With this move, the airport ends up saving about 1 lakh litres of water every day.
In the past few months, men who have been using the restrooms at the Terminal 2 (T2) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai have probably noticed something different about the urinals. There is no water at these urinals, instead a green chemical is used to flush these loos.
It might look strange to the 90,000 men who set foot in the airport on a daily basis (including its staff) but it is what’s keeping the urinals cleaner than ever before.
And this move saves about 1 lakh litres of water every day.
Image for representation. Photo source: Wikimedia
A few months ago, the authorities of one of the busiest airport terminals in India decided to solicit the help of “green chemicals,” which are essentially a mix of enzymes and bacteria, rather than resorting to water. Apart from the urinals, the staff also using this mixture to clean the 4 lakh square metres of surface area at the terminal. And it is most likely the first airport in India to adapt this method of cleaning.
A Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson in an interview with the Times of India further elaborates on the cleaning agent noting, “Cleaning compounds that contain ammonia-feeding bacillus spores are instead used in toilets. Lab tests have confirmed that the toilets are cleaner now. We don’t use lemongrass or lavender or other such essential oils to mask the smells. The bacteria convert the ammonia generated due to uric acid accumulation to nitrogen, as soon as the toilet is used.”
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For now, 200 of the toilets use this as a flushing system, especially the ones designated for men. And in the process deploy hard-working bacteria that never take a day off and work 24/7. The method is eco-friendly. And with tonnes of water being saved, this certainly is a neat idea worth emulating across the country.
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