Imagine drinking all the beer you want at a tailgate party (assuming you have a designated driver) without the worry of how much time you’ll spend in line for the port-a-potty. Also imagine, every time you have to take a whizz, you are actually helping the environment. Dream no longer. Introducing the “When Nature Calls” urinal system.
Image credit: Tuvie/Eddie Gandelman
This new urinal is still in the conceptual stages but when I saw it I thought this would be a perfect addition to any tailgating parking lot. The concept is pretty basic. A public restroom that collects urine and grows plants in the process. A quote directly from the concept designer:
By setting up the restroom in pod format with four urinals on every pod, the users can enjoy more space and privacy. This system as well paves way for both peeing and watering the plants. Approved by a professor of toxicology, the project employs 3 processes. The urine thus collected is filtered, which is then used for the plants. Peeing, besides being a waste process becomes a nurturing one, which appears to be a great advantage here. This idea will certainly make the very notion of urination a better experience.
Let’s face it. We men love to pee outside. For some reason it makes us feel more manly and gives us a sense of freedom. Or maybe we like to do it just because we can. No matter the reason, many tailgaters will head to the patch of trees on the edge of the parking lot and face potentially getting a ticket for indecent exposure or public urination. The reason? The trees are a much faster option than waiting in line for the port-a-potty.
Men typically take less time to use the restroom than women. Why do you think the line for the ladies room at a concert is always twice as long as the men’s? (Stop screaming sexism here. It’s a fact men take less time to go No. 1 than women.) It is also understood that the majority of tailgaters are typically men. (Yes, we know women tailgate too but for the most part, men are the ones logging the long tailgating hours.) So it stands to reason that installing more restroom options that accommodate men would be a no brainer. This way those portable toilets could be freed up for female tailgaters who require a seat and more privacy. After all, why would men wait in line for a regular portable toilet if a urinal only option was available? Both men and women would be happy that the lines are shorter for both choices.
Now comes the part that will get the tree huggers all excited. This concept of the urinal filtering the urine and making it a fertilized liquid that nurtures and helps grow plants will make any Prius driving tailgater do back flips. Every stadium in America is encouraging tailgaters to “Go Green” by offering more recycling bins, encouraging fans to carpool and asking fans to reduce the amount of refuse they produce. By peeing in a system that grows plants, there are less chemicals needed for those portable toilets and they will fill up less. And who can argue with a system that essentially plants more trees and shrubs thus creating more green space and reducing the amount of Co2 in the air? Even the staunchest anti-global warming theorist can’t complain about a few more trees adding to the beautification of a stadium parking lot.
As a tailgating advocate I would encourage every college and pro football stadium to order 20 of these and place them strategically around the parking lot. There would need to be some sort of privacy screening or fences built around them so the rest of the tailgaters are not viewing four guys at a time whipping it out and letting it go.
Stadiums may balk at the initial costs of setting these things up but in the long run they may save money by having to empty the traditional port-a-potties less. Plus think of all the positive PR the stadiums and teams will get in the local media for “going green” or in this case, “going yellow”.