Peeing in the shower could save the environment

Peeing in the shower is something most people find disgusting. But did you know that scientists say peeing in the shower could actually save the planet?

Science claims peeing in the shower could save the environment
© Getty Images
Science claims peeing in the shower could save the environment

Think about it... Every time we pee, we flush the toilet, which wastes an astronomical amount of water.Toilets don’t need to use that much water to get rid of the urine. Even if some toilets are able to use less water, most don’t, which causes huge amounts of water to be lost.

Discover our latest podcast

One flush is the equivalent of one gallon of water

One flush of the toilet uses an average of one gallon of water and an adult pees several times a day. When you do the math, that's 9 gallons of water used per person, which is 3372 gallons of water used per person, per year.

And these figures are even more frightening when one calculates for an entire population. For example in the United States with a population of 319 million inhabitants, the consumption of toilet water is no less than 879 million gallons

Reducing our water use to save the environment

So yes, even if at first peeing in your shower seems gross, it could significantly reduce these sobering figures. If every resident did this there would only be one flush of the toilet per day, saving 481 gallons per year. Man and our misuse of water resourcesare partly responsible for global warming.

Using less water means less water needs to be pumped and treated, thereby less money being used on energy, chemicals and additional reservoirs. Pumping less water also reduces the greenhouse emissions which create greenhouse gasses, and which then cause climate change.

So if you want to do the planet a favour, do not go for a pee before taking a shower, and do it in the shower instead! This small gesture could do a lot of good for the environment.

The incredible discovery under Antarctica that will change the environment The incredible discovery under Antarctica that will change the environment