Air flush toilet could save UK 85bn litres of water a day

A UK startup is seeking funds to roll out an innovative plumbing technology that promises to slash the amount of water used by conventional toilets by 84 per cent.

The toilet, developed by London-based Phoenix Product Development, features a sealable lid that enables a displaced air-flushing system.

This requires just 1.35 litres of water per flush, compared to the 9.2 litres used by conventional toilets. The system could potentially save the UK 1.85bn litres of water each day.

Garry Moore, managing director at the company, said that the system had been successfully trialled by Greenwich Council and the WRc.

The company has already secured a number of customers and now needs £3m to fund the commercial roll out of the technology, after a previous backer pulled out due to the financial crisis.

"Greenwich has said it wants to install more of the systems after the trial and we have another trial lined up in Australia," Moore said. "But we can't scale up and begin manufacture without funding."

He said that banks were unwilling to provide finance given the current economic climate, while many government investment funds tended to focus on low-carbon technologies, rather than water-saving ones.

Moore added that the system could easily be retrofitted to existing toilets and promised to deliver carbon as well as water savings.

"Three million tonnes of carbon emissions each year come from the water companies, and 12 per cent of the water they supply is used by households to flush toilets," he said. "It works out as three grams of CO2 per flush, so saving water also delivers significant carbon savings."