PPlanter 3.0
Location |
San Francisco, CA
Client |
Urban Prototyping: San Francisco
The PPlanter works for both men and women. Similar to a parklet, it conveniently takes up a single parking space. The PPlanter system works as follows: a sink is supplied with a human powered foot pump connected to a freshwater supply tank. The graywater from the sink, along with soap residue, flushes and cleans the urinal, keeping odor to a minimum.The graywater, soap and urine (blackwater) from the ADA-compliant urinal are then funneled to a sealed storage tank. The combined blackwater is then pumped into an adjacent planter that houses bamboo plants set in a lightweight mixture of soil and recycled styrofoam coated in pectin. The water from the urinal and sink is evapotranspired by the bamboo and released into the air as distilled, purified water. The bamboo harnesses the incredible amount of nitrogen and phosphorus found in the urine and uses it to produce more bamboo. Within high traffic areas, additional urinal planters can be added to the system in series.
