Falcon Waterfree Technologies Delivers Water Efficiency Around the World

Falcon waterless urinals at the Taj Mahal

The greening of the world’s facilities, private and public, is going to require numerous retrofits of existing systems and equipment. Waterfree urinals, such as those provided by Falcon Waterfree Technologies, are a sterling example of the benefits offered by new technology. Forged from a partnership between manufacturers and labor groups, the Falcon success story saves 6 billion gallons of water a year from the Rose Bowl to the Taj Mahal. VerdeXchange News is pleased to present the following interview with James Krug, president and CEO of Falcon Waterfee Technologies.

 

Describe your company—what is Falcon’s business model?

Falcon was formed eight years ago. Marc Nathanson, the principal shareholder in Falcon Cable, was looking to invest in a company that had both a terrific business model and an opportunity to give back to the community and the world. I brought him the idea of Falcon. (At the time, the company was called American Waterless.)

The benefit, of course, is that each urinal saves approximately 40,000 gallons of water per urinal per year, so it’s extremely powerful water-saving technology. Eight years ago, Marc had the vision to foresee that water was going to become one of the most critical environmental issues that the world would face in the future. He saw this as an opportunity, from an investment standpoint and an environmental standpoint, to make a difference.

Since our inception—we launched in mid-2001—we have put over 150,000 urinals on walls around the world. We’re saving approximately 6 billion gallons of water every year from those urinals.

Talk about the technology and the components of your urinals. How does it all come together? Do you collaborate with other urinal manufacturers?

In a complicated world, our product is wonderfully simple and very efficient. Our urinals look like any other urinal; they’re basically just a bowl with a hole. We manufacture 15 different models from nine countries around the world, utilizing many of the largest sanitary ware manufacturers, from American Standard to Deleam in Korea to INAX in Japan and China. The urinal is fitted with the housing, which is a unique bayonet-locking device that ensures a proper fit. The cartridge, for which we have numerous patents, locks into the housing and is the replaceable component of the system. The cartridge has a liquid sealant that creates a block between the sewer gases and the restroom environment and is completely biodegradable.

The system has been tested throughout the world, from UCLA to Shanghai Sanitation to St. Louis Public Health to Oregon Parks. In all instances it is a more hygienic system with less smell. That’s a little counter-intuitive at first blush, but when you think about it, it makes absolute sense. Bacteria need water to grow. Our system is a much drier system; the moisture that’s typically found in a urinal from flushing is not present. Our system reduces bacteria counts anywhere from two to five times less than traditional water flushed systems.

As far as odor goes, the smell that we associate with urine is actually ammonia gas, and ammonia gas is formed when you mix urine with water. So, in the absence of water, you have less smell.

The system is completely touch-free, with no moving parts to break. From a maintenance standpoint, it’s much more economically viable. It is a cleaner, more hygienic system. With every flush of a traditional urinal, an aerosolization of the water and the urine occurs, spreading bacteria-laden moisture to every surface in the restroom, including the doorknobs, the faucets, etc. With waterfree urinals, there is no aerosolization or flush plume, which creates a much more hygienic environment.

What markets has Falcon Waterfree Technologies already explored, and where are you looking to expand your markets?

We have been very successful and are doing business in 33 countries. Falcon Waterfree urinals are in use around the world, in facilities ranging from the Taj Mahal to the Beijing Airport to Staples Center to the Hollywood Bowl to the Rome train station to numerous schoolTaj Mahal waterless
Falcon waterless urinals at the Taj Mahal
districts around the country. The tougher the environment, the better our system performs.

Our largest customers include the federal government, e.g., military bases around the country, public schools, and public transportation. A growing number of Fortune 500 companies are using Falcon Waterfree urinals; we are the worldwide construction specification for Starbucks. We have many installations for Pepsi Co. in South and Latin America. Barcelona Football Stadium, the second-largest soccer stadium in the world, and the Rose Bowl are also using Falcon Waterfree urinals. Any location where large numbers of people congregate will obviously realize the greatest savings.

Change is a positive codeword in presidential elections this year, but it always encounters resistance. For the first couple of years of the technology, state and local regulations resisted the implementation of waterfree urinals. What breakthrough occurred that made it possible to penetrate markets in the United States and California with your product?

In 2000, there were only two states that allowed for waterfree urinals. Both model codes, which then formed the basis for all the state codes, now allow for waterfree urinals. The biggest breakthrough came after working with pipe trades on a nationwide and local basis. It was an educational process for them as to why waterfree urinals are actually good for the environment and safe for the public. It took some work; they are cautious and very protective of the plumbing codes and the plumbing environment, as they should be. In many respects, they are the ones that ultimately ensure that plumbing systems are safe. We continue to work with them today, providing scientific information, training, and installation work. Early last year, based on a lot of information, they looked at our system and said, “You’re right. There’s enough field and scientific evidence that we feel comfortable embracing this product.”

We now have a very unique partnership with the California Pipe Trades. It has really turned into a terrific win-win situation for both of us. The pipe trades have always been very much pro environment. In the past, they have perhaps been mischaracterized. But they’re leading a very important segment of the plumbing industry in terms of their commitment to the environment. I think our system has dovetailed nicely into what they’re trying to accomplish. We’ve really developed a wonderful labor-business partnership with them, which has always been our vision.

A few months ago, VerdeXchange News’ sister publication, The Planning Report, did an interview with Lyndon Rive, the CEO of SolarCity, which helps entire communities install residential solar arrays. Do similar programs to provide incentives for this key component of the green-built environment exist in urban, metropolitan, or even rural communities?

Absolutely. They run at both 30,000 feet and at very specific levels. At the 30,000-feet level, many projects, whether they’reFalcon Urinal bond-funded or just mandated, are required to be LEED-certified. Waterfree urinals are unique in that they provide the most cost effective, proven technology to help earn LEED points. The use of waterfree urinals in a building can provide up to three points toward LEED certification.

What’s sometimes problematic for the architects and engineering firms is that going green can be a more expensive proposition. What’s impressive about waterfree urinals is that they are actually a less expensive alternative to traditional flush urinals, and they have incredibly powerful environmental benefits.

At the macro level, there are rebates around the country that give people dollars back for installing waterfree urinals. In fact, in the Metropolitan Water District in Southern California, which is entrusted with providing all of Southern California’s 18 million residents with a safe, reliable supply of water and which recognizes the importance and value of water conservation, offers a $400 rebate for waterfree urinals. Basically, anybody who wants to put a waterfree urinal in can do so at no cost. North Carolina, Seattle, Oregon, Northern California, Michigan, back East—all of the water agencies are beginning to understand that although people want to go green, without some help on the capital investment side, they won’t move as quickly as they otherwise would. From the water agency standpoint, a rebate is much more economical than the cost of finding additional water.

There was a lot of talk about water-free urinals at the GreenXchange Global Marketplace Conference in December. How has the growing public awareness about the environment changed the niche opportunity for Falcon Waterfree Technologies?

When we started seven or eight years ago, we were clearing the brush so to speak. The world had not evolved to anywhere near where it is today. Now, the world has done a 180 degree turn. In 2000, you had environmentalists who cared, and that was about it. They were, many times, preaching to deaf ears.

Today, sustainability and green building are not unique. It is the custom and practice. Really, for all environmental technologies, whether it’s ours or low-flow faucets, making those choices is no longer the exception but the norm. It’s what architects, engineers, and corporations are demanding.

You said that Falcon Waterfree Technologies is in a number of countries. What are jurisdictions around the world doing compared to the actions of California and Southern California?

It’s quite varied. Europe has really been ahead of us on the environmental side. Northern Europe, interestingly, is much more water-conscious than Southern Europe, even though they have much more water. But if you look at what’s going on in India, if you look at what’s going on in China, if you look at what’s going on in Japan, you see that there is a stark realization that they have to be involved in saving water at every level. California has always been in the forefront and is a terrific model for those countries. These countries absolutely understand the tremendous importance of sustainable building. They know that they cannot continue their growth in the absence of sustainability. •••