A revolutionary water-saving toilet, designed and prototyped at the University of East London (UEL), offered signs of a sustainable future at this year’s Bathroom and Kitchen Expo, held at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in Docklands from 13-15 May.

The Propelair WC is the creation of Phoenix Product Development Ltd, based in the new Knowledge Dock Centre at UEL’s Docklands Campus. The eco-efficient toilet took centre stage in the Bathroom and Kitchen Expo’s “Glimpse of the future” exhibition zone.

On Tuesday 15 May, Garry Moore, Managing Director of Phoenix Product Development and inventor of the Propelair system, delivered a lecture entitled Future technologies for the sustainable bathroom in the Expo’s seminar theatre.

Garry said: “Toilet flushing currently accounts for over 30% of domestic water usage in the UK. Due to its innovative displaced air flushing system, the Propelair toilet uses less than 1.5 litres of water per flush - just a sixth of the 9 litres used by an average UK toilet.

“Independent trials and research conducted by the Water Research Centre and the Building Research Establishment have provided outstanding results and established a link between water and energy saving. We are now talking to manufacturers and investors with a view to putting Propelair on the market.

“In one Ilford home, where we installed a Propelair WC just over eighteen months ago, over fifty tonnes of water has already been saved. That’s one toilet, in one house, in one street; think how much water could be saved if everyone converted to a Propelair WC!”

Results from a 6-month trial held at the Water Research Centre in Swindon between February and July 2006 showed that if every house in the UK were to install Propelair, 1.85 billion litres of water would be saved each day and the UK’s water needs would be reduced by up to 10%.

Dr Ana-Maria Milan, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, has been interpreting the Propelair trial’s results as part of a research project entitled Water Cycle Management for New Development (WAND).

Ana-Maria said: “The Propelair system performs very well, actually better than conventional toilets. Used widely, the system could stop us flushing billions of litres of precious water down the drain every day.”

Darryl Newport, Director of the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of East London, said: “This technology saves water and energy, and has great potential to help us deliver a sustainable future. As temperatures are expected to increase due to climate change, water shortages are likely to become a common occurrence and this type of innovative system can only help reduce the overall impact on the environment.”

For further details about the Propelair WC, visit www.propelair.com or contact Garry Moore on 020 8223 7784 or info@propelair.com