plant foods than in the past. Also, water is a resource that isn’t being fairly shared: we might all now have an inside loo in the UK, but globally, six in 10 are still without one – and levelling up will be a big ambition in the years ahead. Added to which, using less water is connected with using less energy – heating water is one of the big burners of the fossil fuels that we need to reduce our dependence on.

When it comes to the domestic bathroom, there’s immense scope for using less water – and younger generations will make that central, says Jorge Hernandez, head of design at the Bathroom Brands Group: ‘Younger people are open to change and water-saving devices will become increasingly commonplace.’

A ‘green vision’ for the bathroom of the future, designed by German manufacturer Hansgrohe, boasts that it functions ‘almost without water’ at all: it uses 90% less water and 90% less energy and, as a result, releases 90% less CO2 into the atmosphere. ‘In the future, you’ll be able to have a shower using 10 litres of water, one tenth of the current average,’ says Steffen Erath, Hansgrohe’s head of sustainability.

The shower of the future will feature a light that warns as consumption reaches 10 liters; but showers will be quicker because a change in the pH level of water in the pipes could reduce the need for soap and shampoo — it's a natural cleanser. The futuristic Hansgrohe bathroom also has a wash station with three spray types: a mist for hand and face washing, and heated and non-heated sprays activated by sensors — so that water only flows when skin is underneath.

Water-saving will also come into its own in the loo of the future, which will be to separate urine from faeces: since flushing will be controlled by sensor, less water will be used for most toilet visits. And what kind of water will we be flushing the loo with? Well, definitely not the fresh water we currently use, says Steffen - that makes no sense at all. Future bathrooms will have an internal recycling system, where water you've used for a shower then flushes the loo. And in the far future, bathrooms could even have a sealed purification system, so all the water needed is stored in a tank, recycled after use and reused for years. ‘In 30 or 40 years, you might have a bathroom in which all the water is recycled,’ says Jorge.

No need for Loo Paper

Saving water is only one element of the toilet revolution, because the loo of the future also promises to be your domestic GP, and you won't need to wait for an appointment. It will be able  to analyze your bodily waste to provide important and - crucially - early information about issues such as blood in your poo (which can be a sign of colon cancer} and sugar in your urine (which can indicate diabetes), as well as more everyday health advice along the lines of, ‘You're a bit dehydrated,’ or ‘You need to eat more fiber.’  And then there's comfort. The Japanese company TOTO has been on a mission since the 197Os to reimagine the experience of going to the loo.  I recently tried out its top-of-the-range Neorest WX1: no hands needed (other than for the control panel on the wall alongside) for a call of nature that involved a heated seat, targeted jets of warm water to clean my nether regions (you decide which bits you want the jets to wash) and an air dryer to finish off.  The loo, which cleans and deodorizes itself, also has a memory function so the preferences of various family members can be stored: you sit down and the loo does the rest. If they become popular, then toilet paper could one day be a thing of the past, which would have a very positive impact on the environment.  As Kazuki Osugi, general manager at TOTO UK, says: ‘This is about a more comfortable way to go to the toilet. It's not just about being high-tech; it's about your bum being cleaned with warm water and dried.’ So far, more than 60m TOTO toilets have been sold worldwide. ‘We believe, going forward, it will become more common; it's been in Japan for 45 years now and more than 80% of people there have one. They're like smartphones  - people don't realise how much they need one until they try it.’     

Relaxation Hub

We've tended to think of the bathroom as a place connected with bodily cleanliness, but in fact that's only a small part of what it's about. And being clearer about the variety of human needs the bathroom caters for will be right up there in shaping its future.  A 2021 survey of 2,000 UK adults found four in 10 said the bathroom was    a place to escape for some peace and quiet; others said they ate breakfast there, sipped tea on the loo, even took calls while they were in there. Not to mention the inspiration element: one study revealed that 40% of people find they come up with their best thoughts in the bath or shower, or on the loo  (by comparison, just J2% find they get their best thinking done at works.  Hansgrohe uncovered a similar story: ‘We found 40 reasons why people go to the bathroom, and only one of them is to get clean,’ says Steffen Erath.  ‘Of course there's a need for physical hygiene, but more and more, the bathroom is going to be about mental hygiene: because it's the best retreat in the home. People go there to recharge, to get some me-time.’  Combine the relaxation element of the bathroom with the need to conserve water and it's clear the bath itself needs a rethink — because if we detach relaxation from cleanliness, it's much more sustainable to take  a short shower to pet clean and to linger instead in a meditation booth, a sensory pod or a massage chair. which every bathroom of the  future will have. You'll lie back in an armchair-cum-dome, naked or  wearing a robe, and select the sounds, lights and fragrances that meet your mental needs in the moment. And the shift towards these experiences will  acknowledge the fact that me-time is a human need, not something we should feel guilty about or dress up as something else (‘getting clean’}. 

Smart Mirrors

AI will be another big game-changer: there's so much potential that it's difficult to be specific, but elements such as lighting, mirrors (anti-mist, of course), sounds and sink and loo height may be personalized - so an app on your smartphone will ‘tell’ the bathroom as you enter it how you like it to be.  This personalization could well extend to beauty.

Smart mirrors will be able  to analyze our skin's condition instantly and recommend which face regime  or cream is needed. High-tech mirrors will also provide previews of our looks — if you're not sure what color lipstick to use or whether you want  to wave your hair, the mirror will be able to show you how it will look before you make your choice. Some futurists even predict the bathroom mirror  will become a two-way device that you'll be able to activate for in-the- moment advice from a beautician, a hairdresser or a doctor.  In tomorrow's bathroom, it won't be just the water that's on tap. In fact, it will be less about the water and more about a whole panoply of gadgets to meet your needs, as well as instant advice from experts.

Source: Good Homes 

ADB launches ‘toolkit’ for design of environment-friendly roads

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday that it launched a toolkit that would aid governments and transport industries in building low-carbon and inclusive road infrastructure.

The ADB, along with the International Road Federation and MetaMeta Research, launched the Green Roads Toolkit, to guide the planning, design, construction and maintenance of roads while ensuring environmentally sustainable practices.

“We need to do road investments and other transport infrastructure better to develop them sustainably and ensure accessibility for all,” James Leather, director of the bank’s transport sector office, said during the Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum.

The framework seeks to address the region’s need for eight million kilometers of roads by 2030, as estimated in the Asian Transport Outlook.

It also aims to ensure beneficial land and water use, reduce pollution, push for restorative and regenerative ecosystems, and ensure the public safe and affordable mobility in the region.

“This toolkit will provide engineers, planners, decision makers, and practitioners with the guidance to balance the economic, social and environmental objectives to make roads in Asia and the Pacific greener,” Mr. Leather said.

The guide details 150 best practices in road design and planning, tackling decarbonization, sustainable materials and construction, fostering inclusive growth, climate resilience, reducing pollution, preserving biodiversity, water and land management, disaster preparedness, and improving quality of life.

“It will guide project teams in recommending interventions that support the alignment of road investments with the Paris Agreement on climate change and other sustainability agendas,” said Rebecca Stapleton, ADB’s senior analyst for the transport sector group and co-lead on the ADB Green Roads Initiative.

Around 400 million people in the Asia-Pacific region live more than two kilometers away from an all-season road, Mr. Leather said.

Roads account for 18% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

The toolkit will be regularly updated to include additional best practices to develop and manage “green roads.”

Over 1.7 billion across Asia do not have access to reliable transport, Managing Director General Woochong Um told the forum.

“Our focus now is not only on moving cars and other forms of vehicles. It is also not only on moving goods and people. We focus now also on shaping sustainable futures for our developing member countries,” Mr. Um said.

The ADB is also supporting the transition to electric vehicles, Mr. Um said.

“Transitioning to electric vehicles represents a significant step forward, yet this alone is insufficient to tackle broader issues, such as accessibility, congestion, or safety. Our approach must be holistic, incorporating a range of innovative solutions to ensure that our transport systems are not only environmentally sustainable, but also universally accessible and safe,” he said.

Source: Business World and ADB

DENR: Philippines loses $890 million annually to recyclable plastic dumping

The country loses $890 million a year because of indiscriminate dumping of recyclable plastic instead of repurposing it, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said yesterday.

In her speech during the celebration of Earth Day, Loyzaga said the country produces around 2.7 million tons of plastic waste each year, with most of it ending in landfills, dumpsites, rivers and water supply systems.

“However, about 20 percent of this ends up in our oceans. Over and above our organic waste, plastic for our market needs, food wrapping and packaging for our consumers all make up the 61,000 metric tons of solid waste we produce daily,” Loyzaga said.

This year’s Earth Day is an urgent call to face a deadly challenge against plastic, she added.

Loyzaga pointed out that many are unaware plastics have traditionally been made from oil, natural gas, or coal – the very fossil fuel sources that have driven climate change.

“On a daily basis, we consume plastics in the fish caught in the seas, through the substandard water bottles we use and in the very air we breathe. Microplastics have been found in raindrops and are being studied for their impact on clouds and climate change,” she added.

To address the issue, she said the government passed the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 or the EPR Law, which shifted the burden of collecting used plastic from local governments to the producers and manufacturers.

“Over 800 large-scale companies have registered and committed to reducing plastic use through the substitution and development of sustainable packaging solutions and collection, treatment and recycling initiatives. They have also committed to education and raising awareness of the environmental impact of plastic pollution,” Loyzaga noted.

She stressed that the government and the corporations cannot do it alone, adding that transformation toward a plastics-free world begins at home.

“Together, we can win this battle of planet vs. plastics. Every step we take counts, and we will need to work as one. It is our choice to act today or let our plastic waste determine our tomorrow. Earth Day must be every day. We will fight to win the war of Planet vs. Plastics. We must embrace the environment for life,” she added.

Meanwhile, the environmental group Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) yesterday asked President Marcos to declare a national climate emergency amid the impact of El Niño in the country.

At a press conference, CEED executive director Gerry Arances said the damage El Niño brought to the agriculture sector has reached almost P4 billion, and it could still get worse in the next days.

“Today, together with other organizations, we urge President Marcos to declare a national climate emergency as the effect of the El Niño that we are currently experiencing is expected to exacerbate,” Arances said, adding that the government’s preparations to minimize the impact of the phenomenon were inadequate.

“We are experiencing a different kind of El Niño as in the past weeks the heat index already reached almost 50 degrees Celsius. Its damage to agriculture already reached billions, as well as in the fish catch. We expect more problems in the next weeks and months,” he added.

Arances said Marcos should acknowledge that the current El Niño is different from the previous drought. “Extraordinary measures are needed. Government officials are still treating climate change as business as usual. For us, we are warning that we should expect it to exacerbate.”

He said the declaration of a national climate emergency is necessary for national survival.

Batang Bantay Kalikasan

The city government of Pasig launched yesterday the Batang Bantay Kalikasan or BBK project, which aims to empower the youth in the campaign for the protection of the environment, and did a tree-planting activity in observance of this year’s Earth Day.

The BBK officers, led by Samantha Nicole Salingay of De Castro Elementary School, from 21 public schools in Pasig took their oath during the flag-raising ceremony of the employees and officials of the city.

The city government handed over the BBK badge to its officers to symbolize the recognition of the city government to the group.

It also encouraged all private companies in the city to join the search for the “Most Sustainable Landscape” as part of the push to create green spaces in support of the Green Building Ordinance of Pasig.

After the flag-raising ceremony, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto and other city officials led the ribbon-cutting for the Earth Day fair at the city hall lobby where 10 exhibitors participated in showcasing their environment-friendly products.

Sotto, along with Vice Mayor Robert Jaworski Jr., city councilors, representatives from the Mint College of Ortigas, AsiaLink and Department of Education -Schools Division office of Pasig led the tree-planting and growing activity at the Pasig Central Elementary School. ­

Source: Philstar